How to Sharpen Garden Tools : Sharpening a Lawn Mower Blade

How to sharpen lawn mower blades; get professional tips and advice from an expert carpenter on sharpening gardening tools in this free instructional video.

Expert: Fred Carson
Bio: Fred Carson has been professionally sharpening tools for more than twenty five years. He runs Carson's Saw Shop in Eugene, Oregon.
Filmmaker: max koetter

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• sharpening
• gardening
• tools
• hoes
• digging
• landscaping
• yard
• work
• lawn
• mowers

[GunnyTracy]

Look guys, this fellow is trying to help others so give him a pat on the back for doing more than you are. And safety is a common sense approach working with tools.

[GunnyTracy]

Look guys, this fellow is trying to help others so give him a pat on the back for doing more than you are. And safety is a common sense approach working with tools.

[busbodger21]

Just look down the edge. You'll need a torch to straighten the blade. I used a MAPP gas torch yesterday. Oxy-Acetylene is much hotter. Heat and bend if necessary. Wear gloves and use ViceGrip pliers if you like. Then check the balance. Whatever end that is lower needs some steel removed from the end of the blade. Grind it off. Recheck. I keep two sets. One on the mower, one spare set on the wall. Min down time.

[busbodger21]

Good video. My setup is simpler. I use a ~$5 plastic balancer from the hardware store. It has two pieces, a cone that the blade sits on, and a plastic pin that the cone balances on. I grind it with my 4.5" angle grinder (DeWalt, Milwaukee, Ryobi, whatever you have) to get the endge back on the blade and duplicate the original angles on the blade. Then I check the blade for straightness.

[busbodger21]

Could someone rename the videos so it is easier to watch them in order?

Good video!

[mystao]

Expert Village: I mean you, Max Koetter ("film maker")... getting film credits while in school is only worthwhile if the film is well organized, has good composition, direction, and is complete.

Fred, you're obviously a great blue collar guy who was saddled with someone's film student son or daughter (Maxine?) fine job, but many of us would like to know the grit on the wheel, and the angle. a follow up briefly using a bastard file would be nice.

Max, make a storyboard before hitting REC

[MrMufn8r]

The right end of the blade falls on the balancer.. "...yup, that's balanced!"

February 2008: "...25 years experience"

March 2011: "...over 30 years experience"

[Madisonmofo]

Yea. ummm. How do I sharpen the blades?

[mar504]

That's great and all... but the average joe does not have a professional sharpener like you do. Not only that, but you didn't actually provide any actual information about what you just did... does it need to be at a certain angle? Can we use a metal file for this? What is the "technique"?

[kjmatson74]

Great video on blades; I didn't know about balancing them.

[jatontherun]

Thank you for this helpful video. There are other people showing how to sharpen blades but neglect to mention the balancing part. Very critical!

[suffolkshepherd]

I have watched most of this guys videos and now sharpen everything in my shop my self.

It is realy nice to see it done the first time. Makes it easy to learn. I love YOU TUBE!!!!