How do you sharpen a lawn mower blade?

Answer 1

Clean the blade and notice that the sharpened edge has an angle or slope on it. That is the required angle for sharpening. Mower blade manufacturers recommend sharpening with a file instead of a grinder or grinding tool. If you have plenty of time for sharpening, filing will remove less steel from the blade and help the blade last longer. There are grinding stones made especially for sharpening mower blades available at Walmart or any place that sell house and garden supplies. These stones attach to the end of a drill and come with instructions on the package on how to use. A right angle grinder will do the fastest job, but will remove much metal. File or grind on the sharpened edge to smooth out roughness and add keeness while keeping the same angle of the original sharpened edge. Repeat on the opposite end of the blade. When finished grinding, the blade will need to be balanced. Use a screwdriver or similar object to hang the blade on. The screwdriver is inserted through the center bolt hole of the blade and held in a position parallel to the ground. The blade is balanced when it remains parallel to the ground while hanging on the screwdriver. If the blade is unbalanced, the heavier side of the blade (the side that starts to shift toward the ground) will need more grinding to remove more metal. Remove only small amounts at a time and keep checking the balance.