I suggest these to everyone. They are high lift, but they do not pick up rocks anywhere near as bad as regular blades, are thicker/stronger/last longer. They are harder to sharpen, but the edge lasts longer also. I have been told I have about an acre or so (180' X 270') to mow and average 5 or 6 days between mowings. I have to sharpen my blades twice a year. You can get them for riders and for push mowers.

Gator Blades at Northern Tool

Jethro wrote:

I've been putting up with something that is beginning to irritate me. I have a 42" rider. The mower-wheels are in from the spread of the deck. As a result, as I cut a path, the front wheels 'mat' the grass some - enough that the cutting-blades do not cut the as they go over the 'matted' grass. As a result, I look back and I always see a, say, 4" swath, that I then have to make a second cutting trip over a slightly different path so the wheels do not 'mat' the same grass again, and then the blades do cut that grass. Anyone experience this? And if so, do you have a trick to avoid this aggravation? Dumb question, huh? Jethro