Skip to Content

Lawn Mower Blade Maintenance Tools

This page is dedicated to products that help keep your lawnmower blades as sharp as possible. A sharp blade is mission-critical when it comes to maintaining a healthy beautiful lawn. A dull blade will tear the grass blades, which in turn causes yellowing of the lawn.

The jagged cut also causes excessive moisture loss and an increased risk of disease. Luckily the cure for this problem is simple. Sharpen or replace your mower blade and re-cut the lawn.

Here are a few questions about blades I’m asked a lot.

So how often should we sharpen our mower blade?

At least once at the beginning of each season. However, if your lawn is stony, uneven or you like to cut at the lowest level, you may need to sharpen several times per season. The tools listed on this page will help you do just that.

If you need video help, check out “Blade sharpening video” here. It walks you through the whole process of caring for your blade, from inspecting, removal, sharpening, on and off the mower, balancing the blade, refitting, and torque to spec.

How often should we replace our lawn mower blades?

This depends on how worn the blade is. Over time, grit and stones will wear away and gouge the shape of the blade. The mower blade is designed quite precisely, not only does it cut the grass, but also stuffs it into your grass bag.

That’s why a worn blade will not only cause yellowing of the lawn but also not collect the clippings very well. I would advise the average lawn mower user to change the blade every four years. I advise my customers to replace about every four years. Check out the “Blade replacing video” here.

What type lawn mower blade is right for me?

A blade looks pretty simple but in fact, is a clever bit of design. There are two options when it comes to grass handling, collect or mulch. Collecting you are familiar with, mulching, although not a new idea has become a far more common option on new mowers in recent years.

Mulching is a process where the mower cuts very fine clippings and instead of bagging them, it deposits the clippings back onto the lawn. This helps fertilize the lawn and saves on the extra labor needed to collect. The trade-off is a slightly brown lawn as the mulched clippings decompose.

A special blade is required to mulch and so when choosing a new mower blade you usually have two choices, the Lift blade, and the Mulching blade.

The Lift blade, also known as the 2 in 1. So-called because it cuts the grass and stuffs it into the grass bag. This blade is perfect for you if you like a clean look lawn with no clippings. The lift blade specializes in collecting grass.

The Mulching blade or 3 in 1. So-called because this blade cuts the grass, then re-cuts the same blades of grass again, and then stuffs it into the grass bag (optional). The Mulching blade is perfect for you if you like the flexibility of sometimes not collecting grass. A true mulching blade has only one function – to produce really fine clippings. What we call a mulching blade today is really a hybrid of the lift blade and the mulching blade.

2 in 1

Lift blade

The 2 in 1 is great at collecting grass thanks to the larger trailing wings. Lift blades are available with larger wings, but bigger will require an engine powerful enough to move them.

3 in 1

Mulching blade

The Mulching blade (3 in 1) typically has a leading-edge that’s curved, this allows the blade to cut the grass at different heights. The trailing edge is fitted with a curved wing to help move the grass clippings to the grass bag.

Some of the pictures on this page link to Amazon.com where you can check the price and delivery of products. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Blade Sharpening Kit

This kit includes the sharpening stone and blade balancer. The sharpening stone is cut at 30° and fits onto a hand drill. If your blade isn’t badly gouged, you won’t need to remove it to sharpen. But if it is, remove the blade and after sharpening, check it for balance. Adjust the balance by grinding the heavier side and rechecking. Picture links to Amazon.com.

Blade Locking Tool

This simple tool attaches to the deck and simply blocks the path of the blade which comes in handy when removing and installing the blade bolt. Picture links to Amazon.com.

Cordless Impact Gun

The Ingersoll Rand brush-less impact gun is the Cadillac of impacts. It makes the job of removing stubborn bolts a snap, and as this is cordless, you can keep it in the trunk of the car for emergencies. However, this gun is really expensive, and for the occasional user, it’s probably too much gun. You don’t need this gun to remove the blade, it just makes life easier. If you do buy this kit, you won’t ever need to buy another. Picture links to Amazon.com.

Torque Wrench

What’s a torque wrench, and why do you need it? A torque wrench tightens a fastener to a factory set specification. It prevents components from being damaged or falling off. A mower blade will ideally need to be torqued to specification (Usually between 30 – 50 ft. lbs.) Over tightening can lead to engine loss, and if you think I’m exaggerating. Check out this post on my Teng tool torque wrench. Picture links to Amazon.com.

DeWalt Eye Protection

The DeWalt glasses are made from tough polycarbonate. They’re lightweight, impact-proof, offer UV protection, and are vented to prevent fogging. For those of us that need glasses, the DeWalt can handle RX inserts. Picture links to Amazon.com.

3M Ear Defenders

Lawnmowers can produce over 100 dB which is more than enough to damage your ears. I like the quality of the 3M products, I’ve been using them for years. This set of ear defenders has an NRR of 24 dB (Noise Reduction Rating). The set is Bluetooth connected, so no cables to mess about with, you can seamlessly connect to your phone, listen to music, and take calls as the headset has a built-in mic. Pretty cool! Picture links to Amazon.com.

Mechanix Anti-vibe Gloves

Constant vibration can damage the nerves in your hands, It’s known as Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) and it’s not repairable. Mowers as you know create a lot of vibration which is transmitted through your hands. I wear Mechanix gloves in the workshop when using air tools, they’re made with thermoplastic padding material that absorbs and dissipates vibration. Picture links to Amazon.com.

3M Respirator

I love 3M products, they are great quality, and I am confident in their performance as I’ve been using them since forever. The silicone respirator is comfortable, durable. I use it when welding and cleaning old grass and dust from lawn mower decks and engines. I wear glasses in the workshop and anybody that wears glasses and a respirator will know the value of the 3M downward-facing vent. Fogged glasses drive me crazy!!! Picture links to Amazon.com.