Every time you use your reel mower the blades wear out and start to become dull and losses performance that’s why the blades of a reel mower need to be properly adjusted and sharpen regularly.
how does the blade of a reel mower losses sharpness
When you’re using the reel mower, the cylinder or reel spins at high speed and while it spins its blades is constantly passes the knife blade or bottom blade. The continued passing of the reel to the knife blade creates friction because of the high-speed scissor-like cutting action that it’s making and that friction is what wears the blades down.
The two blade needs to be adjusted firmly and check for cutting effectiveness using a piece of paper when you spin the reel by hand and the paper is smoothly cut then it should be alright, A firm adjustment is necessary to avoid too much friction that generates heat and worn’s the blades.
On hand push reel mower the blades do not really heat up too much because the speed of the reel is depending on you, on your speed of pushing the reel.
While on a motor driven reel mower the blades rotate very fast that it can heat up very quickly so its necessary to spray a lubricant or WD40 on the blades if you want to engage the blades without cutting.
When you’re on the cutting process you don’t need to spray lubricant on the blades because the grass itself is wet which provides lubrication to the blades.
Remember that both blades need to be sharper at the same time.
There are 3 ways on how you can sharpen your reel or cylinder, The first one is by using a grinding compound which is the most common one, the second one is by using a sharpening stone which is also a cheap choice but I don’t really recommend this one because of the possibility of an uneven grind surface, And the third one is by using a surface grinder which is more expensive and the people who use this kind of grinding are the lawn mower service center, this type of grinding can grind big reels up to 36″ that’s why contractors are the most common customers of this grinding method.
- Using a Grinding Compound
This method is commonly known as Backlapping and is done by putting grinding compound all over the reel blades and spinning the reel in reverse and while it spins the grinding compound is the one doing the job of sharpening the blade.
You can do this method a few times until you get your desired finish, remember to adjust the blades while repeating the process in that way you’ll be able to wear the blade faster and get the desired sharpness.
You can also use a hand drill to make the grinding faster this is done by using an adaptor that you can fit in the hand drill and the other end can fit a socket to drive the reel.
Watch this video of how cylinder back-lapping is done https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu0WLtrBMd8
Grinding compounds usually comes with the reel mower when you buy a new one on some brands or as an additional package when you buy it on Amazon, but if you want to save some cash you can just use a tube of grinding compound that we use to grind the valves on a 4 stroke engine.
2.Using a Sharpening Stone
Only a few people use this kind of method only those who don’t want to spend a few bucks and just want to grass the grass no matter what.
A sharpening stone is similar to those what we used to sharpen kitchen knives the old fashion way. Some people still find method this effective and still able to the job but.
If you want to try this sharpening method the best technique is to place the stone in one position that lightly touches the blade then spins the blade by hand one s4ection at a time until the entire blade is sharpened.
3. Using a Surface Grinder
Sharpening with a surface grinder is the professional method of sharpening a reel or cylinder, this method is usually applicable to big reel’s or cylinder and on this method, the knife blade is being ground separately.
The reel is being ground on bearing surface which means the housing where the bearing is seated is bolted on the grinder bed and is being rotated by an induction motor using a connected drive shaft.
The knife blade usually has a separate surface grinder and it’s being grinded on two positions, the front, and the top, this will create a sharp edge on the blade.
Watch this video showing a reel or cylinder being grind on a surface grinder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv8A66ZCsIk
CYLINDER MOWER IN STORE 