Figuring out when to replace your mowers blades can be tricky, who wants to pay out for a new set of mower blades when your original ones could just be sharpened again? Leaving you wondering just how many times you can sharpen your mowers blades before they need replacing.
Well, there is no certain number of how many times you should sharpen your mowers blades before replacing them as this can vary due to several different factors such as how often you use your mower and its wear down. However, on average, if it takes you an hour to mow your lawn, you should be sharpening your mower after every 25 sessions.
Determining the number of times you can sharpen your blades before replacing them entirely is variable, but you should always replace the blades of your mower if they get damaged or bent.
We have put together a guide below that will help you narrow down when your blade needs sharpening or just replacing, and how this depends on several important factors.
Working out how many times you need to sharpen your blades can be different for everyone’s mower, depending on how often you mow and more such as –
As long as you can see when your blades need sharpening, they can be sharpened as many times as needed, and won’t need to be replaced until you seem some of the replacement signs below in the article.
Before we get on to how to figure out when your blades will need to be replaced, let’s look at some ways to tell if your blades need sharpening.
One of the easiest ways to see if your mowers blades need to be sharpened is by checking if it is mowing your lawn evenly.
Signs of an uneven lawn can mean patches where the grass still long and patches where it is too short, meaning you may have to go over an area numerous times to achieve a consistent cut.
If you have a look closely at your grass you should be able to tell if the grass has been cut or torn by looking to see if it has a jagged edge, a torn grass blade means your blades need sharpening.
A way to figure out if your blades need sharpening rather than replacing is when you brought them, on average, mowers blades should last for 100 to 200 hours of mowing time, after this point your may need to replace them, but before these hours are up sharpening your blades may do the trick.
Thick blades mean a blade that has more life, allowing you to get more sharpening sessions out of it without thinning the blade down too much, sharpening thin blades could potentially cause them to snap.
Now you know the common signs that can show you your blades needs to sharpened, your probably still trying to work out how often you need to do this and how many times you can before they need to be replaced.
Working out a sharpening and replacing schedule for your mowers blades comes down to personal judgement.
However, we have put together a small calculation below based on the average blade sharpening times for mowers to help you determine how many times your blades need sharpening.
If you compare this calculation against the average 100 hour-200-hour replacement mark for lawn mower blades, then you should get around 4 – 8 sharpening sessions out of your blade before it needs replacing.
This can still vary according to personal judgement.
If you are still unsure about how many times your can sharpen your blade before having to replace them we have listed out some common signs you can look out for on your mowers blades that can help you determine when they need to be replaced.
At some point, every mowers blade will reach its end of life where it cannot be sharpened anymore, if your blade has been used for over a year or two or over 200 hours of mowing, then you are probably in need of a replacement.
Signs of damage such as your blade being bent or cracked means you will need to replace your blade.
A damaged blade could cause your mower to stall or make noises when in use, all of which should be signs you need to change your blade, if you keep using a damaged blade on your mower there is a risk of it flying off or causing strain to the whole mower.
Thin and brittle blades should not be sharpened, indicating it is worn down and near its end of life, always replace your blade when it becomes too thin.
If your blade is getting dull too quickly after sharpening or it still cuts your grass unevenly after a recent sharpen, then its time to change the whole blade as continuous sharpening will weaken the blade and become dangerous.
How often do mowers blades need to be sharpened before replacing them?
This depends on multiple factors, however, on average, you should sharpen your mowers blades after every 25 hours of use, meaning around 4 times before they reach the 100-hour replacement mark.
Can I sharpen blades while they are still on my mower?
You can sharpen your blades while they are still attached to your mower but you will need to ensure that your mower is balanced properly throughout.
Are there certain types of mower blades that need sharpening and replacing more often?
Yes, mulching and reel blades need to be sharpened much more often than standard straight mower blades due to the way they operate and cut the grass, for example, mulching blades tend to get more clogged and hit stones more often, meaning they wear down faster
To conclude, it’s difficult to give an exact number of times your blade can be sharpened before replacing as it can be affected by too many variables, however, with the signs above and some calculations, you should be able to figure out the right sharpening and replacing schedule for your blades.
