Blade Change Intervals

jekjr

jekjr

Lawn Addict
I know that there are probably as many threads on here on this subject as any other. I also know many people have differing opinions.

We normally see blades run about 6 to 7 hours before they are really not cutting any more.

I bought a new Scag Tiger Cat and it has a little over 7 hours on it now and the cutting edges on new factory blades are pretty much gone and are going to have to be sharpened.

Is this comparable results that any of you are seeing?

Of course they will still cut but the quality of cut is no where near what it should be.

Some of you guys that run hard give me some input on your experiences.
 
How long is a piece of string.
200 hours cutting bench or couch grass will not even take the paint off the edge
2 hours of thich tufting grasses will render the blade blunt and we have not even started talking about stick , stone , sand & gravel.

Once the blades start to loose their edge the wear increases in an exponential rate which is why people who sharpen daily with a diamond hone /oil stone get a lot longer life out of their blades.
Counter intuative I know , remove metal more often and the blade lasts longer but that is how errosion wear goes.
 
jekjr said:
I know that there are probably as many threads on here on this subject as any other. I also know many people have differing opinions. We normally see blades run about 6 to 7 hours before they are really not cutting any more. I bought a new Scag Tiger Cat and it has a little over 7 hours on it now and the cutting edges on new factory blades are pretty much gone and are going to have to be sharpened. Is this comparable results that any of you are seeing? Of course they will still cut but the quality of cut is no where near what it should be. Some of you guys that run hard give me some input on your experiences.
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I sharpen my blades daily. They are just a wear and tear item, so when they need to be replaced I just buy a new set. I would rather buy new blades than try to run a set as long as possible between being sharpened. But to answer your question yes my blades need to be sharpened after about 6-8 hours of use depending on the days conditions to maintain a clean cut appearance.
 
i also run tiger cats with Scag blades most everything up here is blue grass or tall fescue. so we sharpen about every 10-15 hours of run time. the blades seem to be pretty decent and keeping the angle is the most important thing just knock the Knicks out. razor sharp blades will dull in 10 minutes and erode the metal more quickly reducing the blade life significantly faster.
 
I have no specific time frame I sharpen when they need it. When the grass shows signs of tearing instead of having a nice clean cut, it's time to sharpen. If your running multiple mowers blades tend to last a lot longer without sharpening.
 
Ric said:
I have no specific time frame I sharpen when they need it. When the grass shows signs of tearing instead of having a nice clean cut, it's time to sharpen. If your running multiple mowers blades tend to last a lot longer without sharpening.
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I guess that's what I was trying to say, thanks for helping me articulate my end state.
 
TaskForceLawnCare said:
I guess that's what I was trying to say, thanks for helping me articulate my end state.
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How often you should change out blades or sharpen depends a lot on the type of grass you cut and the conditions you're cutting under. The average homeowner should start out the season with a new blade or good set of blades and can get by sharpening half way through the season. The commercial guys can get by sharpening two or three times a season with purchasing the right blades for his mower and most of them are going to buy the good heavy duty blades.
 
I'm surprised how dull a new blade is. All the ones I have seen you can press your finger on it and run it without worry. When I buy them I do sharpen them when new so they are sharp. I am just a residential mower with a push mower. So it might be different for you guys running the fun big machines :wink:
 
OutdoorEnvy said:
I'm surprised how dull a new blade is. All the ones I have seen you can press your finger on it and run it without worry. When I buy them I do sharpen them when new so they are sharp. I am just a residential mower with a push mower. So it might be different for you guys running the fun big machines :wink:
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The blades really are not dull.
They are dipped in a heavy paint.
Why you ask? So that when a person that is careless installs the blade they do not cut them selfs.
They are as sharp as they need to be.
 
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