blade alloys?

[rdavis1]

Hi All,

We spend quite a bit of time in the "saddle" and change blades about every 30 seconds (seems like). I was wondering if anyone had experimented with different steel alloys for blades?

For example, Hatfield's manganese steel (used in railroad tracks) work hardens. Has anyone tried to make mower blades from this alloy or others of good wear properties? I'm not interested in feeding the consumables market a steady diet of money if I could buy a blade with 3x (or 10x) the life of conventional steel blades.

Thoughts? Ideas?

 

[ILENGINE]

Lawnmower blades are kind of a metal art. Too hard and they are subject to harmony cracking leading to parts of blades that go flying. Too soft and the wear quickly do to the abrasive nature of mowing. Some blades have a Tungsten carbide coating on the bottom of the cutting edge to help resist wear.

 

[MParr]

The blade makers have already figured out what works for them. It's up to the end user to determine what brand works best on their particular machine.