What's the best edge for...

MADDMAN

MADDMAN

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Nov 3, 2010
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Ok. Gentlemen (...and Hogs) this is a little off-topic--sort of: I have a younger brother who owns a landscaping company--we were all having a family dinner/get together and eventually--as conversations between men often do; topic of discussion gravitated towards sharp things... The question came up regarding sharpest edge geometry, and then moved onto sharpest edge geometry for a commercial mower blade?(my brothers question)

Fortunately I have an expert panel that I can refer to for advise... So, what do you porkers think would make for the best/sharpest commercial mower blade? Convex, V, Asym, etc...? ...taking into account ability to cut cleanly and uniformly, as well as edge retention down the stretch...?
 
I'm going to assume the same thing as in food processors and go with a scandi. Something flat with no secondary bevel. It's gotta be pretty sharp to be able to cut things that aren't stationary
 
I 2nd uyotg here, SCANDI!!! Grass needs to be cut cleanly, not torn like I think would be the case with say A-sym or Convex.
 
Actually I think food processors one up scandi even more and actually have chisel grinds...
... either way, they're REALLY SHARP.
 
I don't think mower blades need to be that sharp, its their speed that makes them cut. I would go for max edge retention, V edge or convex. Doesn't matter which, just the one you find easier to apply.
 
I use a Ferris 4500IS and it does not have the highest blade speed of the zero turns. I have found the right deck height/type of grass has a lot to do with it.

I use my Kalamazoo and I have done either convex scandi chisel or flat scandi chisel. They will shave your arm hair and I cringe when I torque them down under the mower deck. From what I have found, either or will do the job. Also, it will make any lawn look like a golf course :)

Also, I like to compare to the results I see the commercial guys in the neighborhoods... seems like my sharp blades cut better then theirs :p
 
This is such an off topic and funny thread, but...

When you cut lots of hay fields with a zero turn, one thing you notice is how much less the engine bogs down with SHARP blades. Just this summer the commercial crew that does my neighbors lawn missed a week. They told him they couldn't cut the field because it was too much for their commercial zero turns. I ended up having to cut it for him. Sharp blades make easy work of grass and save wear and tear on your machine.

End of my lawn mowing observations... :)
 
I am guessing flat grind with a v edge or convex for durability. I think they would be difficult to sharpen a convex on a mower blade though. Infi blades would make it the Bentley of mowers:thumbup:
 
Beveled/scandi or convex would all work well as long as it was a chisel grind.
IMO mower blades cut better when the edge has a lifting action. You want to keep the bottom side of the blade at a fairly high angle; sharpening that side (other than filing it flat) would change that angle.
 
Chisel grind is what most mower blades have. As long as the blade is sharp it's gonna do the job, edge geometry doesn't really matter on a mower blade.
 
My Cub Cadet blades are at 45 degrees, well they should be, they are rounded right now. They'll get some new ones for this spring/summer.
Just make sure they are balanced, in both directions.
 
I used to work for a commercial landscaping company and we changed our mower blades every morning for a fresh cut. (not brand new but resharpened, we had 2 sets to rotate.) We used Exmark commercial grade mowers - both ztr and walk behind.

The blades were chisel ground, ie only one side sharpened for the cleanest cut. We used a grinding wheel set up at about 40 degrees for the best mixture of strength and sharpness.

Bladespeed has something to do with it but you can definitely see a difference in the cut with a blade that needs to be changed and a freshly sharpened blade. Youll see the blades look more torn than cut. The tops of the blades will also turn brown from a dull blade.

That job ruined me, now I have an exmark walk behind for my 1/2 acre yard, switch my blades to freshly sharpened once a month in the spring when the grass is thick and growing fast and about every 6 weeks for the rest of the year - they recommend changing to fresh blades about every 8 hours of cutting fyi.

and yes INFI blades would be awesome!!! Probably not cost effective because our blades were over 1/4" thick and 16.5 or 18" each
 
drbarnes said:
I used to work for a commercial landscaping company and we changed our mower blades every morning for a fresh cut. (not brand new but resharpened, we had 2 sets to rotate.) We used Exmark commercial grade mowers - both ztr and walk behind.

The blades were chisel ground, ie only one side sharpened for the cleanest cut. We used a grinding wheel set up at about 40 degrees for the best mixture of strength and sharpness.

Bladespeed has something to do with it but you can definitely see a difference in the cut with a blade that needs to be changed and a freshly sharpened blade. Youll see the blades look more torn than cut. The tops of the blades will also turn brown from a dull blade.

That job ruined me, now I have an exmark walk behind for my 1/2 acre yard, switch my blades to freshly sharpened once a month in the spring when the grass is thick and growing fast and about every 6 weeks for the rest of the year - they recommend changing to fresh blades about every 8 hours of cutting fyi.

and yes INFI blades would be awesome!!! Probably not cost effective because our blades were over 1/4" thick and 16.5 or 18" each
Click to expand...

Good point, I just stick to the angle they came with. If yours are like mine, they are high quality steel anyhow. I have three sets I rotate through. The brown tops of the grass takes away from a lawn more then you realize unless you have seen a lawn without it :)

Balancing is a must for spindle life.
 
drbarnes said:
I used to work for a commercial landscaping company and we changed our mower blades every morning for a fresh cut. (not brand new but resharpened, we had 2 sets to rotate.) We used Exmark commercial grade mowers - both ztr and walk behind.

The blades were chisel ground, ie only one side sharpened for the cleanest cut. We used a grinding wheel set up at about 40 degrees for the best mixture of strength and sharpness.

Bladespeed has something to do with it but you can definitely see a difference in the cut with a blade that needs to be changed and a freshly sharpened blade. Youll see the blades look more torn than cut. The tops of the blades will also turn brown from a dull blade.

That job ruined me, now I have an exmark walk behind for my 1/2 acre yard, switch my blades to freshly sharpened once a month in the spring when the grass is thick and growing fast and about every 6 weeks for the rest of the year - they recommend changing to fresh blades about every 8 hours of cutting fyi.

and yes INFI blades would be awesome!!! Probably not cost effective because our blades were over 1/4" thick and 16.5 or 18" each
Click to expand...

What, you don't want to spend $1800 on each mower blade?
 
Mower blades work best with a chisel grind ... easy to sharpen and robust ... Axes and heavy choppers are best fully convex ... all round knives the Asym edge works best IMO.
 
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