Flail Mower Let's talk flail mowers

[pripyat]

Anyone have any feedback on hardhitter.com's blades? They look to be quite reasonable price-wise. I've got a JD 390 with the heavy duty blades, P57928. I can't find any review on "hardonite", I emailed hardhitter asking if they had any documentation comparing a standard vs treated blade. I'll post whatever they reply..

[edit] Watch out for the hardhitter website.. The blade listed as a direct replacement for P57928 is .1875" thick. P57928 is .265" thick (As per the flailmaster catalog).

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

Flailmaster is still in business, just reorganizing. Call them to see if they have any thing left. From what I understand they still have inventory, they're just not making anything new right now.

I wanted to let everyone know that National Parts - Flailmaster is currently re-organizing the company and hope to have more info available soon as to when we will be manufacturing again. We are still taking orders and continuing to service our customers should you need anything this season.

We are working on getting things altogether. Look for an announcement to come soon! For now, I am still taking orders for the parts we manufactured and others - stock is still available and I'll be happy to help y'all.

- Carrie

Hi all - I have a Caroni TM-1900BSC mower that I bought early last year. I bought a batch of replacement blades from Flailmaster.com at the recommendation of this forum (thank you!). But my supply is running low and Flailmaster is apparently gone. The blades I bought were M-108381 Forged Heavy-Duty @$1.98 ea: .196" thick, 1-3/4" wide, 3" tall, 1"x1/2" mounting slot. The 3" tall is a bit hard to measure, that's what the catalog says, but the actual blade is taller, depending on how you measure it.

Anyway, has anyone found another source for replacement blades? The factory blades from Agrisupply are $5 ea! I did find these from mowpart.com @$2.15 (Lawn Mower and Small Engine Parts Genuine OEM | Rhino 2986332 Course Cut Knife Non-Returnable MowPart), but they are not thick enough - maybe they have an alternative.

And I found these from hardhitter.com @$3.83 which may be right, but a bit pricey (GE105319M-HD - $3.83 : Hard Hitter, Wear Parts With Muscle).

Any other suggestions - I go through a lot of blades, so price makes a difference.

The forged blades are just thicker version of the standard blades. The blades range from .106" to the .196" that you have. Depending on what you're cutting you'd likely be okay with the standard blade. I have the FM-7 blades from Flailmaster (.130") on my SHD88 and they do great for grass and light brush. Anything over 1/2" thick I need to take my time mowing, but most of my mowing is grass.

 

[pripyat]

Here's what I got from Hardhitter regarding their lack of a hardonite version of the P57928 and their lack of any information on their site to support their claims that hardonite prolongs the life of the blades significantly -

At this time we do don't make our GEP57928 knife with Hardonite coating

We are looking at producing a Hardonite coated GEP57928 knife possibly next year & adding to our inventory

We have been making knives with our Hardonite coating for 16+ years, There have been millions of our Hardhitter sold knives used during this period of time in all types of soil conditions and crop & grass mowing & shredding applications, There are different results for different applications and field conditions , general consensus is our Hardonite coated knives last 2-1/2 to 3 times longer than non coated knives

Many Large farming operations over the years that were previously using non coated knives and ran our Hardonite coated knives switched permanently to our coated knives as they found our coated knives to be more cost effective and able to run their equipment much longer periods of time before needing to change

Best Regards
Bob​

 

[cscholz]

Flailmaster is still in business, just reorganizing. Call them to see if they have any thing left. From what I understand they still have inventory, they're just not making anything new right now.
...
The forged blades are just thicker version of the standard blades. The blades range from .106" to the .196" that you have. Depending on what you're cutting you'd likely be okay with the standard blade. I have the FM-7 blades from Flailmaster (.130") on my SHD88 and they do great for grass and light brush. Anything over 1/2" thick I need to take my time mowing, but most of my mowing is grass.

TheFarmerInAdell - thanks for the tip!! I ordered a batch of blades from Flailmaster. They still have their supplier for these. I now have a supply for the rest of this year.

BTW, I replace just the blades that have been trashed (usually by rocks, lots of rocks in VT). So I want the replacements to match the rest to keep things balanced.

Appreciate the help!

 

[mangler]

Looking at buying a flail mower for my CK2610 (21.8 pto HP). It would be nice to have one with a casing as wide as my rear tires (60"), but I could also go a little smaller if needed given my limited power.

Pretty set on a chinese made flail (Lefa, Betsco, Titan), they are pretty much all the same. Still unsure If I want to spring for hydraulic side shift (looks useful for laneways/ditches) or full articulated hydraulics (could be nice for hedges, but I'd be worried about projectiles, and I only have one detent remote, the other is continuous feed). Pretty sure I want the duck bill hammers vs the "Y"s, because I have a lot of small brush. Not really worried about cut quality, just want it down. I like the safety aspect of the flails vs rotary cutters, so the extra maintenance is worth it to me (lots of areas that are close to finished buildings).

If I was in California I would also looking at Caroni for parts availability, but shipping to eastern Canada will likely kill that deal.

I'd like to hear from people who have used a Chinese flail for a couple of years, and their thoughts (pros, cons, would you buy again).

 

[leonz]

The folks at Agrisupply have 8 retail stores in the Eastern United States in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia.

1. decide how much you want or can afford to spend
2. decide on which type of flail mower you want- whether its a boom mounted orchard and vineyard flail mower(verge mower) that has a flail mower head that can rise to vertical or mow below grade OR a flail mower with a side shifting ability OR a standard flail mower that is either directly behind the operator or offset.


Flail mower knives are of three types

1. Side slicer

2. scoop knife

3. hammer knife


Side slicer and scoop knives are sheared, pressed, punched and then the cutting edge is ground.

Scoop knives are of several types including light weight scoop knives that are sheared, formed, punched and then ground to create the cutting edge.

The great majority of hammer knives made by one manufacturer in Italy for the flail mower market manufacture forged hammer knives that are drop forged, mounting holes drilled and then the cutting edge is ground.

The caroni flail mowers use both a scoop knife and side slicer knife


A hammer knife or scoop knife will not recut grass and brush. A Side slicer knife will recut the brush as many times as you desire to bring your brush and grass mowing under control.


You can invest in a well built and designed Italian Made boom mounted flail mower from Del Morino and Puruzzo.

Call Agrisupply in Garner, North Carolina and ask for Rodney Barbour and tell him that Leon sent you to him to talk about flail mowers.


You have a lot to examine long before you begin shopping for flail mower type, brand or price.

 

[def38]

Looking at buying a flail mower for my CK2610 (21.8 pto HP). It would be nice to have one with a casing as wide as my rear tires (60"), but I could also go a little smaller if needed given my limited power.

Pretty set on a chinese made flail (Lefa, Betsco, Titan), they are pretty much all the same. Still unsure If I want to spring for hydraulic side shift (looks useful for laneways/ditches) or full articulated hydraulics (could be nice for hedges, but I'd be worried about projectiles, and I only have one detent remote, the other is continuous feed). Pretty sure I want the duck bill hammers vs the "Y"s, because I have a lot of small brush. Not really worried about cut quality, just want it down. I like the safety aspect of the flails vs rotary cutters, so the extra maintenance is worth it to me (lots of areas that are close to finished buildings).

If I was in California I would also looking at Caroni for parts availability, but shipping to eastern Canada will likely kill that deal.

I'd like to hear from people who have used a Chinese flail for a couple of years, and their thoughts (pros, cons, would you buy again).

I have had my Chicomm flail mower for 3 years. So far, I replaced the two tower pieces that hold the top link. They are known to bend, fatigue the metal at the bend point and eventually fail. Some clever welding can restore them. I understand that Titan does not have them available as a replacement part. I paid for mine and received them after a wait. I also experienced a severe vibration in my mower recently. I realigned the gearbox to the PTO shaft and tightened up the bolts holding the front bearing housing onto the gearcase. This eliminated the vibration. My mowing involves 7 acres of uneven ground with trash, rocks and Buick hubcaps and even what appears to have been an old DeSoto automobile hood. The mower jammed solid with that last item. I extracted it with crowbars and a cutoff wheel. The mower is none the worse for wear. My opinion is if parts aren't available, pass. Also, I would rather avoid anything Chicomm for reasons obvious.

Having said all that, the mower cuts 5-6 foot tall dense weeds, grass and brush. I am not afraid to run into small trees, mow and mulch them into chips. My M-F has 45 HP with about 36 at the PTO. The mower is 60 inch cut. If you do decide on the Titan, have a look at the rear roller Zerk orientation. I had to rotate the bearing flanges to keep the Zerks out of the dirt.

I'll never buy another Chicomm impliment.

If I replace the current mower, it will be with a Woodmaxx

 

[aczlan]

Note that Woodmaxx is made in China, just to Woodmaxx specs.

Aaron Z

 

[ronjhall]

Note that Woodmaxx is made in China, just to Woodmaxx specs.

Aaron Z

Their site says free shipping to Canada. At bottom of page.

 

[mangler]

Note that Woodmaxx is made in China, just to Woodmaxx specs.

Aaron Z

And they seem to have a little attention to detail on what they spec out, but it's also 1k more than the Titan (or equivalent China made) implement. Since this will be an occasional implement for me (mowing 1-2 acres once a year), and not anything related to income, I'd save the the 1K (or more if I get it direct) and re-weld that top link bracing when (or better, before) it fails. I could also get another one shipped from China when I order.