Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

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southern-ct-4
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Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by southern-ct-4 » May 24th, 2019, 4:52 pm

While I know it's not difficult, I'm a worry-wort and figure I'll brake something/not put it back correctly... but I may take the deck of my x300 and attempt to sharpen the blades myself.

If I do, what do you recommend I use to sharpen them? I do have a WEN rotary tool (like a dremel) so I assume there's a particular attachment I could use? Or is it better to just do it by hand with a file of some sort?

Thanks for any suggestions (and if possibly, please point me to specific items on Amazon or HD so I know I'm getting the right thing).

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by HoosierDaddy » May 28th, 2019, 2:45 pm


southern-ct-4
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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by southern-ct-4 » May 28th, 2019, 2:53 pm

Thanks! I actually added that to my cart yesterday :)

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by Gilley23 » December 15th, 2019, 10:22 pm

An angle grinder and a flap disc work great, plus it has a gazillion other uses.

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by flyin-lowe » April 15th, 2020, 8:47 am

Curios, if you ended up getting anything? I am thinking about sharpening my own instead of having someone else do it.


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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by BIGDADDY13 » May 28th, 2020, 3:49 pm

Angle grinder and a flap disc. So fast and leaves a perfect finish every time. I use an 80 grit and preferably on with a grinding aid for stainless steel. They tend to dissipate heat generated from grinding very effectively.

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by schreibdave » June 19th, 2020, 6:05 am

I use a Dremel with a metal grinding bit. In the time it takes to drive the blades somewhere for someone else to do, you can be done with it. And I would think the tool would pay for itself after a few uses. It also has a million other uses. I am sort of a collector of tools and my 25 year old dremel gets more use than any power tool I own.

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by napper » August 12th, 2020, 3:51 pm

I use the AllAmericanSharpener Model 5005.

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by Hammbone81 » October 5th, 2020, 7:54 pm

I use a bench vise and a hand file! I sharpen my blade about once a month (~8-10hrs of mow time), so it's not too tough to do.

I have two blades, always keep one sharp so I can swap and go, then come back later to sharpen the dull one.

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by edslawn » October 6th, 2020, 6:37 pm

Gilley23 wrote:
December 15th, 2019, 10:22 pm
An angle grinder and a flap disc work great, plus it has a gazillion other uses.
I second this and I'd also recommend a lift and impact wrench, if you have a tractor. I'm getting older and pulling the deck and fighting with getting blades off is too much. I now lift the front and pull the three blades in about a minute flat. Mount in a vise and grind 'em sharp.

Lift. https://www.harborfreight.com/300-lb-at ... 61523.html

Impact. https://www.harborfreight.com/7-amp-cor ... 61173.html

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by agn015 » October 6th, 2020, 8:48 pm

edslawn wrote:
October 6th, 2020, 6:37 pm
Gilley23 wrote:
December 15th, 2019, 10:22 pm
An angle grinder and a flap disc work great, plus it has a gazillion other uses.
I second this and I'd also recommend a lift and impact wrench, if you have a tractor. I'm getting older and pulling the deck and fighting with getting blades off is too much. I now lift the front and pull the three blades in about a minute flat. Mount in a vise and grind 'em sharp.

Lift. https://www.harborfreight.com/300-lb-at ... 61523.html

Impact. https://www.harborfreight.com/7-amp-cor ... 61173.html
Love harbor freight!

I use their $9.99 corded drill master angle grinder (with coupon from hfqpdb.com) and flap discs to sharpen my timemaster blades. You can’t beat that.

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by southern-ct-4 » October 7th, 2020, 8:10 am

Thanks everybody. I'll take a look at these great suggestions.

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by edslawn » October 10th, 2020, 11:01 am

Gilley23 wrote:
December 15th, 2019, 10:22 pm
An angle grinder and a flap disc work great, plus it has a gazillion other uses.
Thanks for this tip! I had a bench grinder to speed up sharpening, but the stone isn't very delicate with the finish. I also tend to beat up blades pretty badly with my various yard debris and especially when I'm in the wooded areas. I like the bench grinder for bigger dents and dings, but the angle grinder with the flap disc is a great addition to put a nice sharp finish on it (especially on the curves of mulching blades). I was out on Thurs to cut and mulch leaves and the tractor pulverized everything with the sharp blades!

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by MorpheusPA » October 10th, 2020, 8:28 pm

Call me old-fashioned (pocket watch, fountain pen, it's valid), but I use a mill bastard file. US made.

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by edslawn » October 10th, 2020, 10:22 pm

MorpheusPA wrote:
October 10th, 2020, 8:28 pm
Call me old-fashioned (pocket watch, fountain pen, it's valid), but I use a mill bastard file. US made.
I'm old and lazy. Hey, maybe you can sharpen my blades with your mill bastard :good:

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by MorpheusPA » October 11th, 2020, 12:21 am

I'm old and trying to stay in shape. That's why I use mostly manual tools. :-)

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by Hammbone81 » October 15th, 2020, 10:29 pm

MorpheusPA wrote:
October 10th, 2020, 8:28 pm
Call me old-fashioned (pocket watch, fountain pen, it's valid), but I use a mill bastard file. US made.
:good: That's what I do. Keeps the heat out of the steel too. Even when I had a big lawn and a zero turn, this is how I did it.

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by MorpheusPA » October 15th, 2020, 11:05 pm

Hammbone81 wrote:
October 15th, 2020, 10:29 pm
:good: That's what I do. Keeps the heat out of the steel too. Even when I had a big lawn and a zero turn, this is how I did it.
And they laugh at us. Sure, you have more work to get it in place to work with. Sure, it's a little harder to do. And yes, lining it up and getting the filing right is sometimes not the simplest.

I did mine this evening and it took me twenty whole minutes. Fill mower, test, works like a charm.

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by Hammbone81 » October 16th, 2020, 8:17 am

MorpheusPA wrote:
October 15th, 2020, 11:05 pm
Hammbone81 wrote:
October 15th, 2020, 10:29 pm
:good: That's what I do. Keeps the heat out of the steel too. Even when I had a big lawn and a zero turn, this is how I did it.
And they laugh at us. Sure, you have more work to get it in place to work with. Sure, it's a little harder to do. And yes, lining it up and getting the filing right is sometimes not the simplest.

I did mine this evening and it took me twenty whole minutes. Fill mower, test, works like a charm.
I put mine in a bench vise and try to hold the file as parallel as possible to the beveled surface. Its obvious at first how I'm doing as I can see dull colored metal become bright again. When the whole surface becomes mostly bright, I color the whole surface with a fat Sharpie marker and keep going, trying to get the Sharpie to come off as even as possible in a effort to keep the file at the correct angle. I even count my strokes per side to make sure they match (probably completely unnecessary). Balance is never a problem. I don't even check it anymore.

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Re: Sharpening my own blades; what tool to use

Post by edslawn » October 16th, 2020, 8:22 am

MorpheusPA wrote:
October 15th, 2020, 11:05 pm
Hammbone81 wrote:
October 15th, 2020, 10:29 pm
That's what I do. Keeps the heat out of the steel too. Even when I had a big lawn and a zero turn, this is how I did it.
And they laugh at us. Sure, you have more work to get it in place to work with. Sure, it's a little harder to do. And yes, lining it up and getting the filing right is sometimes not the simplest.

I did mine this evening and it took me twenty whole minutes. Fill mower, test, works like a charm.
:rotfl: :D :wave:

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