This is how a lot of blades are sold new.
How sharp is too sharp? Sharpen new blades?
- Thread starter buck91
- Start date
This is how a lot of blades are sold new.Here is something that will mess with your mind but try it. Sharpen your blade, be it 30 degrees or razor sharp. Stand the blade straight up and run a grinder/sand disk lightly over the sharpened part of the blade. This will result in a squared off cutting edge which then creates 2 cutting surfaces instead of 1 if sharpened in the "Traditional Way". This will create an "edge" that will last a long time and will cut your grass like no other. Try it out and let me know.
I use a sharpener stone on a drill. It's set at the correct angle. I make a couple of passes to give it a relatively sharp edge but not razor blade sharp.As the title suggests, how sharp is ideal on a lawn mower blade? Does anybody sharpen new blades?
The little cone shaped blade balancers don't do any better than the old 'nail in the wall' if you can see to center things. Many blades don't have a round hole in the middle anyway. Bending a slightly bent blade end (1/4 inch or less) is relatively simple if you have a bench mounted vise to hold it while you tug at it. I don't sell balancers or blades, so I don't have any skin in the game. When I happen upon a 'champion', potentially competition-bound blade that will be scrutinized and scored by a panel of judges I might feel different. My way works just fine four or five times a day, each and every day all summer long. It's kind of like I tell people about mixing two stroke fuel. I go with 40 to 1. Many things call for 50 to 1, but unless I'm going to race a chainsaw and rebuild the top end ever four hours, 40 to 1 is a pretty reliable mix ratio. A plug every couple years, and a youtube tutorial on how to clean the exhaust's screen might be in my future, but I like to error on the side of caution.Good luck trying to do this! It is much better to pony-up for a replacement blade if you bend it.
Also, if you hit something hard enough to bend the blade you need to check the blade adapter, the crankshaft (for straightness), and the flywheel key.
You can't balance a blade this way. A proper blade balancer only costs a few dollars and can be purchased almost anywhere (Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Ace, True Value, Amazon, etc).
I like it when I flip a mower on it's side (after getting it running) to drain the oil, and I find a new blade installed upside down. I can then inform the customer that their blade is new for the second time.Sharper is better for grass. But if you have twigs, small rocks or other debis, sharp thin edges will form gaps and become dull faster.