A Must-Try Trick That'll Make Sharpening Lawn Mower Blades A Breeze

When it comes to determining whether gas versus electric lawn mowers are for you, one thing is true: Eventually, you'll need to do some maintenance, and that includes sharpening the blades (before the start of each mowing season and every 20 or 25 hours of use in a season). When you first buy a lawn mower, your blades should be ready to go, giving you a clean cut lawn. Over time, you'll find that with each pass, creating that same carefully manicured appearance becomes more and more difficult. If your lawn mower is leaving your grass ragged or uneven rather than with a clean trim, then this is a sign it may be time to sharpen your mower blades — and this must-try trick can make that process easier and more accurate.

Before you can start sharpening your lawn mower blades, you need to remove them from your mower. Then — whether you take advantage of the many ways to sharpen your mower blades yourself or take your blades to a professional —you have to return them to your lawn mower, and this is where problems can arise. At first glance, your lawn mower blades may seem like any orientation is correct. However, during reassembly, you can actually put your lawn mower blades upside down, an easy-to-make mistake that can damage both your grass and your lawn mower.

Thankfully, there's a simple step that can help you prevent this mistake. And the best part? All you need to do is mark one side of your blades with a dab of paint or a Sharpie so you know the proper orientation when reassembling.

If you want to save yourself the confusion later on, before removing your mower's blades, use a small streak of paint to mark which side is which. Since you can easily access the blade while it's still in place, adding a dab of paint somewhere on the grass-facing (bottom) surface of the blade can help you keep track of the proper orientation of your lawn mower blade. Simply add a little paint, or mark the blade with an "R" for right side with a Sharpie or other permanent marker.

With this hack, when it's time to reassemble, you won't be left confused about which direction your blades go. Plus, a little bit of paint can often go a long way before it's time to refresh your marking, depending on your usage.

But what about if you've already removed the blades? Don't worry — you're not out of luck. Even without your mower blade in place, there are two ways to tell which side should be facing out when reassembling. One of the best ways to do this is by referring to the owner's manual, which should explain how to properly assemble your lawn mower. If you don't have access to the owner's manual, you may be able to find a copy online or you can identify the top of your lawn mower's blade versus the bottom because the curved flange of the blade faces upwards when the mower is upright.