How to Tell If a Reel Mower Is Not Sharp?
Reel mowers have blades attached to a rotating cylinder that spins as the mower's wheels turn. The spinning blades cut the grass against a stationary bed knife. While common in the past, reel mowers have largely been replaced by gas powered or electric rotary mowers. Reel mowers, however, have been regaining popularity, according to Purdue University, because they are quiet and inexpensive to operate. They don't pollute the environment and operating one is good exercise. Sharp blades must be maintained for the mower to perform as expected. With a little observation, you can tell whether the cutting edges on the reel mower need to be sharpened. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Inspect the blades on the cylinder and the bedknife both visually and by feeling the edges. Sharpen the cutting edges if you notice nicks or dullness.
-
2
Operate the reel mower. If the cutting unit of the mower is uncharacteristically noisy, sharpen the cutting edges. Dull edges will make the unit noisy.
-
-
3
Inspect individual grass blades after the area has been mowed. The blades of grass should be sheared cleanly where they are cut. Ragged, torn edges indicate a dull cutting blade.
-
4
Inspect the area that was mowed. Streaks (a line of taller grass within the swipe field of the cutting blades) or stragglers (stray blades of grass that are taller than the rest of the grass) indicate that the cutting blades are not sharp.
-
1
References
- Photo Credit Woman trying to mow yard with manual mower image by bawinner from Fotolia.com
