How to Sharpen a Reel-Type Lawn Mower
- 1). File the edges of the blades and the cutter bar to smooth any small burrs or nicks.
- 2). Turn the adjustment screws on each end of the cutter bar with a screwdriver until the bar lightly touches the blades along its full length as they rotate against it.
- 3). Dip a rag in valve-grinding compound and rub it along the cutting edge of the blades. Rotate the blades backward by hand so they move upward against the cutting bar. Turn them so each blade touches the cutter bar about a dozen times.
- 4). Rub a whetstone along the edge of the cutter bar to sharpen it.
- 5). Wipe off the remaining grinding compound with a rag. Place a piece of newspaper between the cutter bar and the blades and turn the blades forward to check that they slice it. Adjust the cutter bar again if necessary so the blades brush against it evenly across its full length as they rotate.
