Let’s take a look at what’s important: blade width, length, and hole diameter. However, blade lift is commonly overlooked. It’s the blade’s ability to lift the grass up, cut it, and then push it out or into your bagger.
Wondering how to find your blade lift? Place the blade on a flat surface and measure the height of the back edge of the blade. This is your lift measurement.
What are your blade lift options? Typically, you’ll find high, medium, and low lift blade options. You’d need to seriously consider your engine size if you chose an extra-high-lift blade (it needs very high horsepower to be effective).
A high lift blade pulls the grass up then cuts it off and sends it to the collection unit. This blade is good for a healthy lawn that is not sandy. Using this blade on a sandy lawn can do a number on the deck for premature wear. A medium lift blade can be used pretty much on any lawn type, just keep in mind that if you have a sandy lawn, you’ll need to use our next blade. A low lift blade isn’t the best choice for lifting and bagging the grass, as it has very low suction But, it’s great for thick grass that needs to keep all the horsepower for cutting and it’s excellent for sandy, dusty lawns.
Another alternative is a mulching blade. These blades allow the grass to recirculate beneath the deck, leading to multiple cuts and smaller grass clippings. With a mulching blade, there’s no need to bag your clippings as they’ll quickly decompose into the soil. Gator Blades mulch extremely well, as they have special angled teeth designed to produce finer grass clippings and faster decomposition. Ask us for a great mulching blade when you come in.
Remember: When you’re mowing, the key is not to finish as fast as you can, but go at a reasonable, consistent pace. Why? If you go as fast as the mower goes, you can overdrive the blades. This causes the mower to bog down. And, as the mower deck goes from slow to fast again, the belt can snap back from being slack, then actually snap. Slow and steady wins the lawn mowing race!
