Let's talk about blade sharpening?

[StarTech]

It is a shame as they could just make them a little better and have a good working machine. They do have a very good grinding disc. Here once I sharpen a saw chain my customers will bring in their chains for me to do as they have tried sharpening themselves and just can't get the knack even with the file guides.

Yes I can for a few dollars more put a new after market chain. When the chains come in really screwed up I install a new chain and rework the old chain into what I call a dirt chain. Then I tell to put it on when they are cutting near the ground as it is now an expendable chain and keep their good chain for above ground work.

I kinda wish the brush cutter blade that I use had not stop making the sharpening guide for them but apparently no one was buying them. Kinda hard to hand file them accurately without it.

 

[Petriw]

But exactly how long does it take you to sharpen the average blade like this?
Obviously a very dull blade is going to take long and one that's not nicked or chewed up or even that dull won't take long at all but how long does the average blade take you?

1/2 an hour. Do it enough and it gets easier. Axe files are quite aggressive.

 

[Blockhead22]

I sharpen mine on a bench grinder and spray them with water from a squeeze bottle to keep them from over heating. I used to balance them on a nail but lately I’ve used one of those aluminum cones. Works for me.

Exactly what I do, works perfectly. Toro Timemaster blades last an entire season, 20 hours/week usage. Sharpen them every month or so…

 

[freedhardwoods]

I sharpen with a bench grinder. Some might call it an antique, but I use it all the time. If the sharp edge is getting too hot you are moving the blade too slowly when making the last couple passes. I balance on a cone I picked up 30 or 40 years ago.

 

[RayMcD]

I'm in the NW Ohio / SE Michigan area. I've had people of all ages bring me their blades, and people of all ages bring me their mowers, so there's no pattern I can discern. For $5 more I offer to remove and reinstall the blade, but the overwhelming majority of people just bring their blades. Almost everyone has some kind of tool set, so getting the blade off isn't a big deal I guess. And maybe they would try to sharpen it themselves... if they had the right tools. I'm a handy guy and have tools, but I don't have any files suitable for sharpening a mower blade, and I didn't own an angle grinder until I was in my 40s. I'm guessing most people just don't have the means to sharpen their own blade. When I was younger I tried one of those grey spaceship-looking stones you put on the end of a drill, but what a joke that thing was. It slowly started making the face of the edge shinier, but I didn't have the entire weekend to spare waiting for it to sharpen the leading edge.

I've seen those garbage container cleaning trucks, and am surprised that something like that could be turned into a business. A cheap electric pressure washer is all you need to keep a container clean, and I guess you don't even need that if you're willing to crawl into it and scrub it out top to bottom. I do mine maybe twice a year, and it looks almost new. Is it "sanitized"? No. I wouldn't eat out of it, but it doesn't have a smell. I can't believe people are willing to pay for a service to have it done monthly. What are they doing, dumping table scraps and animal feces directly into it? All I put in mine are bags of garbage, sticks I find in the yard, etc. I've seen some of the containers in my neighborhood though, and they do look like crime scenes.

Back to mower blades. There's a guy on YouTube who runs a legit lawncare operation, but he's expanding to include mower blade sharpening... nationwide. You mail him your blades at your expense, they sharpen them and ship them back. 1 blade, $35, 2 for $45, 3 for $50, plus shipping. I don't know if the price continues to drop for more blades or not. To me the pricing seems ludicrous, but people are using the service.

Re Edge It

Re Edge It

reedgeit.com

So who else thinks razor sharp is not the way to go ?

 

[StarTech]

Well it will start dulling as soon it hit the grass. Actually dull quicker than a slightly dull edge.

 

[7394]

On our 22" push mower, I sharpen to razor edge, that spins so slow it cuts good & the edge stays pretty good..

Way different than my Z blades.

 

[freedhardwoods]

So who else thinks razor sharp is not the way to go ?

I don't waste time on sharpening. The blade only needs to be sharp enough to cut grass, not shave with. I will spend about 45 seconds on each blade (not each edge). When I'm done, every edge will have a few razor edge spots as well as still having a nick or two. I move the blade back and forth pretty fast across the stone to keep from overheating the edge. If you grind out every nick every time, you are drastically shortening blade life.