How do you do yours - daily?, in-situ?, on the bench?, by hand?, a grinder?, swap with a spare?
It's a key, but sometimes a time consuming maintainence job which if done 'correctly' delivers performance & efficiency out in the field.
I was reading an article on this discussing the pros & cons, but reckon we've done/do all of these, but this extract raises the key points:
It's all about the angle
"When sharpening a mower blade, you must pay attention to the angle of the cutting edge. As mower manufacturer Toro points out in a service tip on its website, always grind the top surface of the blade only—maintaining the angle of the original cutting edge
Magna-Matic, a manufacturer of blade-sharpening tools, says that by consistently grinding the same angle, you gain efficiency and get the most life out of a blade. You also improve safety, because a blade will be less likely to fracture due to excessive steel removal.
Furthermore, it's also critical to consider how your mower blade is actually cutting the grass. "The first 1-2 inches of the blade do the majority of the cutting and take the most wear, Thus, this area is where the most grinding is required to reproduce a good cutting tip. Some people are insistent on grinding the full cutting edge until it is parallel to the rest of the blade. But this isn't necessary, states Magna Matic, and can actually be detrimental.
Some specialized blade sharpeners can assist in achieving blade-sharpening perfection. They make it easy to dial in different angles and overall improve efficiency and finish quality. For most standard mower blades, 30° is what you're shooting for. Curved mulching blades can get tricky. As a general rule, always consult your owner's manual."
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Usually ever month for me - swap them straight for a ready sharpened one and next rainy day they all get sharpened!
My thought is a sharpened blade everyday is a positive, better result for the customer and less strain on the mower. The truth is if I had to remove the blade to grind it everyday then it would not get done so a blade sharpened on the wrong edge is better than a blunt blade.., in my analogy.
Also how is sharp defined. After a day on domestic lawns the blade is no longer sharp.
After a couple of lawns the word sharp could not in its true sense be applied. So what we are working with is how blunt does a blade need to be before it's not providing a quality cut.
To be honest I can not see a difference to the finish of a freshly sharpened blade or a blade that hasn't been sharpened for a week. It would seem the razor sharpness of a freshly ground blade although very nice isn't actually necessary to provide a quality cut. And the type of edge that remains after a few lawn cuts, although blunt compared to the newly ground blade is all that is required for a further 100 lawn for instance.
So I sharpen everyday, takes minutes and I know I am doing the best for my customer and my machine.
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Blades as far as I know should never be razor sharp as that will have compromised the integrity of the steel at the edge and it will dull / deform instantly.
What is key is a straight edge at 30degrees with no/few knicks or deformities.
I was told to look at the 'face' of a new OEM blade as a guide - it has a 1-2mm front edge
An interesting topic Gary.
Usually I replace the blades every year on my mowers, don't see the need for more than that. (Although I'm careful)
However my past life as a greenkeeper was a little different, the (cylinder) mowers were back lapped on a weekly basis and ground at least once per year, the machines for cutting greens would be more than that - every few months they would have been ground and new sole plates. Although the usage would have been much different to us amenity guys - lots of sand used on golf courses ;)
Any and all rotary mowers would only have a new blade fitted in they were knackered and it would have been much more than 1 year before they would have been replaced or even looked at!
Intresting......
Generally my 'main mower' blade will get inspected on the fortnightly oil change interval and swapped for one of the spares if blunt or damaged.
I always carry a spare sharp blade if damage is noted sooner or for a top quality' finishing cut.
The Viking mulcher which runs one contract requires more frequent sharpening as it 'recycles' debris back through the deck and sticks and small stones soon hammer the edge off.
Grind my own rotary blades with angle grinder, does take a bit of skill to master though!
tickle mine with the grinder so as not to over heat it and finish with a file also do not forget to balance the blade before you put it back on
Any tips would be appreciated cheers Richard
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