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My 4210 with 60-inch 7-Iron MMM has always done poorly at chopping grass clippings up, even with very sharp blades. Posted my issue on TBN, and some members there advised me to buy JD Gator blades, or a comparable Oregon blade, telling me clippings would be much finer. Well, after the first 30 mowing hours this year, mostly with wet or damp grass, using a set of sharp OEM JD blades, I removed the OEM set, powerwashed off about 20 pounds of grass build up on the deck, and installed the Gator blades.

Result is...almost no improvement in cutting up dry grass, maybe 10-15% reduction in clipping size....and NO IMPROVEMENT in cutting high and/or wet grass at all. I had hoped to reduce all the raking I have to do of grass clippings, because it takes several hours per week alone to rake everything up. No matter how often I chop up the clippings, they will not break down and leave unsightly windrows all over my lawn.

No matter how high I cut the grass, or if I just do half a deck width at a time, and even running the engine at PTO speed (2600 rpm) while mowing....NO IMPROVEMENT.

Any ideas? Thanks.

I prefer a low lift blade, almost a flat blade! Cuts just as well as any other, doesn't pick up nearly as much sand, doesn't clog the deck in damp grass as much, and they create less drag. Wish I had only known of them my first 7-8 years of mowing. You will have to get them from Rotary, etc... Many of the OEM blades are not made in the low lift. Will be after market blades more than likely. My guess is they want us lawn guys to wear the decks out and buy New Mowers.:biggrin:

From what I've gathered online, how well they perform depends a lot on accidental characteristics of the deck design and who knows what else, so that may account for the wide variations in reported satisfaction. Because of that I felt like I was taking a gamble in buying them, but I was lucky to find three on Amazon Marketplace out of their original packaging for $10 a crack.

Mine are Oregon 3 'n 1 High-Lift Gators which went on my 60" Cub Cadet deck and they're working better than I expected, especially when cutting wet grass even during light rain. (I don't like to cut in the rain but I've had no choice this year.) I'd read about how they're only good for dry conditions, but with mine there has been no clumping this spring and for the first time ever, I can't see the grass clippings laying on the lawn. Total success so I'm delighted, but given what seems to be a little bit of a crapshoot nature regarding them, I'd probably be hesitant to recommend them without reservation other than to someone with my exact mower.

Sorry to hear they're not working out on your deck. You've tried nearly everything I would try, although I did read once that on some decks it helps to wire or brace the discharge chute up a few degrees to lessen the deck discharge pressure and blow the clippings over a wider area.

When I was experimenting with Gator Blades way back! I learned they did great for me in the early mowing season, as I got in the heat of it here in FL is when I realized, I didn't like them as much anymore. They may work for some better, depending on where they live.

In the reports I read there seems to be nearly universal acclaim for their leaf chopping ability over standard blades. My lawn has forty mature oak and hickory trees on it, so I'm looking forward to a better fall cleanup with maybe less need to pass twice over the leafiest areas. We'll see!

Grass type could be a big player with how well they work, but I think JDgreen and I probably have pretty much the same stuff.

I know, some people (KennyV) with some machines don't like them, but the Meg-Mo blades work great for me (especially in wet grass).:thumbsup:
4 cutting knives per spindle and they kick back if you hit any obstruction.

Think you right Jetblast, just realized he's from Michigan.:thumbsup:

I really don't think Michigan has anything to do with it. Not meaning to be a smart A$$ but it has nothing to do with location, it's the mower deck he is trying to use them on. Those Gator Blades wont work on that deck at least not the way people think they should or the way he wants them to.

Ric said:

I really don't think Michigan has anything to do with it. Not meaning to be a smart A$$ but it has nothing to do with location, it's the mower deck he is trying to use them on. Those Gator Blades wont work on that deck at least not the way people think they should or the way he wants them to.

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My grass is not that good, half weeds in much of it, and not very thick. There were only two decks available for my JD when I purchased it, the 60-inch 7-Iron, and a 72-inch model. Salesguy told me the 7-Iron would cut better than the 72-inch model would. The deck and attachment parts were a 2 grand option on my tractor...I would expect it to have decent cutting performance ESPECIALLY with new, sharp blades and a very high blade tip speed (15948 feet per minute @2100 rpm).

I have tried blocking the discharge chute up a few degrees and fully open with almost no difference in the discharge size. Ric, do you have any recommendations for a blade that would perform better?

JDgreen said:

I have tried blocking the discharge chute up a few degrees and fully open with almost no difference in the discharge size. Ric, do you have any recommendations for a blade that would perform better?

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I looked at your mowing deck and IMO the reason you can't use the Gator Blades is because your deck like a lot of fabricated decks is wide open in the front which allows the grass to be discharged without being re-cut by the blades.

I have the same problem. My 44" Stamped deck works fantastic with Gator Blades, when I mow with it there is absolutely no grass left regardless of the type of grass. My 48" ZTR has a Fab deck and I bought a set of the GB for it and it's absolutely useless, it leaves grass all over the place and they leave a lot of uncut grass, they really suck on it. That's why I say it's a deck problem not the blades.

I tried everything to make them work, removed the paint from the blade edges, made sure they were sharp, and I have to sharpen blades frequently, adjusted my cutting height and it didn't make any difference. If I run the regular High Lifts on the 48" it cuts great no problem.

Something I was told and I don't know how true this is but I was told to achieve optimum performance with Gator Blades blade tip speed needs to be 18500 or better to get the best cut.

As far as recommendations, I go back to the original high Lifts until I figured out something else and if you come up with something on the Gator Blades let us all know because I think there's a lot of us in the same boat or having the same problem.

Solid ideas Ric. Just to add to the data sample, my deck is fabricated but it has a sloped nose to force grass to rebound into the blades. That's according to the wind tunnel PhDs/dubious ad-copy writers at Cub Cadet. My blade tip speed is 17,000 fpm and I'm getting the results I'm seeing at my full-forward mower speed of 9 MPH.

JDgreen, your deck has a fine reputation and I did not find overwhelming complaints of the kind through a search, at least not on your deck specifically. What about forward slope? Does the front hang 1/4 to 1/2 an inch lower than the back? That's all I got for now.

We will solve this good sir, or we will die trying.

Thanks all, for the detailed input. Yes, the deck is a tad lower in front than the rear, and although nobody inquired, level side-to-side. If I extrapolate the 15950 fpm of blade tip travel @2100 rpm I end up with close to 18,800 fpm @2600 rpm, however, rpm seems to make no difference in cutting ability. at least over 2,000 rpm.

I have never paid much attention to deck design, so I do not quite know what is different between conventional and mulching decks. From what Ric states, the issue is a fabricated deck that is open in the front....?? Do I interpret that as meaning a mulching deck would have additional baffles in the front of the deck? Need to do some research on that.

Jetblast, I mow at a slower pace than you do, perhaps 6-7 mph most of the time...I am going to try fabricating an aluminum or fiberglass baffle plate that fits in the discharge chute opening and see if that results in clipping size reduction. A few years ago I fitted such a baffle so my tractor would chop up leaves better rather than blowing them out.

Think I will leave the Gator blades on for now, they are better balanced and probably sharper than the OEM set, and they cut as well or slightly better. Changing the center blade with the deck installed is a huge headache, it's an even bigger headache to R&R the deck to swap blades though. Will post at how well the baffle works later this week.

Thanks to all of you again !!!

Jetblast said:

Solid ideas Ric. Just to add to the data sample, my deck is fabricated but it has a sloped nose to force grass to rebound into the blades. That's according to the wind tunnel PhDs/dubious ad-copy writers at Cub Cadet. My blade tip speed is 17,000 fpm and I'm getting the results I'm seeing at my full-forward mower speed of 9 MPH.

JDgreen, your deck has a fine reputation and I did not find overwhelming complaints of the kind through a search, at least not on your deck specifically. What about forward slope? Does the front hang 1/4 to 1/2 an inch lower than the back? That's all I got for now.

We will solve this good sir, or we will die trying.

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Have been doing research on the issue, with little success. Deere does offer a mulching kit for my deck that comes with blades and front baffles that you install on the existing deck (appears drilling is required) but the information also says "this does not work well if you are cutting more than one third of the grass blade off at a time"....YEAH RIGHT....for much of this mowing season I have been cutting two thirds or THREE QUARTERS of the grass blades off because it has rained 45 of the past 55 days since the beginning of April...and yes it is POURING outside right now !!! HTF do they expect people to be able to mow a third off the grass when the stuff grows 3-4 inches between the times that it is dry enough to mow??? So far this month I have measured an actual 13 freaking inches of rain in 25 days and that does not include todays total....!!!!!

JDgreen said:

Have been doing research on the issue, with little success. Deere does offer a mulching kit for my deck that comes with blades and front baffles that you install on the existing deck (appears drilling is required) but the information also says "this does not work well if you are cutting more than one third of the grass blade off at a time"....YEAH RIGHT....for much of this mowing season I have been cutting two thirds or THREE QUARTERS of the grass blades off because it has rained 45 of the past 55 days since the beginning of April...and yes it is POURING outside right now !!! HTF do they expect people to be able to mow a third off the grass when the stuff grows 3-4 inches between the times that it is dry enough to mow??? So far this month I have measured an actual 13 freaking inches of rain in 25 days and that does not include todays total....!!!!!

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I hear you, JD! This has been a freaky spring. I've been cutting every 3rd or 4th day when normally in the spring I seldom need to do it more than once a week. It's recommended you don't cut more than 1/3, but then I'd have to be doing it every other day, but I won't do it in the rain. The grass is so damp it won't mulch and disperse, but just builds up inside my deck and falls out in clumps. Often I have to back up to let it fall out.

I've started to follow this thread on mulching blades because I've been considering getting a pair for my 40-year-old JD Model 68 RER, but I don't see anything out there other than stock style replacement blades. From what I'm reading here, it looks like getting the clippings to mulch properly is a crap shoot depending on on the kind of deck you have and how much the grass has grown between cuttings. For some reason the grass in my front yard grows slower than in the back, probably because of drainage and the septic system. In the front the clippings seem to disappear but in the back I see rows of clumped that somebody more anal than I would have to rake.

Anyway, this spring looks like a poor time to judge the performance of mulching blades. Must be the global warming, or cooliing, or wetting, or whatever. :biggrin:

I am no engineer but I have tried three sets of Gator blades on three different mowers.
I could not tell a difference in any mowing condition. All three set are hanging in my garage since I have regular blades on all machines.
Just look at the Gator Blade design--How can the serrated wing on top of blade cut??:thumbdown:
On one of my mowers, I modified the mower deck so that the front of the deck is 1/2" to 3/4" higher then the back. This way the grass is cut twice with one pass.
Don't laugh--It has worked for me.:thumbsup:

Giles said:

I am no engineer but I have tried three sets of Gator blades on three different mowers.
I could not tell a difference in any mowing condition. All three set are hanging in my garage since I have regular blades on all machines.
Just look at the Gator Blade design--How can the serrated wing on top of blade cut??:thumbdown:
On one of my mowers, I modified the mower deck so that the front of the deck is 1/2" to 3/4" higher then the back. This way the grass is cut twice with one pass.
Don't laugh--It has worked for me.:thumbsup:

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I would never laugh at someone else's ideas unless it was something like "I have my blades on upside down and they work great..." :laughing:

I think the idea behind the serrated wing on top is to create airflow that keeps the grass clippings suspended so they can be recut numerous times...however, if you have a deck like mine they get blown out before the recutting can occur...

Would love to go out and try the new discharge chute baffle I made yesterday, BUT...got another inch and a half of rainfall yesterday and overnight and it is still coming down now...almost FIFTEEN INCHES OF RAIN SO FAR THIS MONTH !!!!!:frown::thumbdown:

OVER SIXTEEN INCHES OF RAIN THIS MONTH.....

Lots of rain-- DOWNPOURS---here in NW Al. There are areas in my lawn where the grass is washed out of ground and tree roots are above surface. Wouldn't know what you are talking about if you said "spring showers" However when the rain stops, it will stop Been this way for the last several years. Mid to late summer--everything will burn up because it won't rain for 6 to 8 weeks

Giles said:

Lots of rain-- DOWNPOURS---here in NW Al. There are areas in my lawn where the grass is washed out of ground and tree roots are above surface. Wouldn't know what you are talking about if you said "spring showers" However when the rain stops, it will stop Been this way for the last several years. Mid to late summer--everything will burn up because it won't rain for 6 to 8 weeks

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When I feel bummed out about the rain I just look at images of the tornado damage down south and think "so what am I griping about"....????? You think those folks would care about all the rain? You think they would care about foot high grass?

Nope, a lot of them would be happy just to have a roof over their heads and a pot to p--- in. Shame on me....:ashamed:

We got 3.5 inches of rain yesterday and I mowed between thunderstorms.
The lawn looks nice no clippings but I have a power flow on my JD and it leaves the lawn clean even if you mow in the rain.:thumbsup:

I am well aware of those unfortinate people, especially Tuscaloosa Alabama which is about 125 miles from me. My immediate area was spared but we had distruction all around. Just last night, 70MPH straight winds and at least 3 inches of rain and the power was off 15 hours. Limbs and twigs all over property, but no major damage:smile:
However--I certanilly feel blessed that we have been spared--so far:thumbsup:

I have been reading this thread since I believe the blades that came in the mulching kit for my country clipper are gator blades. However one comment I will make is, I have never seen a mulching kit for any of the mowers I have purchased not include the baffle! Both my snappers came with a baffle to replace the chute, the country clipper as well. In the case of the country clipper, it has a end cap and a baffle. Below is a picture of my new gator type blade installed.

and here is a picture of the deck, the deck is baffled, however I did not take a picture of the deck with the chute removed and the endcap and baffle in place. The new baffle fills in the circle so to speak on the left side where the chute was and then has an endcap that ties it all together.


the biggest reason I bought this mower was the ability to slide the deck out from under it and make easy blade changes. So far it has exceeded my expectations.

JDgreen said:

My 4210 with 60-inch 7-Iron MMM has always done poorly at chopping grass clippings up, even with very sharp blades. Posted my issue on TBN, and some members there advised me to buy JD Gator blades, or a comparable Oregon blade, telling me clippings would be much finer. Well, after the first 30 mowing hours this year, mostly with wet or damp grass, using a set of sharp OEM JD blades, I removed the OEM set, powerwashed off about 20 pounds of grass build up on the deck, and installed the Gator blades.

Result is...almost no improvement in cutting up dry grass, maybe 10-15% reduction in clipping size....and NO IMPROVEMENT in cutting high and/or wet grass at all. I had hoped to reduce all the raking I have to do of grass clippings, because it takes several hours per week alone to rake everything up. No matter how often I chop up the clippings, they will not break down and leave unsightly windrows all over my lawn.

No matter how high I cut the grass, or if I just do half a deck width at a time, and even running the engine at PTO speed (2600 rpm) while mowing....NO IMPROVEMENT.

Any ideas? Thanks.

Click to expand...

Graze it:wink:

Originally Posted by JDgreen
My 4210 with 60-inch 7-Iron MMM has always done poorly at chopping grass clippings up, even with very sharp blades. Posted my issue on TBN, and some members there advised me to buy JD Gator blades, or a comparable Oregon blade, telling me clippings would be much finer. Well, after the first 30 mowing hours this year, mostly with wet or damp grass, using a set of sharp OEM JD blades, I removed the OEM set, powerwashed off about 20 pounds of grass build up on the deck, and installed the Gator blades.

Result is...almost no improvement in cutting up dry grass, maybe 10-15% reduction in clipping size....and NO IMPROVEMENT in cutting high and/or wet grass at all. I had hoped to reduce all the raking I have to do of grass clippings, because it takes several hours per week alone to rake everything up. No matter how often I chop up the clippings, they will not break down and leave unsightly windrows all over my lawn.

No matter how high I cut the grass, or if I just do half a deck width at a time, and even running the engine at PTO speed (2600 rpm) while mowing....NO IMPROVEMENT.

Any ideas? Thanks."

Meg-Mo Systems - Lawn Mower Blades, Replacement Mower Blades, Sharpen Lawn Mower Blades, Mulch Grass -- Just in case you haven't checked them out yet JD !

Oregon also makes what they call an "Exmark Mulching Blade" that has an upper and lower cutting edge on each blade. They work well, but (I found out the hard way ) they will bend if you hit anything and I have not found out a way to get them bent back straight again. They do come in different sizes so Exmark is not the only machine they will fit.

BKBrown said:

<img src="http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6186"/> they will bend if you hit anything and I have not found out a way to get them bent back straight again. They do come in different sizes so Exmark is not the only machine they will fit.

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Lol yeah any blade will bend if you hit something hard enough. And once it's bent more than 1/4" it's done.

Parkmower said:

Lol yeah any blade will bend if you hit something hard enough. And once it's bent more than 1/4" it's done.

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I know that any blade will bend - The Meg-Mo knives fold back like Bush Hog blades and when I think there might be something that may be in the area I plan to mow I use them, but I was mowing a neighbor's lawn where there are usually no problems and hit a SMALL rock with the Exmark Mulching Blade - it bent enough to score the bottom of my new deck with the corner of the lift section.

Any other blades I have used would probably have nicked and dulled the blade, but not bent it severely like that.