Friday 19 June 2009

Sharpen your rotary lawnmower blades



This is so easy, because all you need is a metal file, as in the images.

if you don't possess one the the local DIY shop, or car boot/garage sale should supply one. It should not so be fine that you could use it as a nail file and not so course that it looks like a mountain range.

the blade is effectivly a knife, and has a flat(ish) edge that is grass side down and an angled edge that is above.

With the lawnmower on its side, petrol tank to the top, and your file approximately matching the angle of the angled section in one hand, as in the top image, while holding the mower blade still in the other (so it does't turn) file the upper edge of the mower blade untill the sharp edge is restored. Next, as in the lower image, file the lower flat edge so to remove any metal edges that have been pushed below the blade by stones etc and restore the profile.

The blade does not need to be so sharp that you could cut yourself on it and don't worry about minor imperfections in the edge, just removing most of any damage and restoring the edges will be OK and make quite a difference to the cut. So very
much cheaper than sending the mower away for the blade to be sharpened or fitting a new part.

2 comments:

Scrappy quilter said...

Great tip!! Thanks for sharing how to do that.

Margaret's Ramblings said...

I bought a file at the carboot last week Peter to sharpen my spade, now I have another use for it, thank you.

Margaret