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Lawn Mower Blade: Has anyone used their WE for this?

Recent Forums Main Forum Techniques and Sharpening Strategies Tips for Specific Knife Grinds and Styles Lawn Mower Blade: Has anyone used their WE for this?

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  • #34065
    Organic
    Participant
    • Topics: 17
    • Replies: 929

    I am curious to know if any of y’all have used your WE system to sharpen a lawn mower blade. If you did, what geometry did you use? How did it work out? I’m guessing that you’d want to stick with a pretty large angle so that you don’t weaken the blade too much.

    #34074
    CliffCurry
    Participant
    • Topics: 42
    • Replies: 461

    Even with a powered belt system lawnmower blades take a long time due to large dings and the sheer bulk of material that needs to be removed.

    One of the first blades I tried to sharpen was a huge butcher knife and I just tried to thin the bevel a bit. I scrubbed for hours n hours and it was a nightmare.  Ended up taking it to a buddy with a tormek.

    Aloha, Cliff

    #34083
    Mark76
    Participant
    • Topics: 179
    • Replies: 2760

    This item has come up before in the past. I don’t know the item anymore, but maybe you can find it back using the search function.

    Molecule Polishing: my blog about sharpening with the Wicked Edge

    #34103
    Montana Edge
    Participant
    • Topics: 0
    • Replies: 62

    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.

    #34110
    Mikedoh
    Moderator
    • Topics: 38
    • Replies: 568

    Ken Buzbee did it sometime ago. Couldn’t find his post. Don’t think he ever reported back on it. Personally, I think it would be a lot of time and stone spent for no discernible improvement in cutting performance.

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