Reasonable charge for sharpening riding mower blades ?
Service guy up road from me said he'll come to house, jack up riding mower, remove 2 blades, sharpen/balance them & re-install for - is that about the right price based on people's experiece? This is my first riding mower & first time I got them sharpened. Thanks.
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3 Responses to “Reasonable charge for sharpening riding mower blades ?”-
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That’s a good price……….especially for a riding mower. Lowe’s charged 15.00 to sharpen a push mower.
That’s an EXCELLENT price, specially considering he is coming to you!
It is a reasonable price, but… Being careless costs you money. How many of you complain about bent or dull mower blades? Well, it really is your own fault if you have a lawn that looks horrid. It is also your own fault if you don’t walk round your property and pick up those rocks and bits of iron you left lying around. You’ve have been meaning to, haven’t you. Come on, you know you are being lazy, and this laziness is costing you hard earned cash. Who of us wants to mess about under our mower deck? If you follow some simple rules, then you don’t have to so often.
Whether for a walk-behind or a rid-on mower, all mower blades should come pre-sharpened, that is obvious, but to be fair, they are not, and for a good reason. It is because they (the manufacturer) do not want to get sued for cutting you hands to ribbons, so, they give you something about as near sharp as they dare. You, of course, do not know what sharp is. I mean no offence, but there is sharp and there is SHARP. When I replace my blades for new blades from Lows or wherever I happen to buy them, I always use OEM (original manufacturer’s equipment). The reason is simple, and I shall explain why. The original blades are of a particular specification. The steel is very hard and tempered to perform under great stress and keep their shape and hardness. Aftermarket blades, on-the-other-hand, are not up to the same metallic specification as OEM blades.
This is what I do before I fit my new blades: I remove the paint that is on the edge of the so called sharp edge, I then, using a rough wet-stone, I hone the edge to what I consider an edge. I finish off with the fine side of the wet-stone. With a honed to sharpness blade you should be able to cut a piece of paper. The time taken to do this procedure is about 15 minutes per blade. There is not much metal to take off, and remember, you are honing not sharpening. Honing is giving the sharp edge a perfect razor-blade edge.
Why do I do all this? Well, it takes only 3/4 of an hour and, careful, gentle movements with the stone creates a blade that gives a smooth cut and, when lawn is cut, the lawn is perfect with no browning you get with dull blades. You will find that extremely sharp blades keep their edge much longer than so called sharpened blades. In the end, the extra care saves you time and money. My blades last many seasons. Your engine and belts will run without stress and be a happy engine, too.
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