There seem to be countless lawn mower blades available these days. Ones that mulch, ones that high lift, and even ones that look sort of bent. To be honest, they all look kind of the same, or at least very similar. So, does this mean that you can use any blade on your lawn mower that you like and that they are universal? Well, let’s have a closer look.
So…Are Lawn Mower Blades Universal? (The Short Answer)
The short answer is no. Lawn mower blades are specifically manufactured to match specific lawn mowers. There are variations in blade attachment methods and blade sizes that make most blades incompatible with all lawn mowers.
The Different Types of Lawn Mower Blades
So, if you are heading out to buy a new lawn mower blade, you’re not going to find any blade that is universal. Instead, you are going to be faced with a bunch of different options that need to match both your lawn mower and the job you want them to do. Here are the different options you’ll need to be aware of.
- Design
- Connection Type
- Size
The Different Types of Lawn Mower Blades Designs
There is a huge selection of lawn mowers blades that are designed to carry out different jobs. This means that you can pick different blades to tackle the specific needs of your lawn. Let’s take a look at the different options available.
- Standard Lift Blades
- Low Lift Blades
- High Lift Blades
- Mulching Blades
- Gator Blades
Standard Lift Blades
Standard lift blades are the go-to blades for most lawn mower manufacturers. The blade manages to tackle most lawns to an acceptable standard, which makes them a middle-of-the-road blade design. The blade doesn’t particularly excel in one specific area like other designs do, but they certainly cover most bases.
Low Lift Blades
There are going to be times when you won’t want your lawn mower to have too much lift. For example, if you live in a dusty or sandy area, you don’t want your lawn mower sucking up too much dirt. The flat shape of the low lift blade makes much less airflow in the deck and keeps the dirt down on the ground.
The downside is that if you want to collect clippings, a low-lift blade will struggle as it just doesn’t have enough flow in the deck. But if you want to avoid mowing in a cloud of dirt, the low lift blade could be your best choice.
High Lift Blades
High lift blades are the opposite of low lift blades. This type of blade creates a lot of airflow in the mower deck and really helps when either discharging clippings out of a chute or into a bagger. The blade also sucks up the grass blades to give a much more even cut compared to other mower blades.
The downside with the extra lift and airflow is that you’ll find yourself sucking up the dirt and dulling the blades much faster. So, low-lift vs high-lift blades can be a tricky choice.
Mulching Blades
Mulching blades, or sometimes called multi-purpose or combination blades, carry out different jobs at the same time. Part of the blade acts as a high-lift blade, and the other part of the blade teeth acts as a mulcher. This means that the blade teeth continue to cut the clippings several more times, creating smaller clippings with every cut. This is a perfect way to add nutrients back into your lawn and not have to use a collection system.
Other blades will mulch clippings, but mulching blades chop the clippings much faster and speed up the composting process. So, if you’re trying to decide between mulching blades vs high-lift blades, consider if you want the extra nutrients in your lawn. But if you don’t want to mulch, you might want to consider standard blades instead of mulching blades.
Gator Blades
Gators are a step above mulching blades. They’re a more aggressive design that creates far greater airflow. This helps the mulching process by keeping the clippings up in the deck for longer and allows the bigger blade teeth to really chop up the grass. As a result, the gator blade can tackle more than just grass clippings.
If your lawn collects weeds on a weekly basis, gator blades will chop them up into fine pieces and allow you to increase the material for composting back into the lawn. If you have tried this with other blades, then you’re probably familiar with your mower spitting out chunks of leaves and making a mess. Also, because gators chop the clippings so finely, there will usually be very little, if anything, left on the lawn.
Now, if you use gator blades with a bagging system, you’ll find you get many more clippings in your bags.
The Different Types of Lawn Mower Blade Fittings
On top of the different jobs blades can do, there are several designs to attach them to your lawn mower. If you take a look in the center of a lawn mower blade, you’ll notice a hole. If you don’t match the blade hole to your lawn mower, then your new blade isn’t going to fit. Here are some of the different fittings you might come across.
- Circle
- 5 Poing Star
- 6 Point Star
- H-Pattern
- 6 Point Spindle
- Triangle Spindle
- Single Hole
- Multi Hole
The Different Types of Lawn Mower Blade Dimensions
You probably already know that blades come in different lengths to match the different cutting widths of lawn mowers. But you also have to think about the thickness of a blade.
Once you start moving into bigger commercial lawn mowers and even bigger industrial lawn mowers, you’ll start to see thicker blades. These thicker blades need much more power to work efficiently.
So, even if a blade is the right length and right design, it may not be the right thickness. This is another reason why you won’t find universal lawn mower blades.
How to Make Sure You Get the Right Blade for Your Mower
So, to avoid picking up the wrong lawn mower blade at the store, jot down the details of your lawn mower and the blade before you head out. You should be able to find all this information in the manual that came with your lawn mower. Here’s the information you will need.
- Lawn Mower Brand
- Lawn Mower Model Number
- Blade Design Required
- Blade Length
- Blade Thickness
If this information is difficult for you to collect, then you could just remove the old blade from the lawn mower and take it with you to the store. This means you’ll be able to match them up visually or with the help of a store associate.
Why Thinking Lawn Mower Blades Are Universal is a Big Mistake (Problems It Can Cause)
There are times when you will find that the wrong blades will fit on your lawn mower. This might make you think, are lawn mower blades universal? Trust me, they are not.
For example, you might have a shorter blade with the same fitting as your lawn mower that seems to fit fine. Stop. This is definitely not right and not a good idea. Here are some of the problems caused by using the wrong lawn mower blade.
- Blades too large will stop the engine and damage the lawn mower deck.
- Blades that are too short will rotate too fast and cause the lawn mower to overspeed and overheat.
- Lawn mower blades that have the wrong connection type can damage the connection fittings.
- Lawn mower blades that are connected using the wrong connection type can come loose and fall off. This will cause excessive damage to the lawn mower and cause potential harm to the operator.
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