Mower blades 101

[bikemike]

How are they with the square file grind

 

[srcarr52]

Wow!

I was just texting with @Hedgerow this afternoon and he asked how many were on my '09.

Mine used to be a graveyard mower.

 

[Hedgerow]

Its gonna take me 10 years to put 2k hours on the Spartan.
30 hours and have yet to sharpen the blades.

 

[srcarr52]

Its gonna take me 10 years to put 2k hours on the Spartan.
30 hours and have yet to sharpen the blades.

It will take me years just to put on 100 more hours. It was a good buy at $2500.

 

[RI Chevy]

I have 75 hours on my SCAG walk behind in 2 1/2 years. Lol

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Magnumitis]

Here's the eBay blades out of Georgia. This is the second set I've purchased, but have yet to pull the first set from the mower to see how they're holding up.

 

[RI Chevy]

Here are the Oregon Gator G5 blades I just got. A little thinner and lighter than the G6 blades.

 

[customcutter]

I never liked the Gator blades. They just wouldn't throw the mulch out from under the deck. If it was wet forget about it. If it was dry and overgrown, which happens here in Fl cutting once a week, in heavy St Augustine grass. You were going to re-cut 2-3 times to spread out the clippings. They just didn't have enough lift to do the job. I went through 5-8 sets a year of high lift Rotary's on my 252's and 460 Gravely's. In 11 years I owned 3 252's and 2 460's. Retired now and kept one of the 460's. Love that air ride seat, kept me cutting 5 more years with lower back problems, till I could retire.... Oh I forgot to mention they were propane $1.69/gallon too.

 

[RI Chevy]

What blades do you suggest then for a SCAG walk-behind?
Our grass up here in the northeast is very different than the weed-bladed Zoistra grass like down south.
I haven't really had any issues with the Gator mulching blades. They work well for me.

 

[customcutter]

As you said the grass is very different. Down here in a weeks time the St. Augustine I would cut it at a 5" height and sometimes be cutting 5" or more off. People are anal about their grass. Over fertilizing, over watering, plus we have the summer thunder storms. I always used Rotary high lift blades and paid twice the price for them that my dealer would sell the cheap blades for at his spring and fall clearance sales. I would buy them in the spring and buy the winter time they would be almost worn out so when the dry season started they didn't lift quite as much dirt and dust. I tried the Gators my dealer told me I wouldn't like them. He was right, I should have listened. He would have saved me about $100 for 3 sets of 52" blades. Talk to your dealer he knows what the pros are using and can make an informed decision and help you out.

Down here I would be cutting St. Augustine at one house the next 2 might be Bahia (really rough on blades) and the next house might be Zoysia, my favorite.

I installed fresh blades everyday, worst thing you can do is cut St Augustine with dull blades it tears the grass. Then it's subject to fungus if it rains or gets irrigated early in the evening and sits wet all night. You need a good sharp blade for a smooth cut.

 

[RI Chevy]

Cool. OK. Thanks.