Have you brought a new lawn mower recently for handling your lawn mowing jobs? At the same time, you’re wondering whether your brand new lawn mower blades need to be sharpened or not? If so, continue reading our article to resolve your query as it is exclusively written for you.
Every other homeowner lookout for ways to keep their yard stay fresh and healthy. In this regard, sharp lawn mower blades play an integral role. Typically, lawn mower blades don’t need to be sharpened, as they come pre-sharpened.
With the help of our article, you can get all your queries resolved regarding the sharpening of lawn mower blades. So without further ado, let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Is it Essential to have Sharp Blades on your Lawn Mower?
Having dull, wear-out blades would result in damaging the yard. Hence, it is essential to have sharp blades for handling your grass cutting needs. Not only that, the dull blades would inadequately affect your yard’s health, and you’ll end up having uneven, unattractive yellowish or brown hues. To protect your yard and to give it a fresh shiny & healthier look. It would be best if you looked out when it is the right time to sharpen your blades.
How to Sharp the Mower’s Blade
Most homeowners seek professional help to sharpen the blades. However, it is not challenging to sharpen your mower’s blade on your own.
Read out the instruction manual that comes along with a lawn mower to get every detail that would assist you in sharpening the blades. Besides, you can search digital versions available online on different websites. Moreover, you can use a grinding wheel to smooth out the edge, if necessary. Be careful to check out the blade is balanced once you’re done.
Tools for Sharpening the Mower’s Blade
You may find a wide variety of sharpening tools available on different platforms for cutting the mower’s blade. Make sure to purchase a blade balancer for your mower. Most of the time, blades fail their balance, resulting in a ragged lawn or shabby yard. Also, shop for personal protective equipment, for instance, safety gloves, sunglasses, and shoes. Plus, purchase some extra blades in case if you need immediate replacement of blades.
Tips to Sharpen a New Lawn Mower Blade
As we discussed earlier, it is not necessary to sharpen the blades after purchasing them. Most of the blades are pre-sharpened at the time of manufacturing. Still, if you’re looking for ways how to sharpen your blade, fret not. We’ll walk you through our step-by-step process that would help you out.
Step # 1: – Take Safety Precautions
Never try to remove the blades when the lawn mower is operational. Always disconnect the sparkplug wire & other power sources from the main switch board in order to avoid any accidental conditions.
Step # 2:- Tipping of a Mower
Always put the air filter facing upwards and tip the mower to the side of a carburetor. In this way, you can prevent oil from entering the combustion chamber once you have adjusted the lawn mower to its side. Mark the lower side of the blade with the use of a pen/paint so that you won’t install the blade in the backward position.
Step # 3: – Removing the Blade
If you’re aiming to remove a blade, use safety gloves to avoid any injuries. When you’re trying to unscrew the bolt with the wrench, make sure to use a piece of wood to hold the blade in its place. Afterwards, take a wrench and unfasten the screws or bolts to remove the blade.
Step # 4: – Sharpen the Blade at a Right Angle
Look out for corrosion on your blade. If you find it, run a metal file alongside the edge of a blade. Your goal must be to sharpen the blade at a right angle, which is 40-45 degrees. Also, you can use a mower’s guide to find out the correct angle.
Step # 5: – Reinstall the Mower’s Blade
Make sure to reinstall the blade correctly where you’ve marked a sign at the time of removing it. Also, use WD-40 lubricant to avoid any premature rusting.
How Sharp a Mower Blade Needs To Be?
The mower’s blade doesn’t require to be sharp like a knife. But, the blade should be free from scratches or grooves and be beveled appropriately. Examine whether the blade faces the mower’s side. Also, make sure that the carburetor and air filter face upwards in order to avoid oil leakage or gas spills.
If you observe any gouges on the mower’s blade, then it’s time to sharpen it. Alternatively, you can also check out whether your blade needs sharpening or not by cutting or mowing the grass. If you get fine healthy cuts rapidly & efficiently, that means the blade is perfectly fine. On the other hand, if you observe rough patches, uneven grass, or ragged edges. It’s high time to say bid adieu to your old blade.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
How often should one sharpen lawn mower blades?
To cut or trim grass quickly and efficiently, one should sharpen the blades once they get dull or old. In extreme cases, one must sharpen the blades every other day. The dull blades would cause damage to your yard and may result in yellowish grass. Hence, it would be best if you sharpened the blades for better maneuverability & faster mowing jobs.
How often should I replace my mower’s blade?
That completely depends upon your blade’s condition. However, we recommend you to change it after every third to the fourth season. If you’re someone having a small flat yard to mow, the blades will last for a longer time. On the flip side, if your lawn has uneven spaces or hilly areas, the blades would wear out quickly.
Can I sharpen my mower’s blade without removing it?
Yes, you can sharpen your mower’s blade without putting it off. But to avoid any unfavorable situations, we recommend removing the blade from a mower and then sharp it to get a perfect cut and balance.
Wrapping Up:
In this article, we’ve made every possible effort to come up with every attention-to-detail that would let you know whether new lawn mower blades need to be sharpened or not. Aside from that, we have also mentioned some quick tips to sharpen the lawn mower blades. Also, we’ve mentioned essential tools that would be helpful to give a new look to the dull blades. Above all, we’ve answered how often and when you should replace or sharpen your blade.
We hope through our article, you have got an answer for one of the challenging questions – do new lawn mower blades need to be sharpened.