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What are some of the ways you guys go about sharpening blades on your mowers?
I tend to use a fflapper disc on my angle grinder, to me it does a great job. Does it quicker then a file.:biggrin:

Grinding disk on my 4 1/2 in angle grinder....Just touch up the edge taking as little off as possible off...2x year

poncho62 said:

Grinding disk on my 4 1/2 in angle grinder....Just touch up the edge taking as little off as possible off...2x year

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Use to use grinding disc but I have found these flap wheels and they make a real smooth job, you should try one some time.:thumbsup:

Belt sander also is great...
Important thing is don't over heat the metal... it will burn and be gone quickly...
The tips of the blade do the majority of all the cutting so don't loose the shape at the tip cutting edge...
Grinder or file also will get the job done ... just don't get in a hurry... :smile:KennyV

I've been using a bench grinder for years which works OK for me, but it ain't pretty. Then recently I came across this thread about using a 60 grit zirconia flap wheel on a 4.5" angle grinder. Pretty much what bakerg is talking about. There's a photo in that thread which shows a guy's first time results using this method and it looks better than what I've been doing. I blew a double sawbuck on a Harbor Freight angle grinder many moons ago to use with cut-off wheels, so I'm all over it. I also use one of those plastic cone-looking blade balancers to keep things legit.

This will be the first season I actually look forward to blade sharpenings because I just got a Mojack EZ from Tractor Supply Hardware, along with two fancy rubber wheel chocks for the rear wheels. I've been playing around with that Mojack and it's something else. For years I've been jerking around with my floor jack, jackstands, and/or ramps which leave little room to work, but with the Mojack I can easily crank my ZTR up until the rear hitch very nearly touches the garage floor. I'm not big on single use tools, but I'm glad I broke my principles this time because there's enough room under that deck now to play handball, and the mower seems very safe and secure. I believe my grass is going to look EXTRA tasty this spring and summer.

Have ALWAYS used files for sharpening...ALWAYS. Got plenty of time, but not much money to replace blades ruined by a grinder.

JDgreen said:

Have ALWAYS used files for sharpening...ALWAYS. Got plenty of time, but not much money to replace blades ruined by a grinder.

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You are a far more patient (not to mention industrious) man than I. :smile: I've never ruined a blade with my bench grinder shape-wise or temper-wise and they always cut well, they just don't win beauty contests.

Jetblast said:

You are a far more patient (not to mention industrious) man than I. :smile: I've never ruined a blade with my bench grinder shape-wise or temper-wise and they always cut well, they just don't win beauty contests.

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Retired guys have plenty of time to waste...but not money.

JDgreen said:

Retired guys have plenty of time to waste...but not money.

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Ditto. If I'd known retirement would be this enjoyable I wouldn't have minded working so much.

I always liked using a file. Have better control of how much to take off and where to take it off from.

Angle grinder here, as stated before, be careful not to "burn" the blade. And check the balance when done.

I'm re-tired too (couldn't get this tired in one shot:laughing. Have the tools, but usually seem to be out of time! :biggrin: I keep plenty to do, just don't get in any big hurry about doing it. ~~ grnspot

Jetblast said:

Ditto. If I'd known retirement would be this enjoyable I wouldn't have minded working so much.

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I think I may be the opposite...I really liked my job and the majority of the people I worked with and was very good at what I did, but had I known how much I would have enjoyed retirement I probably would have begrudged having to work as long as I did...

JDgreen said:

Have ALWAYS used files for sharpening...ALWAYS.

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Wow, your blades must be really soft...I can't even scratch the surface of mine with a file??

For the price, I typically only sharpen them (with a 4.5" grinder) a few times...$35/season is fairly inexpensive for new blades.

steved said:

Wow, your blades must be really soft...I can't even scratch the surface of mine with a file??

For the price, I typically only sharpen them (with a 4.5" grinder) a few times...$35/season is fairly inexpensive for new blades.

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My Land Pride grooming mower has blades so hard, that a file will not touch them... for those a grinding wheel is a must...
I can run John Deere blades on my smaller 72 inch ZTR deck... those are a bit softer and can be sharpened with a file, but those are the ones I have started using a belt sander on... they also need more sharpening during a season... but then they are easier to sharpen so I guess it is a trade off... :smile:KennyV