hover mower blades

[bobl]

Hi all,
Its Bob The Knife Grinder from Washington Tyne & Wear in UK.
I am doing better and better week bye week on my new Tormek T7. Its saving me a fortune compared to my other machine, which I use now only occasionally.
I am as you know a knife sharpener, however, today I was going to mow the lawn with my hover mower. Thought I would check the blades. They were full of nicks and very blunt. I got my trusty T7 out, checked the angle on the blade 50 degrees with the anglemaster. 4 minutes later, grinding and leather strop combined. I had a well sharp mower blade. Grass never had as good a cut in a short amount of time.
Happy days.
I need another fix, I have to grind and sharpen something soon.
For all the newbies like me, JUST HAVE A GO, its great.
Bob 

[Jimmy R Jørgensen]

It really is. I also have the same feeling.. i need a fix often ( a knife that need a new edge) 

[SharpenADullWitt]

In all honesty, while I have read some here about sharpening mower blades on the Tormek, for simplicity sake (and a trick I learned from several lawn mowing companies) is to use an angle grinder with the blade on the mower. (more frequent and when really bad, then you swap blades)

[Herman Trivilino]

I sharpened my mower blade yesterday. My grandson had borrowed my mower and the blade was in rough shape. The first step was a wire brush to clean it up. Then a file to to the flat side where the nicks had raised the steel. I used the knife jig and the Tormek on the bevel side, then a touch up free handing on the bench grinder, then back to the Tormek, and so on. Back and forth. Finally I used a small stone to remove the burr and polish the bevel.

I had to keep dressing the grindstone with the coarse side of the stone grader, and I changed the water in the trough twice. The magnets trapped a lot of steel.

[Rob]

I used to use the Tormek on my mower blades but found it pretty hard work so I've also switched to an angle grinder.  The way I figure it, the job they do is rough, very rough in fact, encountering stones and what have you so it's not about finessing, more about "appropriate sharpness".
One thing that helped me make up my mind in that regard is buying an 18V family of hand held Lith-ion tools.  It meant getting the grinder to the mower is much easier and more convenient as it doesn't even have cable.

I do use the T7 on my secateurs blades which makes a real difference to avoiding bruising the plant tissue at the point of cut.