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forgive me if this is "common knowledge" on one of these sites, but i tried to google for an answer to this and came up empty. i just joined to try and satisfy my curiousity.

ill try to keep this short. i have a 21" craftsman mower, with the star hole, that nobody seems to carry blades for. went to homedepot, lowes, and even sears - no luck, so i just bought a replagement oregon blade online. ANYWAY - my question is this - can i use one of the blades from a twin blade 42" tractor on my 21" mower deck?

while in sears, they had no 21" bades with the star hole, but they did have a twin pack of blades for a 42" tractor. they were basically identical in length (to within 1/8" to the 21" blades that were in stock, but were different "types" of blades so im guessing that would account for any minor difference) . the cutting edge was actually longer on the tractor blades than any of the other single packs, but the shape of the blade was different. where the 3-in-1 mower blades had more of a smooth transition from the "low to high" cutting height, the "premium" tractor blades were kinda "stepped" in height. the tractor blades were advertised as "mulching / discharge" , which would lead me to think thats also a 3-in-1 type blade.. lastly - cutting edge on the tractor blades didnt seem as sharp - so im not sure if thats cause they dont need to be, cause its a much more powerful engine spinning them, or cause they would dull too fast if they were "knife sharp" as opposed to "axe sharp" with all the extra land tractors are used to mow..

i walked out with nothing, and decided to buy something online and have more of a choice..

anyway - just curious. thanks in advance

I tend to be a "let's see if it will work" kinda guy when replacement parts are not available. First off, I can't believe you're having a hard time finding a blade. You must have some really sorry lawn and garden stores in your area. Push mower blades should be plentiful. The star pattern could be different, but then again it may not. That 1/8" difference in length could contact the deck of the mower. The difference in the shape of the blade could put too much load on the engine and it may not have enough power left over to cut the grass. I think you get where I'm going. If those 42" blades look close enough, and the store will let you bring them back as long as they aren't used, then I'd get them and see if they will bolt up. If they do and don't contact the deck as they are rotated, then I'd fire it up and see what happens. Of course I'd do it in as wide open of an area as possible with nobody around.....just in case something happens.

typhoon, Sears is a robber baron with prices. Look on amazon where I priced my 3 pc set of 48" blades at 1/3rd the price. I'll leave the blade configuaration discussion to others.
The 1/8" length problem can be easily solve if you balance your blades. Remove 1/16" each end and rebalance, voila. The cutting edge you have felt on new blades

is a "don't cut the customer's hand grind." Sharpen before usage.

Those blades for the 42" tractor are different from each other because they may rotate opposite from each other. Just my guess.

But if you want the exact replacement, try Sears Parts Direct online, with the model number of the mower(somewhere on the mower body. They don't always have the parts, but I have recently bought belts for my 1954 table saw and drill press.

I am thinking the twin blades for a 42 inch are shorter than a 21 inch. I have used two 21s on a 42 deck

(( racing is the only sport that you need two balls ))

The riding mower blades may or may not work (as outlined above).

I just purchased a pair of replacement blades for my neighbor's Craftsman LT1000 with a 42" deck. I was at Lowe's earlier this week, and it took me almost a half hour of searching through each slot on the shelf in order to finally locate a twin-pack of the correct blades. The other local big box stores are no better (inventory is a poorly-organized mess and you have to search as one would at a surplus or thrift store). And most of our local outdoor power equipment dealers and repair shops have been driven out into the boondocks due to the insanely high commercial lease/rental rates in my urban area. If it's not something that I can stop on my way home from work to get, I'll just order it online. All of our local Sears outlet store/repair centers that used to carry parts have closed as well (the stupidest thing Sears could have done - I used to be able to go down there on Saturday afternoon and get blades, spindles, carb kits, whatever, and it was only a few miles from my house).

And you have to be very careful about saying "star-shaped" blade mounting hole, because there are 5-pointed ones (Craftsman/AYP/HOP) AND 6-pointed ones (MTD) for riders, and different star-shaped ones for walk-behind blades (MTD)! This makes it difficult to order online sometimes when they just say this and don't show an accompanying picture. OR they show the incorrect picture (grrrr), one discovers upon opening the box at home.

redmondjp said:

The riding mower blades may or may not work (as outlined above).

I just purchased a pair of replacement blades for my neighbor's Craftsman LT1000 with a 42" deck. I was at Lowe's earlier this week, and it took me almost a half hour of searching through each slot on the shelf in order to finally locate a twin-pack of the correct blades. The other local big box stores are no better (inventory is a poorly-organized mess and you have to search as one would at a surplus or thrift store). And most of our local outdoor power equipment dealers and repair shops have been driven out into the boondocks due to the insanely high commercial lease/rental rates in my urban area. If it's not something that I can stop on my way home from work to get, I'll just order it online. All of our local Sears outlet store/repair centers that used to carry parts have closed as well (the stupidest thing Sears could have done - I used to be able to go down there on Saturday afternoon and get blades, spindles, carb kits, whatever, and it was only a few miles from my house).

And you have to be very careful about saying "star-shaped" blade mounting hole, because there are 5-pointed ones (Craftsman/AYP/HOP) AND 6-pointed ones (MTD) for riders, and different star-shaped ones for walk-behind blades (MTD)! This makes it difficult to order online sometimes when they just say this and don't show an accompanying picture. OR they show the incorrect picture (grrrr), one discovers upon opening the box at home.

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I'm with you on the Sears Hardware Stores. They were pretty well stocked, the employees were at least somewhat knowlegeable, and they were conveniently located in strip malls. Now, you have to go to the Mall to go to a Sears. That and the quality decline in Sears products have made me divorce myself from them.

Bruce

Brucebotti said:

I'm with you on the Sears Hardware Stores. They were pretty well stocked, the employees were at least somewhat knowlegeable, and they were conveniently located in strip malls. Now, you have to go to the Mall to go to a Sears. That and the quality decline in Sears products have made me divorce myself from them.

Bruce

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Yeah, I don't know about where you live...but Sears stores in the Nashville, TN area are dropping like flies. Sears tried to stay afloat with the K-Mart deal and selling some Craftsman products there but it's not looking good for them from what I'm seeing. That's too bad because I consider Craftsman tools as some of the best bank-for-your-buck around(definitely better quality than Harbor Freight or Northern Tools...which are mostly Made In China products).

The Sears store near here is a remarkably nice store more like a Macy's. Unfortunately, it probably won't last either.

I agree a sad commentary on Sears. I was told long ago that Sears offered one of the best retirement systems and something in the business philosophy has to pay for that . I believe it was high retail prices. In the 60's they dropped their machinist tools (remember, the ones locked behind glass cases?). Then they began to sell the Chinese tools with special paint at twice the Harbor Freight price. A difficult environment. Their "clicker" torque wrench is currently offered to Craftsman Club members at a special sale price of $40. Close look shows that to be a Chinese clicker selling currently at Harbor Freight for much less. Selling me a defective rider does not help their case. I recently bought a refrigerator from them that would not get cold (brand new) , and had to return it. Their 3 pak of 48" blades is about $50 collecting dust there.:shocked:

i never got any alerts about people responding here.. i wound up just buying a gator blade on amazon.. about the difference in the length of the other blades, they would fit, cause i tried holding them onto the bottoms of the decks of mowers on display, and the rotation was also correct. the only real difference between them was the 42" blades had a longer "sharp edge" compared the the 21" , and like i stated the shape of the blade was a little different..

maybe next time ill give it a try, cause your getting a deal if you can buy the 2 as a set... on a separate note the gator blade i bought is awesome.. i really can notice a difference cutting the lawn with it.