"JaxDawg" wrote in message
oups.com...
This seems like a silly question... but here goes...
I've just purchased new blades for my Craftsman 42" mower. The blades
are not at all what I'd call "sharp" - which surprised me. Should new
mower blades be sharpened before they are used? or is this angled edge
(but again, not "sharp") proper for a mower?
If it makes a difference, these are mulching blades.

thanks!

1) How sharp is sharp... kind of hard to say without looking at them.

2) And how sharp do you really need it to be?

A low-angle really sharp edge will nick up and "edge-roll" pretty quick just
from hitting grass
- so as I understand it, the leading edge on a flat-type mower blade isn't
supposed to be knife-sharp. Not rounded, either, though.

I have always found my new blades to be "sharp". And so far, the blade
has been a flat end-twisted rectangular blank that has the edge ground onto
the steel blank. I can't see how that can be anything but "sharp" as long
as the edge is ground onto the blank.
(I suppose given a big enough press, one might be able to stamp the edge
onto the blank. Then who knows)

FWIW - The edge of the blades on my John Deere have two angles - the
cutting edge ground on the main edge is steeper than the other. But only
the John Deere dealer has ground them in two angles when re-sharpened.


Hope it helps..