Balancing mower blades: What is it and why is it important?

Keeping your mower blades sharp is one of the most imporant aspects of proper mowing...but what about balancing your blades? What is that exactly and why is it important?

Balancing your blades is simply making sure the weight of your blade is evenly distributed from one side to the other. A blade typically becomes unbalanced in the sharpening process when you grind more metal off one side than the other.
Correcting this is easy, simply use a balancer (which can be as simple as a nail in the wall) to test your balance, and then use your grinder to shave off the heavier side of the blade until it is balanced.

The importance of balancing your blades is not so much about the quality of your cut (although it can be in some cases), but more about wear and tear on your mower. Mower blades are spinning 4000 RPMs. An unbalanced blade spinning that fast will cause a significant amount of vibration, which will put stress on yout blade shaft, spindle, and even the engine.

So if you want to get the most life out of your mower...keep the blades balanced!