Thread: old time lawnmower

Greetings Gentlemen!

I have an old mechanical lawnmower that i inherited, that is in working order, it just needs a good sharpening. I'm referring to the kind that has no engine and is powered by the person pushing it. The wheels turn a sort of array of slightly spiral blades. If i was less lazy i could post a pic, but those who know what i'm talking about, know what i'm talking about. Believe it or not this is what i used to cut the grass with when i was a kid - and i'm not old i'm only in my 30's... i come from a long line of cheapskates who see no need to buy a new lawn mower when you have one thats 80 years old and works just fine. It was dull when i had to use it as a kid and took multiple passes to cut the grass, and the grass had to be bone dry. The excuse my dad gave was that the man with the horse drawn cart (i'm not making this up) that would periodically come through the neighborhood to sharpen all manner of things that people wanted sharpened, including scissors and this lawnmower, hadn't come by in decades and that we possessed no appropriate tool to sharpen it with. The thing is i know they work nicely when sharp because i had a very elderly neighbor who had a similar lawn mower which he had kept in impeccable shape that cut his lawn beautifully, and which he had no problem pushing around in his 80's.

So, i think being a group of guys who are into old-timey instruments that need to be kept sharp, you would be as good a bunch as any to ask for some advice on sharpening this thing. I had found an antique sharpener for this specific purpose on ebay which was still in the box and unused (!), and communicated with the seller, but was sniped at the last minute and didn't get it. Is anyone here familiar with shapening these old things? I have files that i use to sharpen axes and regular lawn mower blades, and have thought of using them, but thought i better think it thru first in case these blades require special care or a specific angle. They are so dull its hard to tell exactly where they are supposed to be sharpened. I'd really hesitate to use a grinding wheel, which might not be able to reach the blades properly anyway.

Well that was long winded, but maybe it bought some nostalgia to some of you! Thanks for your consideration

I'd use files to create the new bevels, from coarse to fine, and then perhaps finish with a 400 or 600 grit whetstone, posibly with a 320 in between if you have one.

Anything beyond 400 is probably pointless for the purpose of mowing the lawn.
And the steel is probably too soft to hold a really fine edge. In that case, finer stones are pretty pointless to use.

i just use my files i have to knock an edge bacck on my blades. has worked well for me. i think you can always find a specailty tool for just about anything, but you really don't always need it.

vgod

There is this.

It's actually not too hard to use. The push mower's wheel is attached to a square axle that turns the blade. You take the wheel off, and replace it with the crank (one of our mowers had a smaller axle, so we had to kludge it a bit), you paint some of the sharpening grit onto the non-moving cutting surface and spin the crank.

Jim

You should be able to get a satisfactory edge with the files, a little better one with a round axe stone. You don't want a large flat stone. because the blades are constantly curving. Remember these are really a big rotart sisors, the space between the reel and the other blade is criticle to their functioning. Make sure you can adjust that spacing and sharpen both blades of the scisors setup before you do anything. An alternative would be to look for a "lawn mower sharpening" sign in your neighborhoodor out towards a rural area a bit. A few older guys around here run sharpening shops out of their garages and these old guys can sharpen up almost any old time tool from chainsaws to handsaws, hoes, shovels, circular saw blades, lawn mower blades and even reel mowers, and they tend to do it for a song.

Originally Posted by justdan

Greetings Gentlemen!

I have an old mechanical lawnmower that i inherited, that is in working order, it just needs a good sharpening. I'm referring to the kind that has no engine and is powered by the person pushing it. The wheels turn a sort of array of slightly spiral blades. If i was less lazy i could post a pic, but those who know what i'm talking about, know what i'm talking about. Believe it or not this is what i used to cut the grass with when i was a kid - and i'm not old i'm only in my 30's... i come from a long line of cheapskates who see no need to buy a new lawn mower when you have one thats 80 years old and works just fine. It was dull when i had to use it as a kid and took multiple passes to cut the grass, and the grass had to be bone dry. The excuse my dad gave was that the man with the horse drawn cart (i'm not making this up) that would periodically come through the neighborhood to sharpen all manner of things that people wanted sharpened, including scissors and this lawnmower, hadn't come by in decades and that we possessed no appropriate tool to sharpen it with. The thing is i know they work nicely when sharp because i had a very elderly neighbor who had a similar lawn mower which he had kept in impeccable shape that cut his lawn beautifully, and which he had no problem pushing around in his 80's.

So, i think being a group of guys who are into old-timey instruments that need to be kept sharp, you would be as good a bunch as any to ask for some advice on sharpening this thing. I had found an antique sharpener for this specific purpose on ebay which was still in the box and unused (!), and communicated with the seller, but was sniped at the last minute and didn't get it. Is anyone here familiar with shapening these old things? I have files that i use to sharpen axes and regular lawn mower blades, and have thought of using them, but thought i better think it thru first in case these blades require special care or a specific angle. They are so dull its hard to tell exactly where they are supposed to be sharpened. I'd really hesitate to use a grinding wheel, which might not be able to reach the blades properly anyway.

Well that was long winded, but maybe it bought some nostalgia to some of you! Thanks for your consideration

For future reference, it's called a reel mower Any lawn mower worth their salt will know what you're talking about if you tell them that.

As an aside I looked at picking up an 11' gang reel mower for doing my lawn in record time. If you find a good sharpening method let me know, I might need it 'In bulk" soon.

I've always loved reel mowers, they are quieter and work better for little more effort than a gas mower. Since I keep three acres ad a pasture mowed I reall don't have any choice though.

Aren't reel mowers suppose to better for your grass because they use more or less a scissoring action? --- nice clean straight cut -----?


Justin

I used an old reel mower for the last couple of years. The solution that Jim proposed works very well, and you can get the Kit at Lee Valley also. What you do is you apply the lapping compound to the blades, as well as the lip of the mower that the blades cut on. Apply the crank and spin it around. It doesn't take very long before it's sharp again.

Originally Posted by jaegerhund

Aren't reel mowers suppose to better for your grass because they use more or less a scissoring action? --- nice clean straight cut -----?


Justin

It's what they do golf courses with, so I would guess so