Hi

I'm sharpening the blades on the ride-on mower that I use when gardening
for a friend.

These are mulching blades, hence have the "bows" in the profile of the
blade, further along from the 2" or so which form each end.

I don't think these blades have been sharpened in the life of the mower
(it was bought Spring 2011, and gets moderate use over the summer).

My question is: should the whole of the cutting section be sharpened, or
just the "bowed" part?

When setting about sharpening the blades, I've found that the end 2" are
so blunt as to appear that they were never *intended* to be sharp
('Hmmm,' I thought, "that must be to knock pebbles etc out of the way
before the actual blade gets to the grass').

Hence, I have not [yet] sharpened the end 2". But now I'm thinking:
"That's ridiculous: the whole blade ought to be sharp, surely? These
blades must have been whacked down to this bluntness by nearly 3 years
without sharpening!"


Any advice on what to do? I know I could find a stockist and check out
what a new blade looks like, but that's more difficult (for me) than
asking here first -- and one always picks up extra advice when asking in
the discussion group!

(Apologies for the lengthy post.)

Cheers
John

p.s. Although ignorant in these matters, I now know enough not to
sharpen the blades to razor sharpness! [Because a razor sharp blade will
nick more easily than a merely sharp blade.]

p.p.s. Yes, I've checked Youtube, and found innumerable videos on
sharpening mower blades! But none which seem to answer this question.