How to Sharpen and Balance a Lawnmower Blade 

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You don't need a razor sharp blade for cutting grass. You need a properly angled bevel, no nicks, and good balance. Blades are always going to be dull on the cutting edge after one lawn anyway. The proper angled bevel is what's important.

This is as simple and effective as can be. Very useful information. Thanks.

Helpful video. Worked great on my blades. Thanks for the tips.

You explained things very thoroughly! I've learned alot watching your video! Thank you! Have a Blessed day! 😃🙏🏻❤️🙋‍♂️🕊

this is the best sharpening video that I've seen - thank you

Excellent presentation. Thanks for the clear explanation and excellent video shots.

I used to use an old blade spindle with new bearings to sharpen my blades, but it wasn't sensitive enough. Even with the grease removed from the bearings. So I switched to the Oregon. It works so well that you can end up staring at the blade waiting for it to settle down. And what I really like is the repeatability. If I have a blade that lands at 5:00, and I pull the blade off the balancer and then re-attach it, it will land at 5:00 again. That's a quality built product. Thanks for the video.

I found this video to be one of, if THE most helpful I've seen on YT. Thank you sir for this stellar presentation.

This is a really great video. Watching you get those rock dings out of the blade was oddly satisfying to watch. Thanks so much for sharing with us

First time I have seen any of these channels use the magnetic bearing balancing tool. We used to use one 40 years ago in our shop class. Didn't know anyone was making them commercially. They are worth the investment.

Great video/info/delivery...thank you Canuck!

Hey, this was pretty good. Simple explanations and clear pronunciation. New sub...

Man knows his stuff. Good video.

Great instructional video!

Straight up awesome and In depth explanation

I've tried just about every blade sharpening method. This is the only one with which I can get good, consistent results. It also makes balancing easier.

THANKS very much for a very advanced informative video

This is awesome. I have been looking for a video that Oregon blade balancer worked. I appreciate your time regarding this bit of the video

Excellent demonstration, thanks! New sub.

I use the All American Sharpener model 5005. You get a perfect grind on even the worst beat up blades. Like your videos.

Nice video, very good suggestions.Flapper disk does a real nice job of sharpening blades and balancing is important.

Great video! Thanks for sharing. 👍 😊

Great tutorial Thanks for sharing.

Awesome video brother! I am going to look into getting one of these. Thanks for all of your efforts. Keep it up!

Excellent video. Thank you.

Fantastic video ! thank you my friend ! greetings from Portugal

I have been using an angle grinder for blades for so long I can't remember. Balance has been a problem so I will be buying a balancer though your link. I only wish all RU-vidrs were so well skilled. I can't post anything negative about this one. I did see a comment about the file being used like a saw but since I don't have to buy the file, well you get it. @ 66 years old, I find very little that impresses me but you did it! Good job young man 😊

After reading a lot of reviews on the balancers, and the fact that I like good quality tools, I bought the MAG-1000 balancer, sure I paid more, but it will last longer than I will. The reason I bought that one is I have an electric riding mower, and keeping the blades really balanced is very important since they are mounted directly to the motor, unlike a 30.00 spindle, those motors are more like 300.00, and out-of-balance blades can cause the bearing to wallow out the motor housing. ps, in the MAG-1000 info, it shows how to really balance a blade, by checking horizontal and vertical, yep, just horizontal is fairly good, but having both means it is really balanced. It didn't make sense to me until I used it a bit. What that amounts to, if the hole in the blade was slightly off center, you can balance horizontally, but not vertically, and yes, I have run across blades like that., eash enough to grind a bit off the back of the heavy side and have it perfectly balanced. Sort of like a car tire, if you only balanced it east to west, you could have a bumpy ride. And while the MAG-1000 has a couple of more expensive balancers, like with a carbide taper or one that is much more sensitive to movement, for me, the plain unit works great, but don't mount it at a door as I did, when the wind blows, it will keep the blade moving.

I bought the same balancer and really really like it

Great video bud I’m now subscribed 👍

Oh how's did I miss this one.. great video mate.. I use a flappy disk too.. it does the job just great

Great video

Great video, learned a lot, thanks!

Good video. I have a 2005 42" lawn tractor in the Arizona high desert, so I cut weeds and tumbleweeds as opposed to grass. So far I've used a bench grinder to re-sharpen my blades, and they get pretty beaten up by rocks as well. However, I do have an electric hand grinder and a bench vise, and have decided to use that instead from now on.

I use a grinder. Have done so for years. It may tempet it a bit but uts less involved. No complaints

Flap disc really works best and faster, love the new balance tool Lots of new blades are out of balance also

Nice Vid ! Great Info. ! Thx !

Great video!!!!!!!!!!!

Great information. Thanks for sharing

The Oregon balancer is similar to how we balance airplane props. Super easy to tell if your out.

I have many years with golf course and small engine repairs, I like to square the edge from the bottom first, that way you have a nice clean edge to sharpen.

Thorough description,well done! I use my lawn equipment dealer for mower related service. Right now I have a Stihl 20" RMA 510 battery mower,which I love. The owner's manual says to torque the blade when re-installing it. I don't have a torque wrench. Can't I just turn the bolt till it feels tight? That is all we did with past lawnmower blades.

Amazed at how the grinding wheel sharpens the blade. I noticed that you did not use it on the flat bottom...is there any time where that is necessary? Great video, thanks

Nobody else on YT gives better to-the-point info with zero BS than you do, man. Appreciate all of your content, and I'm looking up that Oregon blade balancer as soon as I am done typing this...... Lol

Interesting video

Great vid, just found your channel. I have a couple different methods that I use to achieve a sharp and balanced mower blade. I sometimes change the edge angle and I will sometimes extend the cutting edge length by creating an edge in the blunt area in the blade.

I'm new to your video's. I'm down here in the lower 48, way down, like South Carolina. Anyway, awesome video. I've been watching your videos and have picked up a few nice tips. Keep up the great service.

Good info!! I've been using the aluminum cone to balance blades but I know what you mean with the different shaped center holes. They don't always fit very good. I'll be looking into getting that Oregon blade balancer!!

I use a grinding disk, they last much longer and cut faster. I grind the cutting edge perpendicular to the back side of the blade to get the notches out, this gives you a flat edge to grind to. I used to grind the cutting edge to balance but that removes more material than is needed to balance. Grind the end of the blade, less material removed is needed to balance, also if you do not have to resharpen the blade every time you check balance.

You can also use a pencil though the hole to balance the blade. Also use a wire wheel on a drill to clean the blade and use a file to sharpen the blade.

Very good video, better than most, eh🍁🍺

Nice video

If blade has serious chips then first grind cutting edge at 90* to the flat, then proceed to grind the proper cutting angle onto the cutting edge. Saves time and gives superior results. Cutting metal at the bevel angle is time consuming and builds a lot of heat. Nice video, quite well done.

Considering getting the Oregon balancer. Just bought a property with over 5 acres and blades go dull after each mowing. I was hoping blades would last a season staying sharp, but I was just beating the grass after the first mowing. Every small engine repair and JD dealership is at least seven weeks behind in service and you have to pay for pickup or buy a trailer to deliver if you want to have anyone sharpen or change blades. Last fall JD charged $300 for p/u and a set of new blades and oil change so I bought an Oregon blade sharpener and just doing the sharpening and maintenance myself.

Supporting with full watch time &👍 Stay well, Joe Z

I have a magna matic 9000 Blade grinder and balancer they are great.

Thanks. Actually I’ve been wondering what the rod that comes with the Oregon doofer was for! Til now.

The real key to lawnmower blades is sharpening them often! The key to that is having your tools and procedures readily available, so that the job doesn't take long.

The Oregon balancer is great, but quite expensive. The cone balancer can be used effectively if run a few layers of masking tape around the cone. You then press in the center blade hole so that it fits square. It maye take a few tries but once done--you are all set. You will never have to do it again. This is far better than a nail in the wall.

I like yer good balancer, the Oregan. T Y sir.

Great presentation!! How much is a blade anyway?

I might buy the balancer this spring

PRO!👍

Before I sharpen a mower blade, I clean the blade first by removing grass and heavy rust and then check for balance and sharpen

Thnx

I have done my balancing just like my father did. He screwed a screw in the bench and put the blade on the screw and it would balance it's self if it was properly ground.

If you're handy with 3D modelling, you could model and 3D print an insert for those odd shaped holes so they fit properly on the balancer.

I've used a belt sander with 50 grit belt to sharpen blades for many years. Far easier to get the edge angle correct and not end up with unwanted nicks and gouges. As for balancing, John Deere recommends hanging the blade from a nail held sideways in a vise. I have a balancing cone, but they don't work well with the JD blades. The nail setup they recommend worked perfect on my D105 with a 42" deck. Page 45 in their D105 - D170 tractors operators manual pdf.

If you dont have the fancy balancers I just suspend the blade with some fine wire or string through the center and use a small 1 " plastic spirit level. Works fine for +/- 15%

awesome in depth video! I got a used 4 1/2" Milwaukie angle grinder, a couple 40 grit flap disc's, & a lil plastic pedastal blade balancer this spring. ALL WORTH IT!! I must have saved myself around $400.00 this mowing season. What are your thoughts on the All American Blade Sharpener? I have been kicking around the idea of investing in one of those, to help hold those perfect angles.

I just welded kitchen knifes to my old blade works mint

Good video, thanks!!

Think i'll be getting one of those Oregon Balancers 😁

I soak my lawnmower blades in a 13 gallon wastepaper basket full of water and the caked on grass dissolves so that the grass can be easily scraped off using a plastic scraper and a hand-held wire brush. You should have mentioned that when you try to balance the blade, you should only remove material from the back side of the blade. Instead of using a $90 to $150 balancer, I use a long slim finishing nail hammered into a 2"x4"...the slimmer the nail, the better. My new Honda blades came with a 25 degree sharpening angle which I measured with my digital angle gauge.

What disc are you using to sharpen?

When balancing an odd blade put a big flat washer on the balancer first then put the blade on top!

Good video and the Oregon balancer is the best. All debris must be removed from the blade the Oregon is that sensitive. We mainly sharpen at 30 degrees and put on a sharp one sided edge which our customers like because they all comment that our blades make their lawns look better than ever before.

Love your video you are very detailed,... how ever the gravity thing is not what pulls the blade down ,. You even had this right that one end is just heaver then the air that surrounds it. Blessings

I use a 10” mill bastard file. Takes about 10 minutes from start to finish.

What is your balancer called Sir? Can you put a link for it please?

The state of that grinding, scrubbing is usually inexperienced users, it is no good you get low and high spots, you need nice clean passes start to end one continuous motion, working polishing stainless steel for years gives you that knowledge, look how uneven your results are it's from s rubbing, start then end at end point no stopping

When balancing could you use the back edge to remove additional material and not touch the already sharpened edge?

If the blade hole is too large to fit securely on the stepped cone balancer, I put a piece of electric tape over the top of the cone and then install the blade. The tape thickness centers the blade.

You could possibly glue a fender washer on the small balancer when trying to balance blade with star cluster !

My son flies more control planes. And we balance our props on a similar system. But after we get the prop this sit horizontal. Then we work on the hub of a prop. With the prop is about to put it at any position 45 degrees up and down whatever and sit there not move. If one side is heavier then we put a bit of weight usually just couple drops of super glue on the lighter side, or sand a little bit of The hub on the heaviside. I've seen engines rip out of their mount cos that props not balance. My son was doing a bit of pylon racing those planes do 300 km an hour. And out of balance prop can destroy your motor.

Save money an put you a over sized washer behind the blade or put over sized washer on first.. then put your blade on. It works

thx for the infos, may is it possible to get a review of your sunglasses ? thx

9:00 the plain fact is that the sharpened blade will have old debris attached to it after even a single use so balancing can do only so much.

Good info. Only needed 3 min

As far as sharping goes and how many times you have to sharpen leads back to lawn care my lawn mower blade I sharpen once a year I have a lawn mower if you don’t pick up sticks you better be good at sharpening ,cause sticks will dull a blade faster than anything .

I have a Honda Commercial Micro Cut Mulching Lawn Mower with two blades. There's no center hole to balance on, just two bolt holes and the bolts attach to the clutch assembly. No one in these parts will touch it and can't balance it.

I see you hold the grinder wheel so it rotates away from the edge. That makes sense. Some people rotate the wheel into the edge.

What I see a lot of people doing is they are mowing their grass so short, I describe is as tilling the lawn. Unless you have grass that was laid down originally from sod, every lawn has small stones and debris in their lawn. I will never understand why people mow their grass less than 2 1/2 inches. Most lawn experts recommend 3 inches or to never cut more than 1 to 1 1/2 inches off your grass when you mow it.

stupid question Shouldn't the balancer be made to the same opening on the BLADE and not ROUND ?

Do you have the Amazon part number of the discs?

I would think you could get the correct size washer and use it as a buffer pad to lay the weird shape hole on. This way the cheap balancer still works. Just saying

This gave my inventors mindset an idea: what about a BALL & pedestal, the ball drilled 3/4 thru. There's your universal fitment! Pedestal would be a long screw thru a piece of plywood for a base. Oregon makes EVERYTHING quality, I use a lot of their stuff.

First time trying to sharpen on some older blades I have. My question is, how do I really know if they are good to go? I know they aren’t supposed to be razor sharp. Just trying to see if I’m doing this right

10:00 You can also use the conical tip of a used Sivester Rocket. Drive a nail into a piece of wood. Pinch off the head and put the tip of the rocket on it, swinging freely. Then you can balance a lawnmower blade very precisely