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I have been running Oregon G5 Gator blades #596-808 and have 3 sets I rotate thru.

Contacted Oregon and these are no longer made and they had no recommended replacements?
Any suggestions?

Blade says 18.5" long with a .630" center hole.
Goes on my SD54 mower.
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clubairth said:

I have been running Oregon G5 Gator blades #596-808 and have 3 sets I rotate thru.

Contacted Oregon and these are no longer made and they had no recommended replacements?
Any suggestions?

Blade says 18.5" long with a .630" center hole.
Goes on my SD54 mower.
.
.
.

Click to expand...

It is my understanding that Hustler has contracted to Oregon to OEM all the hustler blades, and as part of that they no longer offer fitment directly.

I have two sets I rotate between, and am considering options. I really like the carbide sputtered edge on them, it really holds up. At the GIE show I examined the laser-edge blades pretty closely. They are the same concept, but have a much thicker carbide layer applied, and just a single lift wing, no shredding teeth. Laser-edge #606990 will fit the 54" perfectly.

WOW!
Over $100 for 3 blades. I guess things have really changed?
I paid about $95 for 9 of the #596-808 blades about 1 1/2 years ago.
Glad these have the hardened insert for longer life.

Really interesting the self sharpening blades from LaserEdge.
Of course at $44 per blade I will need to think longer!

Looks like I will sharpen my G5 blades until they are gone.
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clubairth said:

WOW!
Over $100 for 3 blades. I guess things have really changed?
I paid about $95 for 9 of the #596-808 blades about 1 1/2 years ago.
Glad these have the hardened insert for longer life.

Really interesting the self sharpening blades from LaserEdge.
Of course at $44 per blade I will need to think longer!

Looks like I will sharpen my G5 blades until they are gone.
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.
.

Click to expand...

I paid similar in 2014 for my 6 G5's. The Laser self sharpening ability/effect is the same as the G5's.

I've also run into the same issue. In fact, it seems Oregon has stopped producing the G6 and even just the high lift blades for this deck. Hard to believe since it seems so popular. Would be interested if anyone finds a reasonable source.

Was digging around a little and came across a couple possible options - but not sure they would work. Oregon makes 596-344 and 596-704 G5 Blades. From what I can tell, they are nearly identical except they are 17 7/8" and 18" long vs. 18.5" long. Everything else specs out the same from what I can see. The 596-344 is the cheaper of the two.

Would the length difference make a difference or is there enough blade overlap? Just a thought...

54" Gator G5 for Hustler Blade https://www.oregonproducts.com/en/gator®-g5™-blade,-18"/p/596-808
52" Gator G5 for Hustler Blade https://www.oregonproducts.com/en/mulching-blade,-gator®-g5™,-17-7-8"/p/596-704
52" Gator G5 for Other Brand Blade https://www.oregonproducts.com/en/gator®-g5™-blade,-18"/p/596-344

Your link for the 596-808 blades shows as NLA?
Also the 596-704 is NLA.
Now that last one looks like it might work? 596-344 is 18" and about $21 each.

Has anybody run the Oregon 596-344 on a 54" Raptor SD?
I can get these for around $11 each in quantities of 10 on EBay.
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clubairth said:

WOW!
Over $100 for 3 blades. I guess things have really changed?
I paid about $95 for 9 of the #596-808 blades about 1 1/2 years ago.
Glad these have the hardened insert for longer life.

Really interesting the self sharpening blades from LaserEdge.
Of course at $44 per blade I will need to think longer!

Looks like I will sharpen my G5 blades until they are gone.
.
.
.

Click to expand...

In my experience the air foil on the G5 and G6 blades fails before the edge portion wears out.