Forget Bench Grinders: Sharpen Lawn Mower Blades With A Pocket Sized Tool

When the time comes to sharpen your lawn mower blades, you have no shortage of tools to choose from to get the job done. A bench grinder might be the go-to tool for many, as it can do a myriad of different jobs like sharpening, polishing, and removing rust from metal. Yet while the bench grinder is undeniably powerful, it's not what you would call mobile. A better tool in terms of portability and ease of use is a sharpening puck, which is a pocket-sized tool you can use to sharpen your lawn mower blades in a jiffy.

A sharpening puck is a whetstone made of silicon carbide that's usually 3 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Many sharpening pucks, such as the Lansky Puck, are what's known as dual grit. This means that one side is coarse for removing material fast and getting a general shape to the blade, and the other side has a medium grit that will give the blade its final sharp edge.

What's excellent about the sharpening puck isn't just the fact that it will fit in your pocket, but that it's an incredibly simple tool that can sharpen any type of blade, including axes and shovels. There are a lot of smart tools out there that can sharpen lawn mower blades, but the sharpening puck has got to be one of the smartest in terms of how easy it is to use, as well as the results you get from it.

The reason you want to regularly sharpen your lawn mower blades is because a sharp blade will provide you with a clean, even cut that the grass will heal quickly from. Dull blades can cause ripped grass ends, which, in turn, cause additional stress and leave the lawn susceptible to diseases. With a sharpening puck, you can get a really nice edge on your blade with minimal effort or fear of losing power. 

Remove the mower blade from the deck and clamp it securely in a vice so that it doesn't slip. Prime the puck with some honing oil to allow the stone to glide easily over the blade. If the metal is very dull, use the coarse side of the stone first. Bring the puck to the blade and, while maintaining a consistent angle, move the stone across the blade using a circular motion. Once you've gotten the blade mostly sharpened, switch to the medium side of the stone to give it its final edge. Be sure to balance the mower blades before reattaching them to the deck.

The lack of any powerful, fast-moving spinning wheels makes this one of the safest ways to sharpen a lawn mower blade. To maintain the puck, douse it with honing oil to remove any metal that may have stuck to the stone and keep it stored in your toolbox.