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Good morning,

I searched the forum and couldn't find a thread which discusses how often you sharpen you blades. I might have used the wrong search terms. Specifically, how many hours do you go between routine blade sharpening? I've seen an occasional comment on it but no thread focused on this subject. I suspect you guys in the lawn care business will have the most input on this.

Back in ancient times I worked for a horticultural & landscape service who were so busy they had a shop mechanic for all their equipment. They swapped out a clean, sharp, set of blades daily. Seems like overkill but it was not my money, time or decision.

Looking forward to your feed back. ........... Rhett

I put on sharp blades twice a week.
Best thing to do is just look at them. If the edge is gone sharpen them.
Some guys say they sharpen the blades when they see the grass tips are brown. That's to late.
Watch a video on using a file on the blades. Good way to keep them sharp and only takes a minute.

Carscw said:

I put on sharp blades twice a week.

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Specifically how many hours do you have on those blades that you change our twice a week?

Yes, I know looking at them is the best way to go. If I get enough responses with hour intervals I hope to do a little statistics (for fun). I'm a nerd.

RhettWS said:

Specifically how many hours do you have on those blades that you change our twice a week? Yes, I know looking at them is the best way to go. If I get enough responses with hour intervals I hope to do a little statistics (for fun). I'm a nerd.

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Between 15 and 20 hours.

A set of blades last me about 6 weeks. Around 500 yards.

I guess that would depend on how much grass you cut and what kind it is. We bladed this AM about 6:00 and again today around 2:00 PM.

We were running two Tiger Cat Scags with 52" decks.

When we have to start slowing down to keep bahia grass from stringing we stop and change blades.

In lower Alabama most yards are cut at two week intervals and most have some Bahia grass in them if not all of it.

jekjr said:

I guess that would depend on how much grass you cut and what kind it is. We bladed this AM about 6:00 and again today around 2:00 PM.

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So that is 8 hours. Is that routine for you at this time of year?

I know everyone's conditions are different (grass type, soil type, how often a particular yard is cut, etc.). It will be interesting to see how the time between sharpening varies with conditions.

Thanks again. ......... Rhett

RhettWS said:

So that is 8 hours. Is that routine for you at this time of year?

I know everyone's conditions are different (grass type, soil type, how often a particular yard is cut, etc.). It will be interesting to see how the time between sharpening varies with conditions.

Thanks again. ......... Rhett

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How often you should change or sharpen your lawn mower blade depends on the type of blades your using, the type of grass your cutting, size of yard and how often you mow. The a typical homeowner can get by sharpening his blades IMO perhaps once a month maybe every couple of months could or would be sufficient and replace them at the end of the season or once a year.
I'm sure if you do a search over the net you'll find a dozen different answers to your question and they will all be different. There's really no set time limit. Generally I'll watch the cut when I'm mowing and when I see uneven cuts or I have to start double cutting then the mower goes on the jack and a sharp set goes on.

RhettWS said:

So that is 8 hours. Is that routine for you at this time of year?

I know everyone's conditions are different (grass type, soil type, how often a particular yard is cut, etc.). It will be interesting to see how the time between sharpening varies with conditions.

Thanks again. ......... Rhett

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Actually Rhett we probably had 6 hours or so run time in that. We move constantly because we cover so much area. Day before yesterday. We cut 12 yards and finished the last one in the rain to do it. That was working from 7:00 till 2:00. We did not blade in between but on the last one we needed to. If we had not rained out we would have bladed and got some more.

We run the Oregon Blades and try to maintain them sharp because we cut so much and need to run as fast as possible. Double cutting and stringing grass are not an option for us. We can blade one of our Tiger Cats in 5 minutes or so normally in the field and it is just faster to change blades instead of running slow and the yards look so much better.

We have a guy that sharpens blades for like $10 a set. I normally keep 20 to 25 sets of blades. I have three mowers that are identical and we normally run two of them and keep the third at home for a backup. There are days that we run all three of them.

Right now the grass is getting rained on almost daily here and is growing like crazy.If we were cutting just centipede or St. Augustine we would be able to run much longer intervals. However knee deep Bahia grass is a buggar to keep blades sharp in. Also many yards have sticks and so forth in them that many times you won't see till you have cut them up and they work on blades as well.

Guys that talk about going so long sharpening blades like weeks or so forth are normally cutting small lawns and they are cutting grass that is cut weekly.

We cut a property that is 15 acres. It has three houses on it and a funeral home and cemetery. We can normally be out of there in 4 to 5 hours or so running three mowers and a couple of weedeaters. We go into it with fresh blades on all mowers and do not change. By the time we are finished we are definitely in need of a blade change.

I have seen us have to change blades in as little as three hours but again that is under extremely brutal conditions......

Sharpen after 6 hours of use. Every day after I'm done. Sharpened set goes on and old set gets sharpened. I have 3 sets of blades. I am not that big of a company.

jekjr said:

Right now the grass is getting rained on almost daily here and is growing like crazy..

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Thanks for all that information. I hear you about the rain. My grass is going ape *h#@. I'd say my yard is at least 50% bahia, if not more. Was a cow pasture at one time.

I can certainly see where the sharp blades would eliminate double cutting. I just received a set of Oregon G5 blades for my mower. I'll change them out this weekend to see how they do as well as sharpen the original blades that came with the mower. I'm sure they are somewhat dull although I have not looked close at them yet. I have not yet had to double cut while cutting considerably more than 50% of the grass off. Having said that the quality is slowly degrading, I suspect a combination of the uber long grass and the blades getting dull.

Interesting to see what the pros are doing. ........ Thanks

BlazNT said:

Sharpen after 6 hours of use. Every day after I'm done. Sharpened set goes on and old set gets sharpened. I have 3 sets of blades. I am not that big of a company.

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Despite your company size it is still good information. Hopefully other pros will reply. This knowledge will be useful to us weekend warriors. Thanks ....... Rhett

jekjr said:

When we have to start slowing down to keep bahia grass from stringing we stop and change blades.

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Technically speaking, what is stringing? I've seen this term a good bit. It would be really nice to see a picture if possible, although I know most of you avoid the phenomenon by changing blades often.

Thanks

RhettWS said:

Technically speaking, what is stringing? I've seen this term a good bit. It would be really nice to see a picture if possible, although I know most of you avoid the phenomenon by changing blades often.

Thanks

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The next time I run into it happening and it should be tomorrow I will do my best to remember to get my phone and try to get you some pictures.

jekjr said:

The next time I run into it happening and it should be tomorrow I will do my best to remember to get my phone and try to get you some pictures.

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That would be excellent. I went to Monroeville once about 35 years ago. Nice area. Helped a friend pick up a jeep that he bought. His brother, who worked at Alabama River Pulp, found it for him.

Stay cool!!!!

RhettWS said:

That would be excellent. I went to Monroeville once about 35 years ago. Nice area. Helped a friend pick up a jeep that he bought. His brother, who worked at Alabama River Pulp, found it for him.

Stay cool!!!!

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Small world I worked at Al River Pulp from 1978 till 2000.

Would this be stringers??

This is not my yard thankfully. When I saw this the term "stringer" came to mind. BTW this is bahia grass.

possum said:

The one I have on now has over a hundred hours on it total. My rider has a set on now that needs sharpened in about 15 hours. That will make about 65 hours total on them with no sharpening at all. The last set I had for the rider lasted about 70 hours with one sharpening. T

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Just to make sure I understand, you have a set on your push mower that have not been sharpened in over a 100 hours??:shocked:

To further clarify, you sharpen your rider blades at about 70 hours???

What type of grass are you cutting?

You can rip the top of grass off with anything. My weedeater string is .095 in thickness. Close to a very dull blade. You can tell the difference in where you use a weedeater as compared to a blade. But it still cuts the grass.

RhettWS said:

Would this be stringers??View attachment 29269

This is not my yard thankfully. When I saw this the term "stringer" came to mind. BTW this is bahia grass.

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Hard for me to tell from the picture but basically it will be strings of grass that are one to several inches long that look frayed. I am sorry I have not had time to think about pictures. We have been stretched out and this heat has been devastating this week.

RhettWS said:

Just to make sure I understand, you have a set on your push mower that have not been sharpened in over a 100 hours??:shocked:

To further clarify, you sharpen your rider blades at about 70 hours???

What type of grass are you cutting?

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I have no clue about that one. Cutting the stuff we cut I actually started this AM out at 6:00 with fresh blades and changed about 10:00. I have no clue how anybody can go that long. Course we were cutting grass that had not been cut in 2 weeks. We were cutting a 15 acre property. One of the other two mowers had been run some yesterday afternoon after the blades were changed on it and we ran it a while this AM before we change it. The other one we did not change but it had not run as much as the other two. It had fresh blades this AM at 6:00 also.

Every 25 hours on the mowers. Kentucky blue grass. Sharpen earlier I see no difference.

Lawnboy18 said:

Every 25 hours on the mowers. Kentucky blue grass. Sharpen earlier I see no difference.

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I can't say I have ever seen any of that in our neck of the world. It defiantly is not as tough as Pensacola Bahia for sure. I believe that if we were cutting St. Augustine or Centipede without any Bahia in it and we could get several hours out of them. Unfortunately those yards are few and far between in our part of the world.

jekjr said:

Hard for me to tell from the picture but basically it will be strings of grass that are one to several inches long that look frayed. I am sorry I have not had time to think about pictures. We have been stretched out and this heat has been devastating this week.

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Don't worry about the photo. Make money first and stay cool. From your description the stringers are discharged grass, not frayed tips on the bahia??? Essentially short spaghetti, perhaps angel hair?? :laughing:

When bahia is cut clean the tip is square with no fraying as depicted in the image. In my yard it also does not brown at the tip.

RhettWS said:

Don't worry about the photo. Make money first and stay cool. From your description the stringers are discharged grass, not frayed tips on the bahia??? Essentially short spaghetti, perhaps angel hair?? :laughing:

When bahia is cut clean the tip is square with no fraying as depicted in the image. In my yard it also does not brown at the tip.

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No stringers are grass that is not cut but rather like a string it can be an inch or two or up to several inches but not cut of. Running over it a second time will finish the job or stopping and changing blades on the Scags will. At times just slowing down will keep it from happening as well.

We used to have trouble with the Kubota mowers stringing with new blades on them. Other mowers have mixed results as well that I have seen.

I think I have a better concept of what a stringer is now. I would still like to see a picture some time but there certainly is no rush on that.

I'll be trying out a new set of gator blades either this evening or in the morning. I'm anxious to see how they work. Grass is at least 6 inches deep if not a little more. That is 6 days growth. More rain expected today. Frogs are putting in calls to the Red Cross.

RhettWS said:

I think I have a better concept of what a stringer is now. I would still like to see a picture some time but there certainly is no rush on that. I'll be trying out a new set of gator blades either this evening or in the morning. I'm anxious to see how they work. Grass is at least 6 inches deep if not a little more. That is 6 days growth. More rain expected today. Frogs are putting in calls to the Red Cross.

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You will not be happy with the gator blades in 6 inch grass.

Well, I will certainly find out today or in the morning. To keep the yard really nice I should be cutting twice a week. Sometimes I get to it and others I don't. The grass started going crazy about 6 weeks back. Gobs of rain. I have one neighbor who cuts twice a week, even if it is not needed (therapy).

Additionally, I should receive a laser tachometer today in the mail. I've wanted to check the rpms on my motor for some time but I haven't gotten around to it. Hopefully the little widget will work. I don't expect it to be running under spec but it will be easy enough for me to check now.

I'll post on my findings.

Carscw said:

You will not be happy with the gator blades in 6 inch grass.

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Why's that?

Midniteoyl said:

Why's that?

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Gator blades do not cut tall thick or wet grass good. The wings on them throw the grass towards the center of the blade.

Carscw said:

Gator blades do not cut tall thick or wet grass good. The wings on them throw the grass towards the center of the blade.

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The only time we use Gator Blades is in winter when we have mulch plate on to cut up leaves. They work pretty good for that.

RhettWS said:

Well, I will certainly find out today or in the morning. To keep the yard really nice I should be cutting twice a week. Sometimes I get to it and others I don't. The grass started going crazy about 6 weeks back. Gobs of rain. I have one neighbor who cuts twice a week, even if it is not needed (therapy).

Additionally, I should receive a laser tachometer today in the mail. I've wanted to check the rpms on my motor for some time but I haven't gotten around to it. Hopefully the little widget will work. I don't expect it to be running under spec but it will be easy enough for me to check now.

I'll post on my findings.

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Where did you find the tach and how much was it?

jekjr said:

Where did you find the tach and how much was it?

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Pretty sure he means one of these..: https://smile.amazon.com/Signstek-P...TF8&qid=1469222137&sr=8-4&keywords=laser+tach

Carscw said:

Gator blades do not cut tall thick or wet grass good. The wings on them throw the grass towards the center of the blade.

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G6's.. ~5-6mph, open chute. On the Gizmow @ 19,500fpm.

jekjr said:

Where did you find the tach and how much was it?

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Ordered it on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001N4QY66/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cheap enough and the reviews were OK. If it does not work well, I can toss it and not feel too bad. It should arrive today but I will probably not try it until either tomorrow or Sunday. I'll let you know how it works. There are all sorts of hand held tachs available. Some cheap and others not so much. Figured it was worth a try.

Midniteoyl said:

G6's.. ~5-6mph, open chute. On the Gizmow @ 19,500fpm.

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Not much hay left!!! :thumbsup: Need yourself a disc mower for that. My yard is not that bad, yet! Thankfully the bulk of my yard drains pretty well. If I can just get 12 hours after a heavy rain I can cut. I'll leave some mud stains but I can cut it if needed.

RhettWS said:

Not much hay left!!! :thumbsup: Need yourself a disc mower for that. My yard is not that bad, yet! Thankfully the bulk of my yard drains pretty well. If I can just get 12 hours after a heavy rain I can cut. I'll leave some mud stains but I can cut it if needed.

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Ya, this was earlier in the year and I was bad about not giving the back field its first cut, then it rained for like 8 days and BOOM, this happened

When I get done cutting this stuff I replace the blade with a sharp one.
Tom

jekjr said:

I can't say I have ever seen any of that in our neck of the world. It defiantly is not as tough as Pensacola Bahia for sure. I believe that if we were cutting St. Augustine or Centipede without any Bahia in it and we could get several hours out of them. Unfortunately those yards are few and far between in our part of the world.

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Yeah, we are not in the same climate. Fine grass here. Not as thick as in the South (Florida).

Pumper54 said:

View attachment 29295

When I get done cutting this stuff I replace the blade with a sharp one.
Tom

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Imagine cutting acres of that with a zero turn. That will give you and idea of what we deal with on a daily basis.

jekjr said:

Imagine cutting acres of that with a zero turn. That will give you and idea of what we deal with on a daily basis.

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When we bought the farm it was mostly over grown like that. I cut 1.5-2 acres of pasture with a 6.5 hp Toro self propelled walk behind. Figured we needed a rider after that bought a Cub Cadet 1050 that made life a lot easier till the Bride decided that mower was for the house. I picked up an older model Murray rider and then a few months ago found a Swisher 44" pull behind and between the Murray and the Swisher the fields a re a piece of cake now as long as we mow at least once a month. That mower I showed is the one I use to mow the area around the pond and any where the weeds and brush get to tough for the other mowers. Not shabby for a $20.00 mower.
Tom

Pumper54 said:

Figured we needed a rider after that bought a Cub Cadet 1050 that made life a lot easier till the Bride decided that mower was for the house.

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That is one of the SWMBO things!!! :laughing: Got to keep the peace around the house for sure.

Blades after 25.2 hours.

Waited a little too long. Swapped out for a new set of gator blades. Gator blades did pretty good but the grass was supper long.

You have some really soft grass.

I sharpen mine once a week and usually right before my prime accounts....really as long as the grass is getting a clean cut and not ripped you can keep going,,look close at your grass and you will see either a clean cut at the top or a ripped cut,,the ripped cut causes the lawn to look yellowish brown after the sun beats on it for a day or two,plus the grass is more susceptible to disease..keep your blades sharp and keep an eye on your cut quality by looking at the blades of grass.

577jersey said:

I sharpen mine once a week and usually right before my prime accounts..

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So how many hours do you have on the set of blades and the end of the week when you swap out for a sharp set? That is real crux of this thread. Thanks

RhettWS said:

So how many hours do you have on the set of blades and the end of the week when you swap out for a sharp set? That is real crux of this thread. Thanks

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All depends on the weather,on the raptor between 10-15 hours..they are still ok but all my machines get washed,oil checked,air filters cleaned,tire pressure checked,all pivot points oiled,every week...sometime more on my push mower if I do alot of dusty mulching.

You cant go by hours for blade maintenance..too many things come into play and vary from application to application and location,unless you are doing the same lawn every week in the same condition,in that case I would say every 10-15 hours lol

577jersey said:

All depends on the weather,on the raptor between 10-15 hours..they are still ok but all my machines get washed,oil checked,air filters cleaned,tire pressure checked,all pivot points oiled,every week...sometime more on my push mower if I do alot of dusty mulching.

You cant go by hours for blade maintenance..too many things come into play and vary from application to application and location,unless you are doing the same lawn every week in the same condition,in that case I would say every 10-15 hours lol

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Like I said up above some where. This time of the year in South Alabama we are doing good to get 4 to 5 hours out of a set before they need sharpening because of the Bahia Grass.

jekjr said:

Like I said up above some where. This time of the year in South Alabama we are doing good to get 4 to 5 hours out of a set before they need sharpening because of the Bahia Grass.

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Yup,there are guys who cut very sandy land that only get that much out of there edge also...I bet a set of blades only lasts maybe a month down in the sand pile cutting commercially.
I can get a whole season out of a set here,,usually rotate between two sets..we got nice top soil and clay...alot of weed lawns but also alot of kentucky blue,zoysia,and fescue.

577jersey said:

Yup,there are guys who cut very sandy land that only get that much out of there edge also...I bet a set of blades only lasts maybe a month down in the sand pile cutting commercially.
I can get a whole season out of a set here,,usually rotate between two sets..we got nice top soil and clay...alot of weed lawns but also alot of kentucky blue,zoysia,and fescue.

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I run three Tiger Cat Scags. We change blades daily and some days we change them twice...... We normally get three or four sharpening per set of blades and then the ends of the blades are wearing so that they won't balance any more.

Right now I think we have 24 sets of blades.

jekjr said:

I run three Tiger Cat Scags. We change blades daily and some days we change them twice...... We normally get three or four sharpening per set of blades and then the ends of the blades are wearing so that they won't balance any more.

Right now I think we have 24 sets of blades.

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Now thats what Im talking about....if I had 3 scag cheetahs here that ran 6 hours a day each Id get away with 6-9 sets of blades for the whole 8 month season.

577jersey said:

You cant go by hours for blade maintenance..too many things come into play and vary from application to application and location,unless you are doing the same lawn every week in the same condition,in that case I would say every 10-15 hours lol

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You are spot on. However, amassing data under all conditions, etc should yield values that make up a normal distribution (bell curve). With that data one can make predictions that occasionally may be useful to an individual or a population. For example, you buy a mower and the manual states to change the oil at x number of hours. That recommendation was based on data collected and statistically examined. The value they report in the manual is targeted to give the engine (I assume) optimal life. However, they almost always state something to the effect that if working under dusty conditions, etc. change the oil sooner, change the filter sooner, blah, blah, blah.

In my mind there is value to the data. Hence my reason for starting the thread.

I thank everyone for their thoughtful post so far. Very interesting.