There are several signs to show that your lawn mower blade is blunt, but how do you know for sure? It’s not something we can put a sensor on (yet), so you’ll have to look for warning signs before deciding that your cordless lawn mower blade might not be capable of doing its best job.
Warning signs that your mower blade may be blunt
1. Tears rather than cuts the grass
Noticing the tips of your freshly cut grass appear to have been torn or shredded rather than a clean, flush cut, then this is as a sign your lawn mower blade is blunt. While it may be unsightly, the damage doesn’t stop there.
Tears in the grass blades leave your lawn open to infection from fungal diseases, particularly if you mow your lawn late in the evening.
2. An uneven cut
If your freshly mowed lawn looks like it’s been cut to different heights, it’s a sign that your battery lawn mower blades might be blunt. The areas of bluntness and sharpness on the blade is what makes the grass appear it has been cut at varying heights.
3. Clumps of grass yanked out of the ground
Blunt or dull blades from your ride on mower or walk-behind battery lawn mower can rip whole handfuls of grass out of the ground rather than cutting it neatly. If you notice whole clumps emerging from your mower’s discharge, then it might not be cutting properly. A closer inspection at both the clippings and the lawn itself should confirm this.
If you miss this sign, you won’t miss it for long. Soon enough, possibly within days (depending on the weather), you’ll see brown spots appear in the lawn where the grass has been yanked and there’s no new growth to cover it.
4. Grass has brown or white tips
Noticing brown or white tips on your mowed grass? Discoloured tips of grass is a sign of infection – meaning your battery lawn mower blades weren’t sharp enough to give a clean cut on your previous mow. An ineffective cut from blunt lawn mower blades leaves the grass open to infection which can display itself in brown or white grass tips.
Through improper mowing from blunt blades, lawn diseases like leaf spot can arise. A lawn that is suffering from leaf spot has a pale appearance from yellow-brown spots on the grass leaves.
Tips to help your mower blades stay sharp for longer
Preventing your mower blades from becoming blunt in the first place is better than taking them to be sharpened. That being said, your ride on lawn mower, push or self-propelled lawn mower blades will inevitably become blunt through wear and tear.
To keep your mower blades sharper for longer:
- Walk around the area you intend to mow and clear the area of any rocks, stones and other debris that may blunt your mower blades
- Don’t drop your mow height too low to avoid the mower bottoming out on the turf
- Carry out proper maintenance on your mower after each mow
Maintaining your lawn mower
Get your blades sharpened at your local EGO approved dealer, which will have an EGO certified engineer.
All EGO mowers come with a manual that details how you can properly maintain your lawn mower. You can also find and download a manual for your EGO tool from the bottom of any of our product pages.
EGO battery lawn mowers come with at least 5 years warranty for domestic use, however this doesn’t cover faults caused by improper storage. All the more reason to keep your mower maintained in accordance with our manuals, and have it serviced regularly by your local EGO dealer.