Mower Blade Steel

[crokett]

How good is it? I changed out the blades on my mower today. I mangled one of em pretty bad a few weeks ago so will not put them back on. I was thinking of attempting a chisel or similar at my Dad's forge. Are mower blades of tool steel quality?

[Hoover]

If I am not mistaken, they are made from spring steel. The same type of steel used on vehicle springs. So it should be a good candidate for tool making. Roy Underhill on one of his shows went to a metal forger, and the blacksmith was making lathe chisels from a '53 Chevy.

[Daryl]

I heard they would make a decent knife, but they have a need to be kind of soft so they don't break everytime you hit a stone. Might be they just need hardened.

[Russianwolf]

I know they are hard enough to chew through one of those cork screw dog stakes, Tool the head of the thing clean off with the rider one day, have a nice chip in the blade but it's still good.

That reminds me, I need to sharpen that set and switch them back on at some point.

[LCHIEN]

Back when i mowed my own lawn, I would just sharpen them with a file; they're not hardened steel. You can get the balancing cones at any hardware lawn/garden supply store so you can file on them and keep them even. Since the lawnmover is moving and the blade whirls around several times in the time it takes to move 21 inches (or the diameter of the blade) a nick or two doesn't matter.

If you have a grinder thats much faster than a flat file but with a flat file you can still do a good job. I have seen many a blade with about half the width files off by repeat sharpenings, you should do it several times a season. I kept two blades, one to sharpen while the other was ont he mower. The leading edge doesn't even need to be straight, but balanced is important or you'll shake the mower apart.

A sharp blade is much healther and prettier on the grass. Look and if you grass blades look like a pair of scissors cut them its sharp enough but if the cut edge is ragged like it was ripped or torn then you need to sharpen the blade. a cut edge will heal faster and lose less moisture on hot days, the ragged edges will turn brown and give an unhealthy cast color to the grass as well as lose moisture and stress the grass,make it susceptable to disease and insects.

[crokett]

I know I can sharpen them but this set has one blade that is actually cracked. I am still not sure what I hit on my lawn. I was asking about the steel more so I know what I can turn them into.

[LCHIEN]

I know I can sharpen them but this set has one blade that is actually cracked. I am still not sure what I hit on my lawn. I was asking about the steel more so I know what I can turn them into.

Cracked? You gotta toss it. Too Dangerous to use.

Probably not good enough steel for tools. its large, its cheap, and only meant to cut soft grass.

[cabinetman]

I know I can sharpen them but this set has one blade that is actually cracked. I am still not sure what I hit on my lawn. I was asking about the steel more so I know what I can turn them into.

If you can cut it so the crack isn't part of what you want, you could make a scraper out of it. You may have to dress it more often, but it'll be wide enough to get a comfy grip. Or, use the rounded edge for use in pressing veneer down.
.

[Daryl]

If you can sharpen it with a hand file I doubt it is tool steel, most likely a low carbon steel.
This from Harbor Freight http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=2529 is a tough springy steel. I started making a knife and got distracted, but I had to use a lot of heat to get it straightened out and it had a good bit of springyness.

[Tom Slick]

it's really soft material. spring/tool/hardened steels are difficult to file by hand and difficult to stamp/form like a blade is. my guess is that it is a mild steel that may be tempered.

[pierhogunn]

David, be careful, I got into smithing a while back, and I swear for about 3 months I couldn't help but look at all sorts of metal bits and pieces laying around the office, home, side of the road etc, with one remark

yeah, I'd hit it ( with a hammer after a nice long bath in some burning coal)...

SWMBO, seeing a new "addiciton" forming gently reminded me ( boot to the head) that I may like to do that, but I had no where to "play"

you are just too darn lucky to have a dad with a forge

unless he has an electric fan, I would humbly suggest building a treadle for the blower so you can work with both hands over the fire

[crokett]

He has an electric blower. I am trying to get him to put one in the flue over the forge, although he does have a fan in the gable.

[leehljp]

I had a mower with a "thin" blade that was hard and hard to sharpen but seemed to stay sharp longer. I also have had mowers with thicker blades that were easy to sharpen and needed it more often.

It depends, IMO.