When to condemn mower blades?

Why remove perfectly good iron. Use the blade as is, it'll cut fine.
I agree.
You can always inspect the grass for torn edges.
I thought you were supposed to…. Is really the only intent to balance the blade and make sure the blade isn’t downright square??

Am I missing something obvious here?
Why sharpen both edges?
To balance?
The blades came with all four edge areas beveled. So I assumed I was supposed to keep up the edges…
 
Those look like a low lift style blade, I’d keep running it. When they look like this, I’d say it’s time. Sand sucks!
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I have four blades for my Toro, two are over five years old and two or only a couple years old. What I have noticed is the edges on the older ones don't last as long after sharpening as the newer blades.
 
I'm not a fan of either using a bench grinder or an angle grinder for sharpening mower blades because they end up getting scalloped like that.

I use a flat file. It's not really that much work, you end up taking off less material so the blades last longer, and it's much easier to maintain a straight cutting edge.
 
A sharp, balanced blade cuts cleaner but also faster. I've noted my mower using less gas with a sharpened blade.
You can walk faster with a sharp blade and the grass catcher will work better.
Yes on scooping out the grass accumulation from the underside of the deck.
No on using a garden hose hole in the deck for clearing. I've never seen water clean away the packed grass.
 
I'm not a fan of either using a bench grinder or an angle grinder for sharpening mower blades because they end up getting scalloped like that.

I use a flat file. It's not really that much work, you end up taking off less material so the blades last longer, and it's much easier to maintain a straight cutting edge.
Grinders do take off a lot of material. I usually use an angle grinder with a sanding disk.

That said, I've needed the grinding disk to "fix" a few blades people have brought me.
 
Grinders do take off a lot of material. I usually use an angle grinder with a sanding disk.

That said, I've needed the grinding disk to "fix" a few blades people have brought me.

Yeah, if you get a blade with a good sized chuck out of it, you gotta do what you gotta do.
 
That's exactly what both of mine look like. A quick pass on the bench grinder, and they're as sharp as a dull knife. I've always heard that making them that sharp just causes them to dull quickly, I just like to see how sharp I can get them....not a big deal to me.
I see no reason to replace them and do the same thing to new blades.
Same
 
The original blade on my yard machines would dull after a few mowings. The seond cheap Home Depot blade was a yard machines brand. After 2-3 years it wouldn't hold an edge. I installed a gatorblade and haven't looked back.
 
The original blade on my yard machines would dull after a few mowings. The seond cheap Home Depot blade was a yard machines brand. After 2-3 years it wouldn't hold an edge. I installed a gatorblade and haven't looked back.
I've had great luck with gator blades. I use them on my own mowers, and they have been a game changer as far as leaf cleanup. I don't bag anymore, just shred everything with gator blades and a block off plate.

My grandpa has a 3 wheel Scag 61" zero turn mower. He mows an 8 acre field with it and absolutely destroys blades. Gators have held up the longest. The newest version of them have a special hardened area where the cutting edge is.
 
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