This is the way my father taught me how to sharpen mower blades. I have been doing it the same way for 50+ years. Hand sharpening with a file will extend the life of the blade at least twice as long. One thing i would like to add....if the blade is heavier on one side or the other, take the weight off from the end of the blade to balance it. You won't have to remove much.😉
I never sharpen my blades "razor sharp", the fine edge gets nicked too easy this way. Should be similar to a butter knife edge. I will admit, I found this out the hard way as I would initially sharpen razor sharp. Much more nicks in the blade after the season. Butter knife style, minimal nicks and grass blades are still cut clean! Good luck folks!
@flannelguydiy6458 that's awesome. I really wish I could say the same. I honestly only sharpen my blade at the end of every season, not several times. Between all the landscaping on mine and my neighbors yard and their avocado trees my blade get pretty whooped. Those avocado pits are as bad as rocks!
Good stuff. I use a diamond stone and run it along the blade at a uniform angle. I also wear heavy leather gloves as the blade is VERY sharp after. Easy to slip your hand onto it. Sharp blades give a brillint cut and wont slow down the motor
The files you were using are designed to cut in one direction, opposite of the direction you were using. You were pulling down on the file and should have been pushing upward. When you pull the file across the metal you are trying to remove material from, it doesn't remove anything, it just makes the material shiny, and it helps to dull the file. Unless the file is a "crosscut", it will only cut in one direction, which is pushing the file away from you when holding the handle... Otherwise, it was an informative video for sharpening blades without the use of grinders and the like.
No offense and I’m sure this works because I’ve done it but this is a blade that is in really good shape. One might even say it doesn’t really need sharpening
First, thank you for watching and NO offense taken at all. That is what the comment area is for. One MAY say that blades do not need sharpening, but they would be incorrect. A sharp blade is important for the health of the lawn. Having a clean cut is what the lawn needs. When the blade is dull, the cut is jagged and every top lawn expert will say the same thing. I spent some time at Jonathan Green headquarters last year and the owner of the company shared the same thing with me... the importance of a sharp blade.
Having declared my dissatisfaction with this sharpener last night ru-vid.comUgkxDcr-y2Pf6xdnrFHrSP7dl9kpKaCozcSQ I thought about the problem some more. It occurred to me that I might be undoing each attempt at achieving a sharp edge by the repeated attempts. So, I tried to clean up the unsatisfactory result by honing with only positions 3 and 4.Miracle!! A really nicely sharpened chef's knife, more than enough to handle my needs. Admittedly, it did not reach professionally sharpened razor-fineness, but it is now significantly sharper than it was. A bout of breaking down carrots convinced me. So, major apologies to the manufacturer, Amazon, and all happy and potential owners! Follow the directions: don't buy it if you have ceramic blades; and don't overwork your knife blade.
Sadly, you're using the file "backwards." Every file has a "tang"; you should hold that (preferably with a handle on it) and push from that end. Files have "teeth" (like saws - metal (hack) and wood) that are designed to cut when moved in one direction only.. Your point of not changing the angle of bevel is fine - if the angle you are working to is correct! If your blades have been sharpened before (and by someone else) this may not be the optimum angle.
I have a few files that are different but I use a flat bastard file (no joke, it's on the file 🤣) and a flat smooth one to finish it. Basically just a coarse and a fine file but one is definitely a bastard lol couldn't resist 🤣👊
Make sure to disconnect the spark plug before going near the blade. Also remember to reconnect plug afterward or you'll be pulling like a fool to start. Not that I've ever done that.
When you sharpen a blade like this, a 'burr' of metal extends out and away from the edge of the blade. Make sure to get rid of this by running the file flat along the opposite side of the blade. This might have to be done a few times.
If you want to sharpen with a file, after doing it your way to get the metal exposed, get at the end of the blade and turn the file 90 degrees from the blade. Rotate it to your bevel angle and push across the blade. This will flatten the filed area and sharpen the blade. Pushing the file front to handle is too aggressive! So, 90 degrees, light pressure, control the angle.
Just het a cheap $10 4-1/2" grinder from Harbor Freight and a flap disc. You can sharpen your blades in a matter of minutes wkth a razor edge. Then balance the blades on a plastic blace balancer or on a nail. Files are cangerous if you slip and too time consuming.
You should file the other direction. It rolls less of a burr that way. Also a $15 4 1/2" grinder from Harbor Freight is much quicker and only removes as much metal as you want.
I wish it was that easy. The problem is, you are sharpening a plastic blade from Toys-R-Us. I have a SCAG 30" walk behind. It has two 15 1/4 inch blades, and the cutting edges are not straight and flat. The blade is "gull-wing" shaped, making the task harder. To make it clear, the edge starts off straight, then dips down so that you have to sharpen the blade part that dips down on a slant, and then the edge goes flat again and straight to the end. Do you know what the wing of the WWII Vought F4U Corsair looks like? I had a TORO TIMEMASTER that uses this same kind of blade. Then things get worse. The blade is manufactured where all the metal is not the same throughout. The cutting edge is composed of ultra-hard "tempered steel." I would NEVER use a grinder to sharpen such a blade because it would destroy the temper - due to the white-hot grinding heat. So, I bought the biggest hand file I could find - a massive bastard-type file with a 16-inch blade length. This file requires you to shove a wooden or plastic handle on the end. If you don't, you will tear up your hand. I had good success with this file on my Toro. However, the SCAG steel is SO HARD, you better include a Halo sweatband and a vice as part of your tools. I have never encountered a mower blade as hard as this SCAG blade. It is very difficult to sharpen - but that is a GOOD thing! My yard, including my house, is one acre.
Yeah, the new blades are coated and not sharp. Always sharpen them and clean off the coating. Keep two or three in the rotation to always have a sharp blade ready.
