Gator Blade Question

[Brucebotti]

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

 

[MBDiagMan]

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

 

[Brucebotti]

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

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

 

[Brucebotti]

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

 

[Kodie's Lawn Service]

Grass will stick to it but sidedischaring is fine

 

[Ric]

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

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.

 

[Brucebotti]

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,
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

 

[Ric]

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

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: