Mowers run smoothest when the blade is balanced. However, sharpening sometimes removes more metal from one edge than another. This makes the blade unbalanced. It's important to fix a blade that was imbalanced during sharpening.
Moreover, it is recommended to balance your mower blades after sharpening or replacing them. Balanced blades help prevent excessive vibration, which can lead to uneven cuts and potentially damage your mower. To balance a blade, simply hang it on a nail or blade balancer tool and ensure that it remains level.
An unbalanced blade spinning that fast will cause a significant amount of vibration, which will put stress on yout blade shaft, spindle, and even the engine. So if you want to get the most life out of your mower... keep the blades balanced!
An unbalanced blade can cause excessive vibration, damage to your mower, and an uneven cut.
Run your fan and observe the wobble. Stop the fan and move the clip to the next blade. Repeat this process on all of the fan blades to locate the blade responsible for the wobbling. Once the problem fan blade is identified, slide the clip up or down the edge of the blade to fine tune the balance.
Mower blades should be aggressively sharp, but not as sharp as a razor's edge. You should be able to touch the blade with your hand without getting cut. Contrary to popular belief, a lawn mower blade with a razor sharp edge will not cut grass better.
Mower Blade Height: Get that blade height just right. If it's too high or too low, you'll end up with those pesky strips.
Cutting wet grass can dull the blade more quickly. Clean blades thoroughly before and after mowing a lawn when wet to keep the cut as sharp as possible. Stop and turn off the mower to check your blades as you go along, to clear any clogs that may form on the underside or at the side discharge.
Sharpen a Lawn Mower Blade by Hand: Put on protective eye gear and gloves. You want to be shielded from sparks and metal shavings. Sharpen the edge of the blade using a 10-inch file or grindstone, keeping the file at roughly a 45-degree angle.
Sharpening or replacing the mower blades is also the answer if grass tips look ragged or tattered instead of cleanly cut. Blade vibration also causes an uneven cut. To eliminate vibration, replace unbalanced blades and worn mandrels. Replace a worn blade belt because a worn belt won't spin the blades correctly.
For most effective results, a lawn mower deck should have a pitch, or height difference of 1/8-inch to 1/2-inch between the front of the deck to the back of the deck. Naturally, this makes the sweet spot about 1/4-inch of pitch, depending on the mower model.
When a mower blade is damaged in any way, it goes out of balance. And damaged or imbalanced blades will cause your lawn mowers to vibrate more and run noisily and inefficiently. However, even new, undamaged blades could become unbalanced.
On average, you need to sharpen your mower blades every 20 to 25 hours of mowing. This means that if you mow for an hour each time, you should sharpen after 20 to 25 mows.
The angle of the file can be determined by the existing edge of the mower blade. Only one side needs to be sharpened.
A 12-15-inch long wrench will suffice if you tighten the bolt as tight as you can. Pro tip II: Overtightening the bolt can inflict damage, or cause the blade to break if it hits a hard object while mowing.
Do you need a torque wrench to replace a Lawnmower Blade? No. The blade needs to be secure on the lawnmower so it doesn't need exact tightness. It's fine as long as the blade is secure.
The blades may not have been attached correctly after they have been replaced. In this case, the blades can become unbalanced and cause vibration. It is necessary to balance the blades after they are replaced or sharpened.
If there is an excess of weight applied to the top of the handle assembly, it can cause the front of the mower to subtly lift up. This causes the vacuum made by the blade and motor to decrease, which will mean grass can be left behind.
Mower decks often have an enamel paint coating that helps prevent grass clippings from sticking. But over time, this paint can wear out. You can refresh the coating with other lubricants, like non-stick cooking spray, or use a lawn mower paint available at your local hardware or home improvement store.
Certain manuals make a statement that the mower blades need to be aligned opposite or perpendicular to each other.
The LaserEdge blade is designed to “cut itself sharp” and requires minimal sharpening over its life. The overall life of the blade will vary due to conditions, but its lifespan should be at least as long as a standard blade's. In several of our tests, we found LaserEdge blades had longer lives.
If you're anything like me, you'll be tempted to hone the blades as sharply as you can to ensure that your lawn is level. However, sharpening your lawn mower blades too much could damage your grass.