Welcome! Please use the navigational links to explore our website.
PartsASAP LogoCompany Logo (800) 853-2651

Shop Now

   Allis Chalmers Case Farmall IH Ford 8N,9N,2N Ford
   Ferguson John Deere Massey Ferguson Minn. Moline Oliver

Attention Forum Users: On the 28th of December 2023 at 9:00am Central Time, we will be taking the forums down for maintenance while we prepare the new forums for your use. Please click here for more information.

Implement Alley Discussion Forum

Sharpen sickle bar knives or replace?

Welcome Guest, Log in or Register
Author 
Illinois Farmal

05-19-2006 18:50:03




Report to Moderator

I was just wondering if most of you with sickle bar mowers ever sharpen the knives or just replace them? Mine are the serated knives. If you sharpen, what is the best way? Thanks for all the help.




[Log in to Reply]   [No Email]
Leroy

05-20-2006 18:31:44




Report to Moderator
 Re: Sharpen sickle bar knives or replace? in reply to Illinois Farmall, 05-19-2006 18:50:03  
The trick to good sharpening any knife without burning is to use a sandstone wheel running slow, think foot pedal, and running in water and you will get a good sharp edge without any burning. Smooth and underserated sections were sharpened all the time, top serated are not made to sharpen but if you watch how you do it you can still sharpen them once or twice before you have to throw them away



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Nebraska Cowman

05-20-2006 03:47:48




Report to Moderator
 Re: Sharpen sickle bar knives or replace? in reply to Illinois Farmall, 05-19-2006 18:50:03  
Under-serrated sections can be sharpened and for cutting grass hay they work better sharp.

over-serrated are self-sharpening.

third party image

Even bad boys are just as good as they can be

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Hugh MacKay

05-20-2006 02:45:52




Report to Moderator
 Re: Sharpen sickle bar knives or replace? in reply to Illinois Farmall, 05-19-2006 18:50:03  
During my farming days we had time and it paid off to sharpen mower sections. I annually mowed 35,000 bales per year. I always had 3 knife section bars on the go, sharpened them all by hand with a carburendum. The carburendum does a superior job of sharpening. Just clamp the bar in a vise on the flat and go at it. I have changed for freshly sharpened cutters 3 times per day, it pays off. We learned that with horses, dull cutters would play the horses out.

I do agree with Randy, in fact if you have top serated sections, see the nearest scrap dealer, he will give you exactly what they are worth. Once the sections are ground to a point you may as well replace them. If you hand grind a bar every 15 acres, a 9' haybine bar only takes about 20 minutes.

Remember if dull knives played the horses out, they just created excessive wear and breakage with the tractor. Most broken pitman arms have been caused by dull cutters.

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
JMS/MN

05-19-2006 21:59:50




Report to Moderator
 Re: Sharpen sickle bar knives or replace? in reply to Illinois Farmall, 05-19-2006 18:50:03  
Of course you sharpen them- doesn't matter if they are serated or not. Just grind them to a smooth edge and cut grass. Serated knives do have an advantage, but they can cut fine with sharpening.



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
JJ. in B.C.

05-19-2006 20:44:34




Report to Moderator
 Re: Sharpen sickle bar knives or replace? in reply to Illinois Farmall, 05-19-2006 18:50:03  
Replace them, trying to sharpen serrated knives is a waste of time.
JJ.



[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
Randy as in Randy-IA

05-19-2006 20:36:58




Report to Moderator
 Re: Sharpen sickle bar knives or replace? in reply to Illinois Farmall, 05-19-2006 18:50:03  
Hi , Kind of need to know if they are underserrated or top serrated . I don't think the top serrated ones can be sharpened but the underserrated ones can . I tryed to sharpen my US with a 4-1/2" grinder with a sanding disc on it , a cut-off wheel and a regular grinding wheel . Nothing worked for me to my satisfaction . I couldn't keep the teeth ( serrations ) from getting to hot . So I just bolted new ones on . It didn't take very long and cost less than $25.00 for 35 new sections and the new bolts to put them on . I put the knife-back over two pieces of white oak , started the bolts out with a good whack of the hammer and then used a punch to drive them the rest of the way out . Did the same thing to put them back in . The top of my hayrack made a great place to do it with plenty of room to work on it . ...Randy

[Log in to Reply]  [No Email]
[Options]  [Printer Friendly]  [Posting Help]  [Return to Forum]   [Log in to Reply]

Hop to:


TRACTOR PARTS TRACTOR MANUALS
We sell tractor parts!  We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]

Home  |  Forums


Copyright © 1997-2023 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy

TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters

Website Accessibility Policy