Blueing the blade?

[gwoodcutter]

Can someone explain to me how to sharpen a blade correctly and not blue the blade? Can someone also explain what it is and how to avoid this. Thanks.

[Sprinkler Buddy]

Lawn care business tips

When a blade has a blue tinge, it's caused from the blade getting to hot when sharpened. Finer the grit of the grinding wheel, the easier it is to get too hot. Run the blade quicker back and forth on the grinding wheel with less pressure to reduce bluing. That still may not help much if you have a really fine grit grinding wheel. I use a commercial sharpener called the magna matic. It works great and doesn't blue the blade unless I try to rush it. This isn't practical for a home owner, they are expensive. It's also important to balance your blades. It saves the life of your bearings in the spindle and reduces vibrations when blades are properly balanced. *New blades are seldom balanced.

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[gwoodcutter]

thanks for the feedback. That's eye opening that new blades are seldom balanced. I looked up the magna matic and wow on the prices.

[wandfsmall]

Originally Posted by gwoodcutter

thanks for the feedback. That's eye opening that new blades are seldom balanced. I looked up the magna matic and wow on the prices.

on a side note the first mowing will make a blade unbalanced as well, but the better you start out with the better you end up.

[Steve]

What is the downside to blueing the blade? A lot of readers may not understand this.

[Sprinkler Buddy]

Originally Posted by Steve

What is the downside to blueing the blade? A lot of readers may not understand this.

It doesn't hold the cutting edge nearly as long.

[wandfsmall]

Originally Posted by Steve

What is the downside to blueing the blade? A lot of readers may not understand this.

when you change the color of the blade to a blue color you have taken the tempering out of the steel causing the metal to soften allowing it to dull faster.

[brian'slawncare]

how exactly do you guys balance your blades? I never have because I couldn't figure it out...

[jymie]

After you sharpen the blade, use one of these

http://www.lawnboss.net/images/blade_balancer.jpg

or you can put a nail into a vice and make sure the blade is not weighted to one side.

Here's a video on how to sharpen blades

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK2bo3esbAI

When you put a blade on the balancer, the side that is lower, needs to have a bit more ground off of it.

[stevef1201]

I use a 4 1/2 angle grinder, clamp the blade on the work bench, then holding the grinder at about a 40 degree angle to the flat of the blade start grinding. DO NOT hold it in one place and DO NOT push hard. If you do you will the steel 'blue' that is over heat and lose tempering. Grind untill the cutting edge is straight and sharp. Make a pas then spray water on the blade, make another, repeat untill sharp.

If you do not feel comfortable doing this go to you local dealer they usually have a small charg-here its 5 buck to sharpen blades (two).