Balance Your Lawn Mower Blades Anywhere With An Easy Amazon Find

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The amount of metal you remove when sharpening a lawn mower blade may seem insignificant, but it can actually be highly consequential for you, your equipment, and your grass. When you sharpen one end of a blade, the metal you grind off changes the weight at that end. If you don't remove the same amount from the other end, the weights of the two ends will be different. As a result, the blade will wobble when it's rapidly spinning, creating severe vibrations that could cut the grass unevenly and damage the lawn mower deck, spindle, and other mechanical components. That's why blade balancing is such a crucial part of the process, ensuring the weight is evenly distributed. Going to a professional is the easiest way to sharpen your mower blades accurately, but if you want to save time and money by DIYing it, this step can be made much easier with one inexpensive tool on Amazon.

The Silcpall Lawn Mower Blade Balancer comes in a pack of two for $7.97, and if you're wondering why it's so cheap, it's because there isn't much to it. It consists of a stepped metal cone that sits on a vertical pin attached to a flat base, the whole assembly being small enough to fit in your hand or pocket. When you fit the cone through the hole in the center of the mower blade and let it rest freely, you'll instantly see if one end of the blade is heavier, because that end will dip lower than the other. Since you can set the balancer next to you while you're working, it's easy to fine-tune the edges on both ends no matter where you are when you decide it's time to sharpen your mower blades.

The idea of a blade balancer isn't new; the first one was a wall-mounted product that came on the market in the 1950s. Without one, the traditional practice is to just drive a nail in the wall, hang the blade horizontally, and make sure it stays that way. An upgrade to both of those options, the Silcpall model is an example of a cone-and-pivot balancer you can take anywhere, and while it's far from the only portable mower blade balancer on the market, it is one of the least expensive. And because it comes in a two-pack, owners are able to leave one in the shop and take the other with them if they want to remove, sharpen, and balance their blades outside. 

Unlike similarly priced balancers, the Silcpall is made of a rust-resistant zinc alloy, which many users like as a more durable, longer-lasting alternative to plastic versions. Buyers also note the stepped design works well with blade holes of varying sizes, though you can also use adapters, like Ohoho Lawn Mower Blade Adapters, to securely hold different hole shapes. For the most accuracy when using the Silcpall balancer, be sure to clean the blade carefully first. Depending on where you are, it might also be a good idea to use a bubble level to check the surface on which you place the balancer. If that surface isn't level, use the tool to check the level of the blade itself.