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I just purchased a set of Gator blades for my Toro MX5060 and I am having second thoughts. With the help of a vendor, we matched one up. I just got them and the blades seem extremely heavy. I'll take one off the mower to compare. The Oregon website says that the blade is .164" thick, but I get a reading of .204". The blade on my mower is .187" thick. I didn't think going lighter would be an issue, but heavier may be a problem. Can anyone comment on this?

My other question is that the blades seem very dull compared to the originals. Are you supposed to sharpen them prior to using them?

Thanks,
Bruce

Your mower should be fine I am thinking that they do need to be sharpen though

K-Pro-Mowing said:

Your mower should be fine I am thinking that they do need to be sharpen though

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Ya everytime I buy a gatorblade I end up taking an angle grinder to it. After that I use a file twice a week

No you do not need to sharping them. If your putting a razor edge on your blades then your doing it wrong.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

Carscw said:

No you do not need to sharping them. If your putting a razor edge on your blades then your doing it wrong.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

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Sooooo, is the "design technology" behind mulching blades inherently inclusive of a "non razor-like cutting edge" for them to do what they are designed to do???? I'm picking up a mulch kit for my Gravely at the dealer tomorrow(OEM mulching blades) and if I had gotten home and noticed that the cutting edge looked "dull" or somewhat "rounded" my first knee-jerk reaction would have been to sharpen them too:0)
Sounds like that is NOT recommended and seems to indicate they won't "perform as well' if you "sharpen them". Edumacate me Carscw as to "proper ongoing maintenance" of mulching blades versus hi-lift blades!!!

djdicetn said:

Sooooo, is the "design technology" behind mulching blades inherently inclusive of a "non razor-like cutting edge" for them to do what they are designed to do???? I'm picking up a mulch kit for my Gravely at the dealer tomorrow(OEM mulching blades) and if I had gotten home and noticed that the cutting edge looked "dull" or somewhat "rounded" my first knee-jerk reaction would have been to sharpen them too:0)
Sounds like that is NOT recommended and seems to indicate they won't "perform as well' if you "sharpen them". Edumacate me Carscw as to "proper ongoing maintenance" of mulching blades versus hi-lift blades!!!

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They have to sharp no way around that

When you buy any blade it is ready to install.


When you sharping your blades like a razor they will dull faster. And how long do you think they stay razor sharp?

I do believe that there has been study's done to find the best angle ( pitch ) for mower blades
And just maybe they know how sharp the blade should be.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

Actually, many blade makers dip them in real heavy paint, it chips off real quick, and it is very sharp underneath. It might
account for the different thickness reading as well.

K-Pro-Mowing said:

They have to sharp no way around that

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Yeah....logic tells you "sharp edge = clean cut of grass blade", but user Carscw's comment had me questioning that logic(42 years in mainframe computer programming has taught me that some things indeed defy human logic....but they work:0)

djdicetn said:

Yeah....logic tells you "sharp edge = clean cut of grass blade", but user Carscw's comment had me questioning that logic(42 years in mainframe computer programming has taught me that some things indeed defy human logic....but they work:0)

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Carscw is right you never bring a lawn mower blade to a razor sharp edge. They just dull faster and you'll have to replace blade with greater frequency.

When I but a new blade it is not that sharp, but after I take it to the same place I bought it to be sharpened, it is way sharper than when I bought it.

lawn mower fanatic said:

When I but a new blade it is not that sharp, but after I take it to the same place I bought it to be sharpened, it is way sharper than when I bought it.

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I will assume you buy Honda blades.
As much as you love your Honda and brag about how good it is. You still don't trust that Honda puts the best edge on their blades for cutting grass

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

lawn mower fanatic said:

When I but a new blade it is not that sharp, but after I take it to the same place I bought it to be sharpened, it is way sharper than when I bought it.

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lmf,

Maybe you need to instruct the place you take the blade...."bring it back to factory specs" rather than just "sharpen my blades":0)
I can see what ric & carscw are saying though because after all at 18,000fpm the grass blade doesn't have time to tell whether the leading edge of the blade is "razor sharp" or simply "angled properly" before the grass blade above the blade edge is history!!

What is the proper way to sharpen one? grind it to a sharp edge and then dull it slightly?

Carscw said:

I will assume you buy Honda blades.
As much as you love your Honda and brag about how good it is. You still don't trust that Honda puts the best edge on their blades for cutting grass

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

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Well it seems like what you're saying, Honda does make it the right sharpness, but my dealer makes it too sharp.

Carscw said:

I will assume you buy Honda blades.
As much as you love your Honda and brag about how good it is. You still don't trust that Honda puts the best edge on their blades for cutting grass

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

Click to expand...

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Carscw said:

I will assume you buy Honda blades.
As much as you love your Honda and brag about how good it is. You still don't trust that Honda puts the best edge on their blades for cutting grass

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

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OK guys...let's give ole lmf a break:0)
Sooooooo, am I gittin close when I say it's more important to have the cutting edge at the proper "cutting angle" than it is for the edge to be able to shave your face???? I seem to recall reading somewhere that you never are supposed to sharpen the bottom and top of the blade's cutting edge at "opposing angles" to obtain a "sharp edge"...only angle the top edge. Is that true....and would that hold true for these Gator blades the OP is asking about???
P.S.
As you can tell, I'm still a candidate for Blade Sharpening 101!!

lawn mower fanatic said:

Well it seems like what you're saying, Honda does make it the right sharpness, but my dealer makes it too sharp.

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Oh my, LMF think about what you just said. UGH!! My dealer makes it too sharp, ask yourself why your dealer makes the blade to sharp??

djdicetn said:

OK guys...let's give ole lmf a break:0)
Sooooooo, am I gittin close when I say it's more important to have the cutting edge at the proper "cutting angle" than it is for the edge to be able to shave your face???? I seem to recall reading somewhere that you never are supposed to sharpen the bottom and top of the blade's cutting edge at "opposing angles" to obtain a "sharp edge"...only angle the top edge. Is that true....and would that hold true for these Gator blades the OP is asking about???
P.S.
As you can tell, I'm still a candidate for Blade Sharpening 101!!

Click to expand...

Always just sharping the top edge. Now if you want you you can do a pass on the bottom side just to clean it up.

Now should not go razor sharp because it makes the edge to thin and will just wear the blade down faster.

You want to bring it down until it is not rounded over. Should not cut your hand when you install them.

I have always used a bench grinder. But was at a buddy's shop and I tried his way with a hand held grinder. So much better

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

lawn mower fanatic said:

Well it seems like what you're saying, Honda does make it the right sharpness, but my dealer makes it too sharp.

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Yes Honda makes it just the way they should.
Does your dealer make it to sharp ? No. But it does not need to be that sharp.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

The dealer will make it razor sharp for every day if you want him to.

After you get him to sharping them how many yards do you cut before they need to be sharpened again? I get about 50 and I think ric said he gets around 50.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

Carscw said:

Always just sharping the top edge. Now if you want you you can do a pass on the bottom side just to clean it up.

Now should not go razor sharp because it makes the edge to thin and will just wear the blade down faster.

You want to bring it down until it is not rounded over. Should not cut your hand when you install them.

I have always used a bench grinder. But was at a buddy's shop and I tried his way with a hand held grinder. So much better

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

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Thank you sooooooo much for making it simple to understand for a simple mind like mine. Everything you said makes sense and I doubt seriously if you will receive any challenges to that advice!!! You guys are gonna make a lawn maintenance professional out of me yet:0)

Carscw said:

The dealer will make it razor sharp for every day if you want him to.

After you get him to sharping them how many yards do you cut before they need to be sharpened again? I get about 50 and I think ric said he gets around 50.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

Click to expand...

I don't sharpen them as often as I should. :frown:

lawn mower fanatic said:

I don't sharpen them as often as I should. :frown:

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I think I've mowed approximately 25-30 times since I bought my Gravely and am going to install the mulch kit & new blades this weekend. I'll sharpen the original blades and remove the mulch kit at the end of the season and start out next season with my re-sharpened OEM blades. I really only plan on using the mulch kit in the middle of the mowing season when the grass is growing the fastest and thickest. I haven't had any problems with excessive clippings in Spring, early Summer or Fall.

lawn mower fanatic said:

I don't sharpen them as often as I should. :frown:

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If I was you I would learn how to use a file to clean the blade up. What that does is takes the little burrs off and keeps it sharp.
This is good to do if your just cutting grass and not rocks or walnuts

Only takes a couple mins

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

I have been using gator blades for a long time and side discharge. Well stopped by my cub dealer for a free cup of coffee. We got talking about blades. He talked me into trying the cub cadet mulching blades put them in Monday. Just did yard number 53 ( on way home now )
Very good blades I can cut faster and no clumps when cutting wet grass.
Gator blades will go back on when the leaves fall.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

Carscw said:

If I was you I would learn how to use a file to clean the blade up. What that does is takes the little burrs off and keeps it sharp.
This is good to do if your just cutting grass and not rocks or walnuts

Only takes a couple mins

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

Click to expand...

What works for clean them up is a hand held grinder and a light sanding disk, takes the little burrs off and keeps it sharp, clean and doesn't take off a lot of the blade.

Carscw said:

If I was you I would learn how to use a file to clean the blade up. What that does is takes the little burrs off and keeps it sharp.
This is good to do if your just cutting grass and not rocks or walnuts

Only takes a couple mins

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

Click to expand...

The thing about this is getting the proper file.... I had a couple harbor freight files...this was a mistake I sprung for a craftsman file... man what a difference

I understand that the proper sharpening angle is 28 degrees. I use a Oregon mower blade grinder. I grind the bottom side of the blade with one pass on each side followed by grinding the top side of the blade. After that I use a buffer when that is apart of a old bench grinder I have to remove any burrs that might be on the blade. I sharpen my blades as well as clean the under side of the deck on a daily basis. I just made a habit of it to always insure that I get the best quality of cut. I noticed that user Carsaw switched from Gator blades to Cub Cadet mulching blades. Carsaw could you explain the difference between the two types of blades.

LoCo86 said:

I understand that the proper sharpening angle is 28 degrees. I use a Oregon mower blade grinder. I grind the bottom side of the blade with one pass on each side followed by grinding the top side of the blade. After that I use a buffer when that is apart of a old bench grinder I have to remove any burrs that might be on the blade. I sharpen my blades as well as clean the under side of the deck on a daily basis. I just made a habit of it to always insure that I get the best quality of cut. I noticed that user Carsaw switched from Gator blades to Cub Cadet mulching blades. Carsaw could you explain the difference between the two types of blades.

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As you can see in the two pics they are not designed even close to the same.

We all know how gator blades work the fins push the grass up and in.

The cub mulching blades don't seam to do that as I can throw the grass across the road.

My biggest reason for using gator or the cub mulching blades is how thick they are. For the extra few bucks they last 3 times as long as the bagging blades

Now when the leaves fall I will put the gators back on have not found a blade that can mulch leaves like gator blades.



(( cowboy up and get over it ))

Wow! I posted this yesterday....dropped out of circulation for 24 hours......and now 29 responses!

As ever, thanks for the timely, informative, and lively discussion!

Bruce

Ric said:

What works for clean them up is a hand held grinder and a light sanding disk, takes the little burrs off and keeps it sharp, clean and doesn't take off a lot of the blade.

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When I sharpened/cleaned/balanced the blades on my lawn tractors I used my bench grinder that has a wire brush wheel on one side to remove all "buildup" on the complete blade before I balanced them. The wire brush always left them clean & polished. I felt like this gave a better result balancing them, but of course the grass doesn't really care how purty the blades are.....right???

Well, I mounted the gator blades this morning and gave them a try. They were noisier, but gave a great cut. I mowed with the shoot open, and noticed that there was a lot of buildup under the deck compared to the OEM blades. It may have been due to the grass being wet (not from rain, but from dew). I'll clean under the deck again and give them another try.
Bruce

Brucebotti said:

Well, I mounted the gator blades this morning and gave them a try. They were noisier, but gave a great cut. I mowed with the shoot open, and noticed that there was a lot of buildup under the deck compared to the OEM blades. It may have been due to the grass being wet (not from rain, but from dew). I'll clean under the deck again and give them another try.
Bruce

Click to expand...

So you found out the hard way gator blades don't like wet grass.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

Brucebotti said:

Well, I mounted the gator blades this morning and gave them a try. They were noisier, but gave a great cut. I mowed with the shoot open, and noticed that there was a lot of buildup under the deck compared to the OEM blades. It may have been due to the grass being wet (not from rain, but from dew). I'll clean under the deck again and give them another try.
Bruce

Click to expand...

Carscw said:

So you found out the hard way gator blades don't like wet grass.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

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Whether or not they work in wet grass I think depends on what mower there on. There are mowers out there that regardless of what type of blades you install just aren't going to do well in the wet and some that are just the opposite. I have found that most ZTR's don't like wet grass regardless of the type of blades you install but a wide area walk behind and a mower like my grandstand can go all day in the wet and not have many problems.

Carscw said:

So you found out the hard way gator blades don't like wet grass.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

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I was very satisfied with the cut. It was strange that the only clumps of cut grass I got were whenever I crossed over the driveway.

By the way, how can you say that gator blades don't like wet grass. They actually love it so much they kept a bunch of it under my deck....:laughing:

Bruce

Carscw said:

So you found out the hard way gator blades don't like wet grass.

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

Click to expand...

Brucebotti said:

I was very satisfied with the cut. It was strange that the only clumps of cut grass I got were whenever I crossed over the driveway.

By the way, how can you say that gator blades don't like wet grass. They actually love it so much they kept a bunch of it under my deck....:laughing:

Bruce

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You guys are funny, :biggrin:

Now I'm not trying to be an azz here but , So you found out the hard way gator blades don't like wet grass. I find that statement pretty ironic when you consider your always cutting wet grass. As far as finding it strange that the only clumps of cut grass you get is whenever you cross over the driveway, it would be strange if if didn't when you consider the way a gator blade works, I mean as soon as you hit the drive the blades have nothing more to cut or throw to the top of the deck to be re-cut so naturally the grass that's in the deck will be discharged. :smile:

Ric said:

You guys are funny, :biggrin:

Now I'm not trying to be an azz here but , So you found out the hard way gator blades don't like wet grass. I find that statement pretty ironic when you consider your always cutting wet grass. As far as finding it strange that the only clumps of cut grass you get is whenever you cross over the driveway, it would be strange if if didn't when you consider the way a gator blade works, I mean as soon as you hit the drive the blades have nothing more to cut or throw to the top of the deck to be re-cut so naturally the grass that's in the deck will be discharged. :smile:

Click to expand...

Guess I should have said
Gator blades do not perform their best when the grass is wet and or to tall.

I discharge with them so I don't get the clumping like you would with mulching

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

Carscw said:

Guess I should have said
Gator blades do not perform their best when the grass is wet and or to tall.

I discharge with them so I don't get the clumping like you would with mulching

(( cowboy up and get over it ))

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If Gator blades do not perform their best when the grass is wet, when do they perform there best?

Ric said:

You guys are funny, :biggrin:

Now I'm not trying to be an azz here but , So you found out the hard way gator blades don't like wet grass. I find that statement pretty ironic when you consider your always cutting wet grass. As far as finding it strange that the only clumps of cut grass you get is whenever you cross over the driveway, it would be strange if if didn't when you consider the way a gator blade works, I mean as soon as you hit the drive the blades have nothing more to cut or throw to the top of the deck to be re-cut so naturally the grass that's in the deck will be discharged. :smile:

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Ric,
No problem.....I'm here to learn...:smile:
Bruce

A while back, I read and started practicing the "30-30" rule. No, it's not Chuck Connors way of taking care of bad guys, it's about blade sharpening. Grind a 30 degree angle with a 30 thousandths wide blunt edge. I don't sharpen to the razor edge that I once did.

I first grind the blade flat on the edge enough to get most of the nicks out and have a straight edge. THEN grind it down at a 30 degree angle until you have a .030" (1/32") thick square leading edge. I keep a bucket of water handy to keep the blades cool while grinding, so as not to lose the temper. It has worked great for me.

Larry

MBDiagMan said:

A while back, I read and started practicing the "30-30" rule. No, it's not Chuck Connors way of taking care of bad guys, it's about blade sharpening. Grind a 30 degree angle with a 30 thousandths wide blunt edge. I don't sharpen to the razor edge that I once did.

I first grind the blade flat on the edge enough to get most of the nicks out and have a straight edge. THEN grind it down at a 30 degree angle until you have a .030" (1/32") thick square leading edge. I keep a bucket of water handy to keep the blades cool while grinding, so as not to lose the temper. It has worked great for me.

Larry

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Larry, you're giving your age away with that "Rifleman" reference...:laughing:. I'll remember your advice when it comes to sharpening time.
Thanks,
Bruce

I used my Gator Blades for the second time. This time the grass was completely dry, so I didn't have anywhere near as much grass stuck to the deck. I did notice though that there was still more stuck to the deck than when using the stock OEM blades. They gave a great, even cut.

I normally mow with the chute up. Does this make any difference with gator blades?

Thanks,
Bruce

Grass will stick to it but sidedischaring is fine

Brucebotti said:

I used my Gator Blades for the second time. This time the grass was completely dry, so I didn't have anywhere near as much grass stuck to the deck. I did notice though that there was still more stuck to the deck than when using the stock OEM blades. They gave a great, even cut.

I normally mow with the chute up. Does this make any difference with gator blades?

Thanks,
Bruce

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Actually the grass from the Gator Blades will stick to the deck a lot easier than the OEM blades because it's a finer cut it's carry"s more moisture. I discharge the grass with the bigger mowers, the Grandstand and ZTR but the smaller mowers never get discharged.

Ric said:

Actually the grass from the Gator Blades will stick to the deck a lot easier than the OEM blades because it's a finer cut it's carry"s more moisture. I discharge the grass with the bigger mowers, the Grandstand and ZTR but the smaller mowers never get discharged.

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Ric,
That does make sense. The little grass that did build up was pretty wet when I scraped it off, even though the grass was dry when I cut it. So far I'd have to give the Gator blades a thumbs-up, even though they seem to be a bit noisier.
Thanks,
Bruce

Brucebotti said:

Ric,
That does make sense. The little grass that did build up was pretty wet when I scraped it off, even though the grass was dry when I cut it. So far I'd have to give the Gator blades a thumbs-up, even though they seem to be a bit noisier.
Thanks,
Bruce

Click to expand...

I found the same thing when I first started using the Gator Blades, they were nosier than the regular blades so much so I thought I had did something wrong when I installed them or there was something wrong with the blades. I don't think people realize that even cutting what they think is dry grass just doesn't happen especially with Gator blades. When you consider that grass itself is 70 to 80% water and you start cutting and chopping it up it creates a ton of moisture and your going to have a deck full before your done and as fine as the gator blades cut they tend to make thing even worse even discharging the grass and if you cut with the chute closed the grass tends to be cut even finer. I use the Gator Blades on all my mowers and I wouldn't trade them for all the high lift blades there are.
My problem is that between the humidity and the rain we have here I can't find any dry grass to begin with :smile: