Lawn Mower Blade Sharpener

[77thor]

Does anyone know of a good Lawn Mower Blade Sharpener tool?
There seems to be a lot of them for sale on Amazon, but I wonder how well they really work.

In the past, I've removed the blade and ran them through a table-top grinder.
But I'm probably not putting a great edge on them.

 

[n8n]

I just use my angle grinder and balance the blade on one of those little cone things. You can even use a screwdriver shank in a pinch.

 

[JeepYJ]

Authentic All American Lawn Mower Blade Sharpener Made in the USA

We invented what has become THE MOST POPULAR and HIGHLY RATED LAWN MOWER BLADE SHARPENER! Our products are made in the USA and built to last, with a lifetime warranty. We also provide video tutorials about the best way to use our jigs to sharpen your blades.

www.allamericansharpener.com

 

[bluedog225]

Angle grinder with grinder or flap disc.

Don’t forget to disconnect the spark plug (or the battery)

 

[neophyte]

I don’t need to mow so no personal experience, but Project Farm did a video or two on the subject.

 

[vavet]

How much do you want to spend? I’ve seen you can spend less than $10 to several hundred dollars. The upper end is probably more suited to shops selling it as a service or a large grounds maintenance company.
If you have a local company who does it, that’s probably your best bet rather than buying equipment and learning how to use it.
project farm did a video on it.

 

[Steve_P]

4.5" angle grinder and a flap wheel is the way to go. A lot of the new mulching mowers have very odd shaped blades with a large step in them, and they're sharpened on both "levels". You aren't going to sharpen weird contours with anything but an angle grinder and flap wheel.
I worked in a small engine shop that had a huge wet stone, probably 48" dia X 2" wide, so I know the angle grinder isn't the "best". But it's really all you need, and I'm guessing you already have one.

I have a cheap cone shaped balancer that I bought at Ace Hardware. Yes, again, not the best, we had the fancy magnetic one at the shop, but for home, this is fine.

 

[DerekV]

Angle grinder + flap disc + nail in the wall/workbench for balancing + 1 minute of your time = all you need

Before I finished building my reel mower, this is how I maintained a razor sharp blade on my rotary mower before every mow (2x/week) with low cut turf. It is definitely much less of a PITA with an electric mower since it’s so easy to prop it up to zip the blade off being that there’s no fuel spilling to be mindful of.

Where I’m going with this is, you don’t need anything fancy or ultra precise to get a proper sharp mower blade that delivers excellent results (for a rotary mower). And you definitely don’t need to be a nut and sharpen it for every mow, 2x/season is probably fine for most people. Just follow the existing angle with a few passes until it feels sharp (scientific, I know), repeat on the other side accordingly, hang it on the nail to see if it’s visually level (i.e. pretty good is good enough), and go from there.

Remember: 1) a blade tuned up this way without expensive/precision gear is a 1000x better than a dull factory edge blade, and 2) replacements do exist and they’re relatively cheap — you don’t have a whole heck of a lot to lose…

…oh and 3) it’s just grass Don’t sweat it. Good luck

 

[nafterclifen]

Authentic All American Lawn Mower Blade Sharpener Made in the USA

We invented what has become THE MOST POPULAR and HIGHLY RATED LAWN MOWER BLADE SHARPENER! Our products are made in the USA and built to last, with a lifetime warranty. We also provide video tutorials about the best way to use our jigs to sharpen your blades.

www.allamericansharpener.com

+1 for the 'All American Sharpener'. Been using it for a few years now and it works great. Paired with this balancer (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ESSOCY/?tag=atomicindus08-20), my machines run super smooth.

 

[308guru]

This:

 

[ricleh]

+1 for the 'All American Sharpener'. Been using it for a few years now and it works great. Paired with this balancer (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ESSOCY/?tag=atomicindus08-20), my machines run super smooth.

This is the setup I have been using for several years. It works very well.

 

[PMD1966]

This:

My choice also. Removes less metal. Just enough to sharpen the blade.

 

[RTM]

I didn't want to seem like the heretic suggesting a file, but I used a Nicholson Handy file once or twice a year, took it to the mower shop every 5 years for a once over check, where he gave the blade a touch.

If you routinely run over rocks and branches, you may need more attention, but mine just did the lawn and leaves and an occasional tennis ball for 20 years. Toro mulching mower, bought in the mid 90s.

 

[scooby074]

I made a copy of the All American. It works great. Solid design IMHO

 

[paulsomlo]

I use a belt grinder

 

[Wyoming09]

Another +1 for the flap disk on an angle grinder. Hang it on a nail in a block of wood to check balance. Been doing it this way for years.

 

[Meursault74]

Nice subject. I've just recently started mowing my own lawn. Haven't used it enough for it to need sharpening.

I have one of these that I've used to sharpen my garden shears and pruners.

AccuSharp 4-in-1 Matte Tungsten Carbide Multi-Function Sharpening Tool Mfr# 029C - Ace Hardware

The AccuSharp® 4-in-1 Knife and Tool Sharpener combines every sharpening necessity into one pocket-sized unit. Featuring coarse tungsten carbide sharpening blades and fine ceramic rods, the unit also comes with a retractable diamond-tapered rod used for deep serrations. * * The rod also has a...

www.acehardware.com

I also have various files and an angle grinder. Also have a wet stone, but that I'll save for my wood chisels.

My first inclination would be to try the sharpener I pictured. I'm used to sharpening implements without power tools. Anyone use one of those?

 

[paulsomlo]

Nice subject. I've just recently started mowing my own lawn. Haven't used it enough for it to need sharpening.

I have one of these that I've used to sharpen my garden shears and pruners.

AccuSharp 4-in-1 Matte Tungsten Carbide Multi-Function Sharpening Tool Mfr# 029C - Ace Hardware

The AccuSharp® 4-in-1 Knife and Tool Sharpener combines every sharpening necessity into one pocket-sized unit. Featuring coarse tungsten carbide sharpening blades and fine ceramic rods, the unit also comes with a retractable diamond-tapered rod used for deep serrations. * * The rod also has a...

www.acehardware.com

I also have various files and an angle grinder. Also have a wet stone, but that I'll save for my wood chisels.

My first inclination would be to try the sharpener I pictured. I'm used to sharpening implements without power tools. Anyone use one of those?

I think that would take a long time to sharpen a mower blade.

 

[WWheeler]

I made a copy of the All American. It works great. Solid design IMHO

Please excuse me, but I'm from Missouri

 

[scooby074]

Please excuse me, but I'm from Missouri

Not the best pictures, but here ya go

 

[dchawk81]

Blades are cheap enough to just replace them if you can't get enough out of an angle grinder with a flap disk.

 

[Blueshound_GJ]

This:

I use a file too. Faster and quieter than digging out the power tools.

 

[BillK]

I touch it up on the mower with a file every couple of weeks and if it gets too bad the bench grinder will take care of it.

 

[four.cycle]

Bench grinder. Coarse side first, then fine. Sometimes I'll dress them up with a file too.
Balance by pounding a large nail in a post or a wall. When the blade hangs straight, it's balanced.
It's a lawnmower, not a quarter-miler.

 

[WWheeler]

[...] Hang it on a nail in a block of wood to check balance. Been doing it this way for years.

[...] Balance by pounding a large nail in a post or a wall. When the blade hangs straight, it's balanced.
It's a lawnmower, not a quarter-miler.

Neither a nail, nor the little stepped cone style balancers, will work very well if at all with blades with the offset star, triangle, bowtie, etc spindle holes. The only balancer that I've found that works for all mower blades is the kind with the series of magnets surrounding a smooth cone.

 

[paulsomlo]

I've never balanced a blade through 27 years of sharpening (same mower all 27).

 

[jonshonda]

Most my mower blades have some sort of debris/grass build up I like to remove with a cup brush or wire wheel. Then I it the blade with a flap disc, and if I'm feeling really randy I will fine tune with hand file.

 

[n8n]

I use a file too. Faster and quieter than digging out the power tools.

You must have a very clean yard. My blades get too beat to heck even after 1-2 cuts so that a file takes way too long.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

An angle grinder or die grinder should work well. Though I find it easily just to take them off and run them through the bench grinder quick.

 

[Blueshound_GJ]

You must have a very clean yard. My blades get too beat to heck even after 1-2 cuts so that a file takes way too long.

Not really, I have a lot of sticks that get chewed up and the occasional rock. With the blade in a vise, sharp file, takes maybe 5 to 10 strokes per edge. I don't go for perfect. I also just have a walk behind though, and it's electric and very easy to remove and install the blade. If I had a ride on with two or three blades I might be crawling around under there with a flap wheel too!

 

[engineer2]

I use my bench grinder and have a cone balancer to check it.

 

[RickyPetite]

All American for me. Super quick with impressive results.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Angle grinder, cone balancer. Close counts, it's not a Saturn V.

 

[jonesg]

i never sharpen them, they get used the way they come ( not sharp at all), no problem cutting grass.
a lawnmower blade sharpener, for me, would be as useful as an elec dog polisher.

 

[Maui]

I just clamp them in a bench vise and use a hand file. Sharpens them in no time at all.

 

[shoot summ]

Another vote for an angle grinder with a flap wheel, I will occasionally throw it on a screw driver and see if one end is heavier and adjust if needed. I admire all of the efforts I see on this thread to sharpen them, for me it isn't anything that requires accuracy, just make it sharp enough to cut grass, not tear it.

 

[four.cycle]

"...it isn't anything that requires accuracy, just make it sharp enough to cut grass, not tear it...."

Well.... there is some degree of "accuracy" required if you want to get the longest life out of the power plant on the mower. A blade running out-of-balance will ultimately cause premature engine failure - although it may not manifest itself until long after you've relinquished ownership of the mower

That said, I've yet to encounter a walk-behind mower that had a blade on it that I couldn't balance on the nail that's pounded into the back wall of my house. That's 25+ years in this house. Prior to that, I never bothered "balancing" them.

A sharper blade will make a cleaner cut on the grass, which is "healthier" for the grass itself. Tearing off the end of the grass blade can make the grass more susceptible to fungal infections.
In the real world, nobody is paying any attention to whether or not your lawn has fungus growing in it, but a sharper blade gets closer to that "golf course" look if that's what you're after.

 

[dchawk81]

Another vote for an angle grinder with a flap wheel, I will occasionally throw it on a screw driver and see if one end is heavier and adjust if needed. I admire all of the efforts I see on this thread to sharpen them, for me it isn't anything that requires accuracy, just make it sharp enough to cut grass, not tear it.

Yeah keep in mind what brand new ones look like. They aren't exactly Chef's knives.

 

[dchawk81]

Well.... there is some degree of "accuracy" required if you want to get the longest life out of the power plant on the mower. A blade running out-of-balance will ultimately cause premature engine failure - although it may not manifest itself until long after you've relinquished ownership of the mower

That said, I've yet to encounter a walk-behind mower that had a blade on it that I couldn't balance on the nail that's pounded into the back wall of my house. That's 25+ years in this house. Prior to that, I never bothered "balancing" them.

A sharper blade will make a cleaner cut on the grass, which is "healthier" for the grass itself. Tearing off the end of the grass blade can make the grass more susceptible to fungal infections.
In the real world, nobody is paying any attention to whether or not your lawn has fungus growing in it, but a sharper blade gets closer to that "golf course" look if that's what you're after.

Unless it's a push mower, I'd think the spindles would burn out before the engine ever would.

 

[rsanter]

Rough it with the hand grinder.
Sharpen with a belt grinder
Balance on a round pin