Broken mulching Gator blade.

[90cummins]

I double stack my blades on my 60" Scag for a better cut and recently lost the end of one mulching Gator blade when it went over one smooth rock not a hard hit just a light touch.
I place the regular blade on the bottom to protect the gator blade from impact with rocks.
The broken piece bent a half inch thick decking side. Had it escaped the results could have been catastrophic give the proximity of people and pets at times.
In 50 years I have broken Bush Hog blades but never a lawn mower blade.
I have bent them and straightened them ( standard blades) but never had one break.
I inspected the Gator blades and found cracks in most of them.
No more mulching blades for me!
Unfortunately hitting rocks is unavoidable at least in my situation. Frost is constantly pushing new rocks up where there were none for years.
Be safe and inspect your blades now before the unthinkable happens.
90cummins

 

[4570Man]

I’ve never noticed any cracks in my mower blades and they take a real beating. What brand blades are these? They look thinner than my mulching blades.

 

[RjCorazza]

Yikes. I’ve never seen a blade fail like that! Next sharpening I will definitely check mine real close.

 

[LMychajluk]

Why does the broken piece have so much more rust on it?

 

[90cummins]

It was on lawn a couple weeks before I found it.
90cummins

 

[Industrial Toys]

I'm using some Oregon Gator blades around here. They look impressive enough but seem to be quite soft. The stones beat them to death. The commercial blades on my Cushman are much, much more durable.

 

[GLyford]

When they first came out, the gator blades were very good. The newer oregon ones look the same but I am not convinced they last the same.

They do cut better than the factory blades, at least...

 

[tomplum]

So Gator blades come in 3 different grades so to speak. Not for all applications though. You would need to compare specs for your application. Oregon brand Lawn Mower Blades