Just picked up a 1 year old Craftsman mulching push mower for a whopping $25. It runs good as far as I can tell. I was messing around with it last night and mowed a small part of the yard. I noticed that after each pass there was a considerable amount of grass sticking up. I turned the mower on its side and looked at the blade. It looks pretty dull and has several nicks in the blade. I figure I should just replace the blade. I also noticed that the bottom of the deck was extremely plastered with old grass. I scrapped all that out perhaps that will make it mow better as well. I plan to change the oil as well.

Should I be able to just to go sears and pick up a mower blade? How hard are they to install?

 

Should be able to buy a blade, easy to install. Be sure to pull the plug wire so there's no chance of it starting while you are playing with the blade.

You can save some money if you just sharpen the blade-DIY or take it to a shop. I do mine every year.

 

How much cheaper could sharpening really be? Its $12 at sears for a new blade

I decided against just sharpening this time because the blade has many nicks out of it.

 

You could sharpen it yourself with a metal file and a vise.

The blade should take you about 10 min to install. Just unbolt and then bolt.

 

Buy the new one. If you do sharpen your own, be sure to check the balance of it after sharpening.

 

I change my blades annually...

Probably the lawncare OCD I have.

 

For $12, just buy the new one and maybe a spare.

 

That's either OCD or you have some serious lawn acreage!!!!

I've had the same blade for +5 years...no problems cutting the lawn.

 

The mower I have was bought by my Grandma in '99 (it's a Toro). She gave it to me when I moved into my house since she has gardeners now. It has the original blade which I had my dad sharpen with a grinder. Works beautifully!

I have OCD lawn care too. I completely clean my mower after every use.

Now to do something about them weeds...

 

^^^^
My grandma gave me a mower when I moved into my place as well. The problem is that its from around 1970. Granted it starts everytime on the first pull and cuts the grass nice. Problem is that I have to use a lead additive with the gas, there is no height adjustment, its LOUD as can be, and shakes the whole time you use it. Oh one more thing if you mow when the sun is going down you can see sparks shooting out the chute

So thats why I picked up this craftsman last week during our community yard sale

 

very hard to do unless you do it all the time

 

better to cut the blades of grass, than tear them and have them get diseases easier

 

Yeah, just buy a new one, and you should be able to just sharpen it every year... Unless you run over stumps,rocks etc... at least for a few years...

I've got a POS push mower that I got for nothing, and I really need a blade for it... PO (brother in law) treated it badly... I've already have like $20 into it (cable, wheels), and have used it for 3 years, so It's about time I give it a good blade I guess..

I used lawn equipment

 

Oh, and you should clean out the deck at least a couple times a year so it doesn't look like this (swiss cheese):