I’ve seen most garden enthusiasts ask, which side of lawn mower blade is up?
Well, if you’re just starting out, it can be quite confusing, especially if you’re using gardening tools for the first time.
For your lawnmower to perform at it’s best, few things must be set correctly.
If you’re a beginner, why not check out my article on the worst lawn mower brands to avoid?
Setting the blade correctly is the only way to assure the safety, performance, and durability of your mower.
Below is a detailed guide to help you determine which side of lawn mower blade is up.
How to Tell Which Side of Lawn Mower Blade is Up
To know which side of the lawnmower blade is up, you first need to identify the side of the blade which sharp and the blunt side.
The sharpened end is the cutting edge and needs to face the ground while the blunt edge should face the lawn mower deck.
Other easy tricks will help you identify which side of the mower is up. They include:
NB: Maintain the utmost safety standards when performing maintenance checks to your mower. (Source)
1. Inspect for Stamp/ Etched Wording on The Blade
Lawnmower blades are never interchangeable and must be installed properly.
If installed wrongly, the blade could damage the mower or won’t cut correctly.
Most lawnmower brands sell their blades with a sticker that indicates which side of the edge is down and up.
Standard wording on the blades are- This Side Down or Toward Grass.
Almost all new blades will have this sort of sticker or edged wording, and this will make it easier for you to install the blade.
2. Sharp and Dull Edge
Well, on some very rare occasions, the blade you purchase may not have the sticker.
This could prove it hard for you, especially if you’re just a beginner and never at one time replaced a mower blade.
If that’s the case, here’s what you should do.
Locate the cutting edge on your blade.
Obviously, the cutting edge must be sharpened and will be sharper than the side of the blade that faces the mower deck.
Additionally, the tapers on the ends of the blade should point to the sky.
3. The Wobble Test
The wobble test will mainly help you figure out whether the blade is tightly secured to the mower to help prevent safety-related injuries in the future.
To perform the wobble test, hold one first of the mower blade firmly and the deck with your other hand.
Pull the blade; if it rock, then here’s what you should do- ensure that it’s fitted on the shaft correctly and tight all the securing bolts using a socket wrench.
As a friendly reminder, it’s always good to practice caution when dealing with a lawnmower.
You can prevent any sort of injuries by simply unplugging the connected wires when replacing the blade or performing other maintenance.
Which Side of Mulching and Reel Lawnmower Blade Is Up?
Other than regular rotary push mowers, reel and mulching lawnmowers blades may not have a clear indication as to which side is up.
This could lead to mistakes when replacing or performing maintenance to your mower blade.
Here’s how to tell which side of lawn mower blade is up in such cases.
Reel Lawnmowers
Because of their cylindrical nature, reel lawnmowers lack a down or upside since they roll like a wheel.
So, if you having doubt on which side is up or down, it’s best to check the manual that came with it or other contact the manufacturer.
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Mulching Lawnmower
Mulching lawnmowers can collect grass clippings once the grass has been cut.
Because they perform two tasks, mulching mowers have special kinds of blades.
And like standard lawnmowers, they have a stamp on the bottom side that indicates which side of the mower should face down on the ground.
If there’s no stamp on the blade, then here what to do to figure out which side faces up and what side faces down.
Mulching lawnmowers cuttings edge should have curves while the mulching edge will have pointy parts.
The point parts should face upward on the lawnmower body.
Once you have all these figured out, I would recommend you to mark it with a sticker so that you won’t have to repeat this procedure again.
What Happens When the Lawnmower Blade Is Wrongly Installed?
When the blade is wrongly installed, there are a few things that could go wrong. They include:
Damaged Lawnmower and lawn
The blade could cause significant damage to your lawnmower, depending on the brand and the length of time you’ve been using the lawnmower.
You’ll also end up ruining your lawnmower or reducing the durability and the effectiveness of your machine.
When the blade is installed correctly, you’ll have neat lawns.
However, with the blades installed wrongly, you will have uneven cut grass, leaving you with a messy lawn.
This could cost you your entire lawn, making you start all over again.
If your lawnmower left significant damages to your lawn, I would advise you to buy SOD for a quick jump start.
Here’s a guide I wrote on places where you can buy SOD.
Final Thoughts on Which Side of Lawn Mower Blade is Up
Above are tips to help you know which side of the lawn mower blade is up.
If you’re a beginner, it could be a tough task trying to get all your lawn and gardening instruments and then trying to figure out which part goes where and how to install it correctly.
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Warning:
If you plan to inspect a blade that’s mounted on the lawnmower, first disconnect the spark plug wire.
Also, ensure that you drain all the gas to an approved gas container before you tip the mower to the side.
This way, you will prevent accidental starts and prevent fuel from spilling from the mower gas tank.