Mower blade sharpening question

How often should I sharpen the blade?
Is it better to sharpen the blade before the very first use?

All feedback is welcome. thanks

james vu

90 Points

Posted 10 months ago

10 months ago

Oregon Mike, Champion

29,520 Points

From the Ego manual - "SHARPING FREQUENCY Sharpening the blade twice during a mowing season is usually sufficient under normal circumstances. Sand causes the blade to dull quickly; if your lawn has sandy soil, more frequent sharpening may be required.". I didn't sharpen mine right out of the box and it cut very well from the very first use. The blade got a few dings in it and it wasn't cutting as well so I sharpened it and the cutting improved. I've since sharpened it a second time, second time in just over a year of ownership. I think you just sort of judge when it needs to be sharpened by how it's cutting, and picking up, the grass. YMMV.

Comment

2 people like this

10 months ago

SCDC, Champion

47,484 Points

Sharpening twice??? That manual needs a good kick in the editors rump. I sharpen after every cut. My blade is completely dull after an hour of use, especially if on damn grass or a lot of leaves. You will see cut quality, and run time diminish rather quickly with a dull blade!

If you read up on this forum, you will see that these blades dull much quicker than a gas mower. They are made to be light in comparison.

Comment

1 person likes this

2017-11-11T22:19:34+00:00

Blue Angel, Champion

158,158 Points

“Damn” grass is definitely the worst grass as far as dulling mower blades goes. I would avoid that grass type at all costs. :-D

2017-11-12T21:31:18+00:00

Dave .

16,306 Points

After an hour of cutting? WOW! I'm a picky dude, and every time I mow it's about 15 minutes worth of mowing. I mow more than once a week. I got the HL blade June 30th. Assuming every 5 days, I've got about 100 hours on that blade. I just checked it earlier today and it is getting to the point where it's MAYBE worth sharpening it.

I have nice grass and don't think I have EVER hit a rock with this mower. The mower is a year and 7 months old.

Apparently, this is a case for YMMV.

(Edited)

10 months ago

(a)Typical Engineer

26,280 Points

Official Response

Yes, you should sharpen it out of the box before the first use. I sharpen every other, or third mowing; but it really does depend on your yard; a yard with more debris, especially rocks will dull a blade faster.

Comment

2 people like this

10 months ago

Blue Angel, Champion

158,158 Points

If you have a large yard and/or sandy soil and/or lots of leaves and debris, you’ll find sharpening more often is beneficial. If you have a small yard like mine, two or three sharpenings per season may suffice.

As others have suggested, a sharp blade makes a big difference in cut quality and mower performance. You’ll be the the judge for sharpening frequency based on how your yard looks after mowing.

Comment

2 people like this

10 months ago

Jacob, Champion

61,284 Points

I sharpened every 2 hours of mowing dry grass and every hour mowing dewy grass

Comment

2 people like this

10 months ago

james vu

90 Points

Thanks for all your responses everyone

Comment

10 months ago

Ken, Champion

48,828 Points

I have a fairly decent-sized yard (7,500 square feet) and sharpen at the beginning of the season, then once or twice during the season. This is for a typical northern grass blend (Kentucky bluegrass and fescue).

If you have one of the denser Southern turf types you may want to sharpen more. But IMO sharpening every other use is excessive unless you're mowing gravel.