How to Sharpen a Manual Lawn Mower

A manual lawn mower has no gasoline or electric engine, so it is very environmentally friendly.

A manual mower, also known as a reel mower, has a series of spiral-shaped blades that rotate, pushing blades of grass against a flat cutting bar to cut the grass. Most reel mowers are manually operated, with the forward motion of the mower being harnessed to power the blades. Since there is no gasoline engine or electric motor required, these manual lawn mowers are very environmentally-friendly. To keep your mower cutting cleanly, you may need to occasionally sharpen the manual lawn mower blades.

Things You'll Need

• Reel mower sharpening kit
• Flathead screwdriver
• Cordless drill with 16mm socket
• Flat rasp

Instructions

1. Place the mower on a work table, and remove the rear handle.

2. Inspect each of the five blades for any burrs or imperfections along the edges of the blades. File down any burrs with a flat rasp.

3. Slowly move the mower forward across the table, and watch how each of the blades makes contact with the cutting bar on the bottom, rear of the mower. The blade should evenly contact along the entire length of the bar. If there are any gaps between the blades and the bar, adjust the bar by tightening or loosening the adjustment screws on each side of the cutting bar.

4. Stand the mower on its side, on the left wheel. Remove the cap covering the center axle of the right wheel with a screwdriver.

5. Remove the right-side wheel by popping off the C-clip that holds the wheel onto the axle with a screwdriver. Lift off the wheel and set aside.

6. Remove the C-clip and the drive gear on the driveshaft with a screwdriver, and set aside.

7. Squeeze a generous amount of sharpening paste from the sharpening kit onto each of the five spiral-shaped blades.

8. Position the cordless drill with a 16-mm socket installed in the chuck over the drive shaft. Set the drill's direction indicator to reverse, and slowly depress the trigger. The blades of the mower should begin to rotate backwards.

9. Increase the drill's speed to about half-speed, and continue to sharpen the blades for about five minutes. Stop and apply more sharpening paste to each of the blades, and rotate again for another five minutes in reverse.

10. Wipe off the paste from the blades and cutting bar. Inspect the edge of each of the blades. They should be shiny and cleanly honed.

11. Reattach the drive gear and C-clip, followed by the right-side wheel and C-clip. Stand up the mower and reattach the handle.

Tips & Warnings

• When sharpening your manual lawn mower, keep your hands, clothing and any other foreign objects clear of the spinning blades.

References

• ReelMowers.info: Sharpening a Reel Mower
• Reel Mowers Etc.: How to Sharpen a Reel Mower
• Bob Vila: Adjusting a Reel Mower