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Hi All!

My first post to this forum.

Don't know if the answer to this question varies based on push vs. riding mower or by brand of mower but here goes. I have a Murray 38" riding mower that I purchased in approx. 2004 (model 387002x92A). It has been a good mower for the most part but currently the blades do not cut well (misses some altogether while not cutting level/even). I will admit that they are in need of a good sharpening, and I have sharpened them a couple times already. That said, I am ready to get new blades and I was looking for some advice on what brand, style, etc. to get.

Does it make much difference in which blade you get? Should I stick with OEM blades? I do not bag the clippings so is there a certain type that works better for that?

I am price conscious but am looking for a good performing and hopefully long lasting blade set.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

WELCOME to these Forums...

Look up the proper Oregon gator blade at this site: OREGON® Replacement Lawnmower Blade Search

If there is a option for fusion edge... They will stay sharp Much Longer, But use care to Not grind off the Fusion edge if you ever resharpen the blades... :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

WELCOME to these Forums...

Look up the proper Oregon gator blade at this site: OREGONｮ Replacement Lawnmower Blade Search

If there is a option for fusion edge... They will stay sharp Much Longer, But use care to Not grind off the Fusion edge if you ever resharpen the blades... :smile:KennyV

Click to expand...

How do you sharpen them? I called Oregon Tech Support and they said the Tungston Carbide is imbedded in the blade edge and you can't sharpen them with conventional files or grinding wheels.

Also, on a similar post asking about which is the best Oregon Blade, there seemed to be some question about how well these blades would work if the RPMs were not high enough. Any way to find the RPM's on my mower or would any riding mower spin fast enough.

Thanks!

RZT said:

How do you sharpen them? I called Oregon Tech Support and they said the Tungston Carbide is imbedded in the blade edge and you can't sharpen them with conventional files or grinding wheels.

Also, on a similar post asking about which is the best Oregon Blade, there seemed to be some question about how well these blades would work if the RPMs were not high enough. Any way to find the RPM's on my mower or would any riding mower spin fast enough.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Try this thread it pretty well explains every thing you need to know about the gator blades you are talking about and how they work.

http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/general-mower-discussion/18538-what-best-gator-blade.html

RZT said:

How do you sharpen them? I called Oregon Tech Support and they said the Tungston Carbide is imbedded in the blade edge and you can't sharpen them with conventional files or grinding wheels.

Also, on a similar post asking about which is the best Oregon Blade, there seemed to be some question about how well these blades would work if the RPMs were not high enough. Any way to find the RPM's on my mower or would any riding mower spin fast enough.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

I use a belt sander or sanding disk... You can sharpen them, you just do not want to Grind them away with a grinding wheel.
Get a set, they are only a few $ higher than regular 3in1's, they hold their edge great and they will cut at about Any mower rpm... the cut quality and performance is More dependent on the deck design than the blade design. High blade speed is nice but try them yourself... :smile:KennyV

RZT said:

How do you sharpen them? I called Oregon Tech Support and they said the Tungston Carbide is imbedded in the blade edge and you can't sharpen them with conventional files or grinding wheels.

Also, on a similar post asking about which is the best Oregon Blade, there seemed to be some question about how well these blades would work if the RPMs were not high enough. Any way to find the RPM's on my mower or would any riding mower spin fast enough.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Gator Blades are all high carbon 10B38 steels. [FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][SIZE=-1] The cutting edges are carbide milled for a super sharp edge. [/SIZE][/FONT]The blades will work best at or with a Blade Tip Speed of between 18 and 19000 FPM, that's how they were designed to work. The higher BTS allows the grass to be passed in front of the cutting edge of the blade 4 to 5 times before discharge which crates finer pieces which in turn crates less clippings. If your mower can't crate the BTS needed as Carscw said on the other thread you'll end up with clumping grass and most likely a plugged deck. As far as the Fusion blades go, I personally will buy the 3 in1 over those because at twice the cost of the 3 in1 blades for my mowers there not worth the price. As far as sharpening my blades I use a hand held grinder and a sanding disk and it works real well and only takes minutes to sharpen a set.



[FONT=Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]quality[/FONT]

After reading this thread, I have two questions:
1. If I went with the Gator style blade for my Toro MX5060, would I get any benefit without fitting the mulching kit?
2. How do you determine which blade to order? I couldn't find a cross reference chart. Or, do you have to take the blade off, measure it, and match that up with the blade specs for the Gator blade?

Sorry, I guess that was really three questions....:smile:
Thanks,
Bruce

Brucebotti said:

After reading this thread, I have two questions:
1. If I went with the Gator style blade for my Toro MX5060, would I get any benefit without fitting the mulching kit?
2. How do you determine which blade to order? I couldn't find a cross reference chart. Or, do you have to take the blade off, measure it, and match that up with the blade specs for the Gator blade?

Sorry, I guess that was really three questions....:smile:
Thanks,
Bruce

Click to expand...

With the MX 5060 you shouldn't need a mulching kit and if you go to a dealer that sells Toro he should have blades on hand, should be about $50 for a set. My CC runs the same cost for a set of the Oregon Gator blades.

Ric said:

With the MX 5060 you shouldn't need a mulching kit and if you go to a dealer that sells Toro he should have blades on hand, should be about $50 for a set. My CC runs the same cost for a set of the Oregon Gator blades.

Click to expand...

Thanks Ric! I didn't even think of the dealer. That way there is a much less chance of getting the wrong blade, and if it was wrong, it would be easier to rectify.
Bruce