How to Sharpen a Power Mower Blades

When you have a power mower for your lawn, you need to make sure that the blade is nice and sharp in order to work properly. This will help when it slices the grass at a high speed. The blades move at a speed of approximately 2,500 revolutions per minute, but if the blades are dull, it doesn’t matter how fast the blades are going. If you keep the blades sharp, it will be easy to see a beautiful lawn and fortunately, it only takes a few minutes to make sure your blades are sharp.

You will need to first drain all of the gas out of your mower if you have a specific type of mower. Then you can turn the mower over to remove the blade itself. Sometimes, you can tip your mower over without worrying about gas leaks, while other models are mandatory. You will definitely have to replace the spark plug temporarily as a safety precaution. If you have a model with an auto-starter, this is especially important. You don’t want the mower to start accidentally and possibly chop off your appendages.

Put the mower on its back and block a piece of wood to prevent the blade from turning. You should put on a pair of gloves and then have an adjustable wrench handy nearby. Make sure it is the right size for your mower.

Take the blade off of the machine and you can clean all of the dirt off of it at this time. Remove the grass build-up from under the machine in the underdeck portion as well since you have the opportunity. You can clamp the blade into a bench vice for easier sharpening. Look at the blade to see if it has any nicks in it from running over anything bigger and sturdier than grass, like rocks. If you have serious nicks, you might have to sand those areas down with a large file. Most of the time, however, a medium or fine metal file will work great with your blade.

You should put oil on the blade of the mower with fine machine oil. Next, take the file in both hands and run it against the edge of the blade in a consistent motion away from your body. If you take care of your file, you will make sure that the angle you are filing is roughly the same all around the blade. If you don’t have this particular skill or want to be perfect, you can find a specially-angled clamp specifically for this purpose.

Don’t let the edge go flat unless you are trying to smooth out a nick in the blade itself. You want to make the edges sharper, not flat.

Apply the same amount of pressure and the same number of strokes from the file throughout the length of the blade’s edge. You want to have the blade look pretty balanced by the end. If your blade is out of balance, it will put a strain on the machine and cause excessive vibration.

         

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