How does one sharpen a reel mower?
Reel mowers are sharpened by “backlapping” – first you apply a sharpening compound to the blades, then you crank the reel backwards using a crank handle that comes with the kit that is available for some of our reel mowers. The compound rubs between the reel blades and the fixed blade at the bottom, sharpening both. Great States Corporation makes an easy-to-use kit for their mowers. McLane makes a sharpening kit for their 17″ manual and power mowers, and sharpening attachments for the 20″ and 25″ power mowers. We now also offer a sharpening compound that can be used on most manual reel mowers. Please click here: Sharpen Reel Mowers to read the directions.
