lawn mower blade problem

[PineRidge]

I have used a push mower, brush hog, 3-point finish mower, and a JD-ZTM and never broken a blade and we have some pretty wild landscape on part of our property. Naturally we have to sharpen and sometimes weld up a ding or two, but replace because of breakage never.

Once the wife hit a steel pin and bent the driveshaft on the motor of a old push mower and that didn't even destroy the blade, unfortunately it did the motor.

If I were you I would start looking to see if someone makes a better set of blades for your rig.

 

[toppop52]

Have to wonder if mowing right after a rainfall or after the yard being sprinkled would cut down on the amount of sand being lifted?

I do that when I can, but if I don't use high lift blades I end up with uneven grass because of the dampness and the type of grass, so they still pull a ton of sand up and it's not the coarse sand that gets lifted always, some of it is like powder but it grinds the blades.

 

[toppop52]

I have used a push mower, brush hog, 3-point finish mower, and a JD-ZTM and never broken a blade and we have some pretty wild landscape on part of our property. Naturally we have to sharpen and sometimes weld up a ding or two, but replace because of breakage never.

If I were you I would start looking to see if someone makes a better set of blades for your rig.

Mine don't break like something struck them., they wear and then break lengthwise near the edges.

 

[art]

We don't have any problems with sand here in central NY but we do get to see plenty of blades come in that are worn out.

What we have seen is some blades are of a softer steel, replaceing the dull cutting edge on the grinder tells a lot and some blades often the factory originals are made of better steel and wear far longer.

Sand is the reason that many companies have gone to the fabricated decks and with most testing of the decks done in the warmer climates so they can mow year around most companies are finding out how to better deal with it.

 

[JDgreen227]

I may be a minority when it comes to blade sharpening but I never let a grinder of any type near my blades, because I think no matter how careful one is, a grinder is going to heat up the metal to some degree and cause the blade will lose it's temper. I have nothing but praise for the Oregon brand Gator Mulching blades, they appear (at least in my situation) to be superior in hardness to even the much more expensive JD blades.

 

[jinman]

I may be a minority when it comes to blade sharpening but I never let a grinder of any type near my blades, because I think no matter how careful one is, a grinder is going to heat up the metal to some degree and cause the blade will lose it's temper. I have nothing but praise for the Oregon brand Gator Mulching blades, they appear (at least in my situation) to be superior in hardness to even the much more expensive JD blades.

Bill, how are your blades sharpened at the manufacturer? Don't you think they use a grinder? It's surely an automated machine, but I just can't see going to the trouble to use a file for sharpening my mower blades. As a kid, we used to file our hoes, axes, and even shovels with flat bastrd. files, but when I discovered angle grinders, my life got much simpler.:thumbsup: Also, it seems no matter how hard the metal is or how sharp they are, one mowing will start to dull the cutting edges in my experience. As Art pointed out, my Kubota mower has much thicker blades than my John Deere riding lawn mower. They are almost twice as thick and they don't wear like the JD blades.

 

[art]

I may be a minority when it comes to blade sharpening but I never let a grinder of any type near my blades, because I think no matter how careful one is, a grinder is going to heat up the metal to some degree and cause the blade will lose it's temper. I have nothing but praise for the Oregon brand Gator Mulching blades, they appear (at least in my situation) to be superior in hardness to even the much more expensive JD blades.

That is good that you have had good experience with them and it is shocking as we don't do anything with the deere other then trade-ins and repairs but with the lines we normally sell the sharpening experience and wear with those blades has been greater then the oem blades. It doesn't mean that we don't like the blades for lawn clean-up without bagging but they do have a shorter life cycle by about a third on one manufacturer and about half the life of another.

 

[radioman]

I have a old slow turning grinding wheel from my wife work and it works great for sharpening the mower blades without getting it hot. it also has a water drip container at top that I use and that really helps. The cheap grinders that you can buy at local store spins way too fast for my liking and I only use it for certain metal projects but never on the mower blades. You guys aree right - the blades are not what they used to be though- they seem like its a very soft metal now on moweer blades and I cant help but wonder if the manufacters are doing it on purpose due to many bent blades that cannot be restraighten with stiffer metal? The softer ones might take the abuse more and just nick instead of bending? which would you guys rather endure?

 

[The kid]

If you cut your grass short like many people like it will pick up quite a bit of sand, thus eat your blades. Commerical grass cutters don't cut as low thus the same problem is minimzed. You might consider letting your grass get a bit higher. It's actually healthier for the grass, by developing deeper root system and your mower will put those nice patterns in the grass after a cutting. JMHO.

 

[RandyT]

Just remember that all that dust that gets kicked up and discharged act like a sand blaster to the air lifts on the blades. There is a lot of sand that gets added to yards when new houses are constructed.

I work on a lot of the box store mowers, and have seen blades not even last one mowing season, due to the thin blades to start with.