quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
To remove blades on a rotary mower is a whole different deal than a lawn mower.

I think you are confusing reel with rotary. Rotary spins perpendicular to the ground almost always under a protective deck, reel spins parallel to the ground like an old fashioned push mower, the blades cutting the grass against an anvil.

You typical home owner mower is a rotary as are most commercial mowers. Reel mowers are, these days, used almost exclusively on golf courses, tennis courts, etc. where precise cutting and the look of the turf is considered more important than expense in maintaining it.

A quality reel mower will set you back multiple times what a rotary of the same cutting width will. Not to mention that most of them are designed for mowing every day during the growing season with a greens mower doing its chores 2-3X a day. They do not do so well in heavy, long grass.

WRT sharpening a rotary blade, my goto has always been a bench grinder with a medium wheel. You do not have to get a blade razor sharp, in fact that just shortens the maintenance window. A square face, with no lip on the bottom edge is what you really want. And, not letting the steel get so hot on the wheel as to lose its temper.

Sharpening a reel mower blade is not unlike sharpening a saw or a chisel. There is a specific technique to be followed, and application-specific guides and abrasives. You'll ruin many before getting one right. Just as important is adjusting the clearance on the anvil after each sharpening. In the golf turf maintenance world, blades are usually resharpened before each mow, and it is rare that a reel lasts a full season.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
Rotary spins perpendicular to the ground…