Blade Sharpening - I am not satisified with how I have done it

[jamesemu]

Has anyone out there found a sharpening shop that has one of those special sharpening machines, designed just for sharpening and balancing of mower blades? I found a firm online that manufactures such machines. It really, I am sure does a fine job for which it is especially designed.
There web site is at:

Magna-Matic Lawn Mower Blade Sharpeners and Balancers - Home

Does anyone know of other, similar sharpening machines to the one above?
For just a little guy like me, mowing a few acres, it is way too expensive to purchase one. However I have been searching for a shop having one within driving distance. Not being successful, I am even thinking if I could find a shop I would try sending the blades.
In that I have tried doing my own sharpening over the years with either a bench or 4 portable grinder, as well as having a local saw and blade sharpening shop do them. I am not satisfied with the results of either.
The cost of a new set of (3) blades from Kubota are nearing 60.00 . I am wanting to rejuvenate some of my old blades, I have stored in boxes.
I appreciate knowing if anyone out there has used a shop having this type of machine for sharpening their mower blades ?
Appreciate your thoughts and experiences
Jamesemu (Jim)

 

[possum]

I know nothing of the area where you live but I would look into the Oregon brand dealers in your area. In other words, find the saw shops and they will let you know who, where, and what on getting your lawnmower blades done.

 

[KennyV]

Hello Jim...
This has came up in the past, on these forums and others...
There are several grinder, polisher systems, but it is very difficult to justify the price of the specialized equipment, when a person, using a bit of care & a belt sander can produce a near perfect mowing edge...
The cleaning and static balancing angle is something that is often mentioned after the marketing group runs out of things to say about the actual sharpening... Most of the 'testimonial' claims really are over thinking the dynamic operation of a mower blade... no balancing system actually tries to do a dynamic balance (for good reason). The moving blade is constantly making contact with variable resistance during operation...
It is unlikely that you will find many shops using specialized systems... the economics of specialized equipment has to actually offset the cost/value results of using existing & quite satisfactory methods...
For those that have been convinced that there will be a noticeably better end result using that type system, good, but I don't have that much imagination. This will be more of a perception is reality...

I think, with reasonable care & tools you already may own, you should be able to recondition your used Kubota blades...
If you want to feel especially good about them, send them off to be soda blasted & powder coated:biggrin:, before you put a perfect edge on them... Your grass & mower may never notice a difference, but if you feel better about the blades, you will notice some thing different... :smile:KennyV

 

[Ariena]

Amen!
Amen!

 

[Bullseye]

Has anyone out there found a sharpening shop that has one of those special sharpening machines, designed just for sharpening and balancing of mower blades? I found a firm online that manufactures such machines. It really, I am sure does a fine job for which it is especially designed.
There web site is at:

Magna-Matic Lawn Mower Blade Sharpeners and Balancers - Home

Does anyone know of other, similar sharpening machines to the one above?
For just a little guy like me, mowing a few acres, it is way too expensive to purchase one. However I have been searching for a shop having one within driving distance. Not being successful, I am even thinking if I could find a shop I would try sending the blades.
In that I have tried doing my own sharpening over the years with either a bench or 4 portable grinder, as well as having a local saw and blade sharpening shop do them. I am not satisfied with the results of either.
The cost of a new set of (3) blades from Kubota are nearing 60.00 . I am wanting to rejuvenate some of my old blades, I have stored in boxes.
I appreciate knowing if anyone out there has used a shop having this type of machine for sharpening their mower blades ?
Appreciate your thoughts and experiences
Jamesemu (Jim)

I sharpen and balance my own.

My John Deere/Honda/Stihl dealer does a great job, I have seen his work.

I often see signs in front yards advertising sharpening service. If you see one, stop in a view his work and ask about price and turn-around time.

If you do it yourself, keep the same angle. It doesn't need to be razor sharp. Try not to take too big a bite or apply too much pressure or you'll scorch the metal (turn it blue). I dip mine in water frequently to cool it.

Good luck!

 

[HarryHarley]

I had been thinking about this for years too! If I had done something back then I would have paid for the expense of a sharpener long ago. I've tried everything. Bench grinders, hand grinders, files, you name it. But I wasn't happy with the results with the effort involved.
So I just bought the best one I could find for the price. This is the one I bought and it works perfect. I have Grasshopper, Snapper, and bush hog blades that sharpen great. Very satisfied with it!!
Commercial Bradley Blade Sharpeners by Havener Enterprises | Commercial Blade Sharpeners

Instead of buying directly from manufacturer at $379, I found the same company selling on Ebay for $195. But I put in a "make offer" of $175 and was accepted. (back in March 2012)
Here's the ebay sale and it's still available:
Bradley Lawn Mower Blade Sharpener | eBay

And, no I don't work for the company, just a user that found a great deal.
This is how it arrived at my house...double boxed. Made in the USA too! It's just for my personal use but I do help out my neighbors too. I don't charge them for my help and we're still great friends - Ha!
Good luck and let us know how you "solve" your sharpening issues. By the way, I use a nail on the wall or one of those pyramid things (about $6) to balance the baldes.

 

[jamesemu]

HarryHarley
I really appreciate your going to the trouble to share your experiences with going through the various sharpening methods and finding a solution. I have a few more questions if you dont mind.
When you looked over the various blade sharpening machines, what did you think of what Magna-Matic products? I see you said u have their blade balancer ? I know their sharpener appears much more expensive than your Bradley, which you said your very happy with the results.
I sure wish I was one of your lucky "neighbors".

My thought was hoping to locate a shop that uses one of these machines and if not within a distance so that I could take some blades to have done, I could at least find out how long they had the machine and their thoughts about it.

You certainly got yours for a good price, and was really surprised it was "made in USA", as unfortunately that is becoming rare now-days. Where is the factory?
Appreciate your telling me a little more on how the Bradley works. Does the company have a video? If not is their a pdf of their instruction sheet?
Thanks again
jamesemu (Jim)

 

[HarryHarley]

Jim,
They are made in Bradley, Ill.
I do not have Magna's balancer. I have one like this: (Can pretty much get anywhere) Like I said, a nail on the wall works good too.
Amazon.com: Oregon Lawn Mower Blade Balancer 42-100: Patio, Lawn & Garden

I think you can go to the site I listed in the earlier post and download the manual and parts list. I even called Bradley and asked them questions while deciding on which one to buy. They were the one who suggested to buy their sharpener at Ebay.

I would assume a sharpening service has some pretty hefty equipment that we can't afford as a home user. So, I don't know if that would be a good choice for seeing a demo. I have 5 lawn mowers of various types. Each one has at least two sets of blades or more. So that's about 12 sets of blades for me. I sharpen them all at least one a year. Local charge here is $10 - $15. If I took them in it would cost me minimum $100. That's why I said if I bought the darn thing years ago, it would have paid for itself. And, of course, it will now!!

I'm sure the Magna-Matic sharpener is a fine unit. I just wasn't going to spend $900 for it. That is just way out of my price range. They do the same thing. Sure, you get what you pay for and I took the chance and won "this" time! Lord knows others buys I made didn't always turn out so good - LOL

 

[hitmanharleyk]

You'd be surprised at how sharp you can get your blades with removing minimal material using this type product. They don't require much pressure and it is hard to overheat the blade.

http://www.lawsonproducts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&productId=97115&catpath=All+Products%2F%2F%2F%2FUserSearch%3DBLUE+KOTE

 

[reynoldston]

Two of the important things of blade sharping is cleaning the blade and balancing. These are two things you should do no matter what you sharped the blades with. I just don't understand why anyone would want to spend big money on a macheine just to sharpen the blades when a hand grinder and die grinder doese just as good of a job.