How important are sharp blades anyways?

Is your lawn mowing service cutting your grass with sharp blades? I know over the years I’ve had times where I sharpen my blades weekly to periods where I’ve sharpened them daily. It often comes down how many jobs you’re doing each day and what the conditions were like that day. Each blade can only be sharpened so many times before it needs replaced. Once a blade is too worn down to sharpen, it will cost $18 to replace each blade with a quality blade. Most lawn mowing services have 5+ mowers using two or 3 blades each. At $18 a blade that expense adds up quick over the year. Which is why many lawn mowing service providers try to use their blades as much as possible between sharpening’s. How much harm can a dull blade really cause?

Dull blade troubles….

The obvious problem here is uncut grass. If the blade fails to completely cut the grass in the first pass the mower operator must then notice the issue, then make a second pass resulting in additional time on the job. He also might just leave it as it is and see if the customer notices his inferior cut in his effort to save time and do more jobs. Besides this issue, however, is a greater concern for higher end properties. When you are already paying regular payments for weed control and fertilization the last thing you want is dull mower blades working against that investment. A dull lawn mower blade doesn’t make a clean cut. Instead it rips or tears the grass producing jagged edges that take longer to heal, produce an unsightly browning at the edges of the blade that generally take longer to heal. Grass that heals quicker is less likely to suffer from disease requiring additional services and cost from the fertilization company. These brown jagged edges can also leave an unsightly yellow hue and a rough appearance to the lawn, often not the look people are wanting in their turf grasses.

While there may be some acceptable places for a lawn mowing service to save time and money, its just not worth using dull blades once you know that harm that comes from it.

Zach Poole

Advance Lawn Care

501-617-2773