Know the type of Lawn Mower Blade You Have



The lawn mowers come in different varieties. Some are walk behind and some are motorized. The blades used in each type of lawn mower will vary. However, there are just two types of blades in the lawn mowers

Reel Type:: The first one is the rotary type that you find in walk behind lawn mowers . These are generally bigger and are visible from a distance. Reel blades operate against a stationary edge and any grass that comes within the rotary and fixed blade is cut by shearing action. The reel blades of the manual walk behind lawn mowers are generally 8 to 10 inches in diameter and are pushed by the person mowing the lawn.

The volume of the grass cut depends on which the speed with which the lawnmower is pulled and is generally low for the manual one. Some of the walk behinds have a motor up to 4 hp and are quite powerful.

The blades are arranged on a spiral on a cylinder and cut the grass by shearing action. The gap between the blade and the bed can be adjusted very easily and this is a great help to the operator.

Sharpening reel type of lawn mower blade requires some skill to ensure maximum work from the blades. If the blade of grass is missed by one blade, it will not be cut by other the other blades and back and forth movement of mower over the area will be necessary to ensure complete cutting by the mower.

Blade type: This type of lawn mower blade is used in motorized lawn mowers where the operator can ride the lawn mower. The blade hovers over an area and is rotated at very high speed and the action is like that of a sword moving fast so that anything that comes in its way is cut instantly.

Since it is a high-speed action, the grass in area is completely cut quickly and the mower can move rapidly over the entire area. This ensures high rates of cutting and is therefore useful for large areas. The grass is cut in just one pass and multiple passes as in the reel type of blades are rare.

It is necessary that there to ensure that there is no foreign material on the lawn as the foreign material can damage the blade quickly and sometimes it can be damaged beyond repairs. There fore it is necessary to have an inspection of the area before starting cutting of the lawn. If you find a growing shrub, it is better to remove it manually.

Some of the commercial models have more than one blade and the areas on which they operate overlap so ensure complete mowing. The blades are 18 inches long; (maximum) and three blades may be employed to cut a pass width of 42 to 50 inches.

Sharpening of the blades does not require great skills as the sharpness and speed works for an effective job. The sharpening can be done very quickly, but the balancing has to be done very carefully as the blades move at high speed and unbalanced blades can cause vibrations and operator discomfort.