The best bet is to match the factory blade angle to reduce grind time (less grind time/slower grinding/less heat/keep work cool = good thing) Factory blades seem to range from 30 degrees to an incredible 45 degrees. The vast majority of the blades I sharpen (not with the WE) are 30 to 35 degrees. Many mulching blades actually have an irritating variable angle.
I keep my personal triple Kubota zero-turn blades extra sharp for our one acre of KBG lawn – monitoring and sharpening (touch-up) all season long. So I can say that even if you’re only in need of a “touch-up” like me – it would take way too much work on the WE, even with 50 grit paddles. The reality is that most folks don’t sharpen enough, let the blades get ridiculously dull, and then it turns into a major operation grinding them back to life without burning the blade. Also… it is quite easy to get a mower blade too sharp.
The WE just isn’t designed for this type of brutal grinding. Taking our $70 paddles to the mower blade is just a good way to have to prematurely need to buy a new set of paddles. I call those type of projects “diamond-burners”.
but I’ve gotta say… it crossed my mind too! Once a guy get’s a handle on what an excellent system the WE is, the out-of-box thinking starts happening.
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