Installed these on a riding mower th-cam.com/users/postUgkxetgfkJxfdT_B2vGYP-uNTLaBbim9OKTD . They were sharp out of the box, although I've never liked blade edges that were coated...not quite as sharp as I personally want. Using my belt sander, I removed the coating from the cutting edges and refined the edge enough to shave with them. So far, after three runs, these blades are holding up as expected. Even after hitting a few fallen 1/2 inch or so branches, the edges are still sharp as heck. No edge dings, no warping, etc. As far as installing them, the cutouts were of the proper size and shape to fit my aging Craftsman mower. Very satisfied.
The yellow dethatching tines supplied are a little too short for many lawns. Just purchase a roll of Magnum Gatorline Square, .170" HD (or similar) trimmer line and cut your own tines, slightly longer, with the mower raised higher. This will work much better. Also, if you run a leaf blower over the section you mowed, you would see a more accurate result. The blade mostly brings the thatch to the surface, from where you dispose of it.
I use that blade on a 5.5 yardman from the 90's. I have pretty good luck with it, using at operating revs, not idle. I take the lawn mower and set the height on level cement so the plastic rakes are the lowest I can go without touching cement. On bumpy lawns you may scrub out or scalp the lawn in high spots, which maybe good or bad depending on the situations. I mowed with the original rakes on after the first cut or two last year. The rakes didn't last all that time, but i didn't really need them after the initial times I used them. Typically i would also have the lawn mower raised higher after the first cut. I really enjoy the blades. They can be really fun with pine cones.... so i either bag or mulch instead of side shooting.
u gotta cut lawn short, use arnold rake blade with backand side discharges rigged wide open, and mow low until you see massive amounts of brown thatch flying out of every mower orifice, then remow and bag lawn. the plastic tines seem to last about 4000sf
It would help if you used it right. 1. Start High and work down the to where it does the job. 2. It mows and bags the thatch as the blade is and can be used as a regular mower blade. 3. More Throttle. And yes, the tines point down.
I used to run the spring style detaching blades full time up north. Saved a lot of time cleaning up after the dog. Dog poop would just vanish, when hit by the blade.
I have one of these. The nylon teeth are not nearly long enough so they pop out you end up scalping your yard the get the teeth low enough. I can’t recommend them unless you want to scalp your yard.
@@Turbo231Machine Reel mowers is over prized. Im just going to lower mower blades and sharpen blades after every pass....setting it lower and lower until......max achieved.....then use cheap reel to finish off. Cut....sharpen....cut....sharpen.....cut.....compact roller.....top dress.....fertiliser....rain.....irrigate.....cut....cut....! Hi hi. You may think oooo hooo good luck.....im using garden scissor at moment......barber cutting.....
Damn that engine sounds sick. Lot of rod knock going on. Listen to all the clunking when the engine dies down. Just wait till you rebuild that engine $$$$$.
Back in the good old days, I used my dethatching blade on my lawn mower, set the cut depth so that the blade tines just scratched the turf bottom and it worked great. Since then it appears that lawn manufacturers all now make their mowers so that the lowest blade height setting is to high to use my dethatching blade effectively. It's probably a nod to better overall mower safety by limiting the depth to avoid hitting and incidental objects. It doesn't matter if the dethatching blade uses the plastic or steel tines because now neither is long enough to touch the ground when the mower blade height is set to the lowest setting, and I've measured the dimension and been to stores checking display mowers for their lowest height distance from the ground. I don't know that there's such a thing as a blade adapter made longer to lower the blade. What do do?
You can lower the blade, you would just need to either shim your current collar down some as I’m sure the bolt has enough teeth, or replace it with a longer one (the piece the blade bolts too. Having put that Honda motor on a different adjustable deck let’s me drop it lower then I want to go. You could also try and dig up longer springs for the dethatcher, I imaging finding them for a bigger blade and adapting them down to your blade may work. My Hairy lawn mower is only 16”, hope it to be running this spring and will see if I can get it low enough to be useful. Good luck to you.
@@D-Mayor Thanks. I'd already measured those orange plastic-type tines and they're too short like the metal ones. I'd need to search online to see if a longer version is available and then I'd also need to purchase the blade that uses them. I miss my old mowers that enabled the blade to be set low enough for the mulching tines to reach the soil. I suppose that they've limited the blade height to be higher for safety reasons. (You would want to strike a sprinkler head and I've done that myself. Goodbye sprinkler head.) Thanks again.
if you have a lot of land to cut just get a decent ridding mower with a bag and you wont have the thatch problem . If you don't have a lot to cut just use a normal mower with a good bag, either way a good bag and a sharp blade will prevent this from happening all together .
Wind Thanks. Yeah the thatch is less of a lawn issue and more of a "this used to be pasture" issue. It will resolve on its own, I just want it to go faster.
I'm missing something. Thatch IS clippings and certainly not waterproof. I'm skeptical (OK ... cynical). I admit it. But I haven't seen any evidence lawns NEED to be dethatched, just like I haven't seen any evidence my dogs' teeth need to be brushed even though every other groomer will tell me so and try to sell me doggie toothpaste. Mulching on the other hand is fertilizing which is thousands of years old technology.
I can see that being good, but really the machine is flipping things over, taking what was once deep on the ground and kicking it up to the top where air and water can get at it.
The prior video to this one is taking 2 mowers from the dump and making one good mower. Actually a great mower, this one is still in service today as my main bush mower.
MadMetalManiac74 Define bad? Getting thrown in the dump is bad, running at low idle? Pretty sure if it's "bad" is so low on the scale of bad things it's a moot point.
Turbo231 engines like this are not designed to be put under load while on idle. Every manufacture will tell you the same thing. Not exactly doing it any favors that's all I was implying. Also might not have worked as effectively for that reason. Low rpm=bad juju.
MadMetalManiac74 just making sure folks understand that a lot of manufacture recommendations are for warranty purposes only. Running a mower at lower rpm affects blade speed which for an operator may be desirable, but not actually doing any harm. Juju=personal belief. If I break the crank at low rpm, I'll let you know.
Pick a spare mower to use that is on its way out. OR, Rent a Power Dethatcher at HD for $30.00 and do it right. This method ruins good plants. Been there done that!
Where on earth can you rent a Power Raker or Power Dethatcher for $30.00? Here in Northwest Florida I would have to pay HD $500.00 for four(4) hours, more for a day rate and even more for a week; the countdown starts when I leave the store, so half my rental time is driving in my truck and then setup.
That is the intent of a dethatcher. Running this on a lawn with no thatch is certainly not a good idea but dethatching works wonders on a lawn with a thick layer of thatch.
@ Wil W Bermuda grass actually likes a little thatch. Also Bermuda grass will always thatch if you don't mow it often and super short. Just go out and take a look at it, it's really different then other grasses only the very top is green the rest below goes woody. It will always have the same amount of 'green' no matter how tall you let it get so you just end up with more brown woody the taller it's mowed at.
Installed these on a riding mower th-cam.com/users/postUgkxetgfkJxfdT_B2vGYP-uNTLaBbim9OKTD . They were sharp out of the box, although I've never liked blade edges that were coated...not quite as sharp as I personally want. Using my belt sander, I removed the coating from the cutting edges and refined the edge enough to shave with them. So far, after three runs, these blades are holding up as expected. Even after hitting a few fallen 1/2 inch or so branches, the edges are still sharp as heck. No edge dings, no warping, etc. As far as installing them, the cutouts were of the proper size and shape to fit my aging Craftsman mower. Very satisfied.
Sometimes my fat butt needs the push mower exercise.
The yellow dethatching tines supplied are a little too short for many lawns. Just purchase a roll of Magnum Gatorline Square, .170" HD (or similar) trimmer line and cut your own tines, slightly longer, with the mower raised higher. This will work much better.
Also, if you run a leaf blower over the section you mowed, you would see a more accurate result. The blade mostly brings the thatch to the surface, from where you dispose of it.
Yeah, thats what I was thinking. I have a spool of .155 that I got for a push wacker I hardy use.
I use that blade on a 5.5 yardman from the 90's. I have pretty good luck with it, using at operating revs, not idle. I take the lawn mower and set the height on level cement so the plastic rakes are the lowest I can go without touching cement. On bumpy lawns you may scrub out or scalp the lawn in high spots, which maybe good or bad depending on the situations. I mowed with the original rakes on after the first cut or two last year. The rakes didn't last all that time, but i didn't really need them after the initial times I used them. Typically i would also have the lawn mower raised higher after the first cut. I really enjoy the blades. They can be really fun with pine cones.... so i either bag or mulch instead of side shooting.
travvy01 Cool.
You will need to nearly scalp and bag it. It’s tedious but it gave me great results. Grass everywhere!
u gotta cut lawn short, use arnold rake blade with backand side discharges rigged wide open, and mow low until you see massive amounts of brown thatch flying out of every mower orifice, then remow and bag lawn. the plastic tines seem to last about 4000sf
It would help if you used it right. 1. Start High and work down the to where it does the job. 2. It mows and bags the thatch as the blade is and can be used as a regular mower blade. 3. More Throttle. And yes, the tines point down.
They also have a liquid that can be applied that will help the thatch breakdown into the ground.
I used to run the spring style detaching blades full time up north. Saved a lot of time cleaning up after the dog. Dog poop would just vanish, when hit by the blade.
Robert Heinkel Just posted a video, I use this blade to break up horse poop in pastures, it works great for that.
@@Turbo231 not that I'm lazy. But this is great information
I have one of these. The nylon teeth are not nearly long enough so they pop out you end up scalping your yard the get the teeth low enough. I can’t recommend them unless you want to scalp your yard.
Increase your throttle speed too. Thanks for posting! Dig the Rooster....
He needs to throttle up that chicken, it's the best dethatcher on the planet.
The picture on the package shows the times mounted differently...
Can one by adjusting and daily sharpening blades get the results a 6blade reel mower gives??
MJ Young No, as it is a different type of cutting action in general.
@@Turbo231Machine Reel mowers is over prized. Im just going to lower mower blades and sharpen blades after every pass....setting it lower and lower until......max achieved.....then use cheap reel to finish off. Cut....sharpen....cut....sharpen.....cut.....compact roller.....top dress.....fertiliser....rain.....irrigate.....cut....cut....! Hi hi. You may think oooo hooo good luck.....im using garden scissor at moment......barber cutting.....
Damn that engine sounds sick. Lot of rod knock going on. Listen to all the clunking when the engine dies down. Just wait till you rebuild that engine $$$$$.
It runs just fine, a new video about it comes out next Tuesday. It’s a trash picked motor, so if it ever dies, back to the pile it goes.
Is it worth the buy? Or should I just buy a thatch blade with the metal springs?
Is personally get one with metal springs. I’ll be reviewing one shortly.
Turbo231 awesome looking forward to it.
Back in the good old days, I used my dethatching blade on my lawn mower, set the cut depth so that the blade tines just scratched the turf bottom and it worked great. Since then it appears that lawn manufacturers all now make their mowers so that the lowest blade height setting is to high to use my dethatching blade effectively. It's probably a nod to better overall mower safety by limiting the depth to avoid hitting and incidental objects. It doesn't matter if the dethatching blade uses the plastic or steel tines because now neither is long enough to touch the ground when the mower blade height is set to the lowest setting, and I've measured the dimension and been to stores checking display mowers for their lowest height distance from the ground. I don't know that there's such a thing as a blade adapter made longer to lower the blade. What do do?
You can lower the blade, you would just need to either shim your current collar down some as I’m sure the bolt has enough teeth, or replace it with a longer one (the piece the blade bolts too. Having put that Honda motor on a different adjustable deck let’s me drop it lower then I want to go. You could also try and dig up longer springs for the dethatcher, I imaging finding them for a bigger blade and adapting them down to your blade may work. My Hairy lawn mower is only 16”, hope it to be running this spring and will see if I can get it low enough to be useful. Good luck to you.
I believe you can buy replacement nylon thatch cord. So you could cut them longer so they reach your desired depth.
@@D-Mayor Thanks. I'd already measured those orange plastic-type tines and they're too short like the metal ones. I'd need to search online to see if a longer version is available and then I'd also need to purchase the blade that uses them. I miss my old mowers that enabled the blade to be set low enough for the mulching tines to reach the soil. I suppose that they've limited the blade height to be higher for safety reasons. (You would want to strike a sprinkler head and I've done that myself. Goodbye sprinkler head.) Thanks again.
if you have a lot of land to cut just get a decent ridding mower with a bag and you wont have the thatch problem . If you don't have a lot to cut just use a normal mower with a good bag, either way a good bag and a sharp blade will prevent this from happening all together .
Wind Thanks. Yeah the thatch is less of a lawn issue and more of a "this used to be pasture" issue. It will resolve on its own, I just want it to go faster.
Mulching is actuslly better for your lawn. I have a ridder....mulch....and now im getting ready to thatch before winter.
Isn't dethatching counterproductive to mulching?
ChuckD59 no, too much thatch keeps water out and hinders the breakdown of clippings.
I'm missing something.
Thatch IS clippings and certainly not waterproof.
I'm skeptical (OK ... cynical). I admit it. But I haven't seen any evidence lawns NEED to be dethatched, just like I haven't seen any evidence my dogs' teeth need to be brushed even though every other groomer will tell me so and try to sell me doggie toothpaste.
Mulching on the other hand is fertilizing which is thousands of years old technology.
Should you have used a bagger when you were detaching
My actual dethatching blade wants me to plug all the deck holes. 🤷🏻♂️
Years ago the Power Rake lawn mower blades thatching points were metallic not plastic.
They still sell those types today.
You gotta bag it
I've read that you're supposed to bag when you dethatch with a mower, you're just throwing the thatch back on to the lawn otherwise.
I can see that being good, but really the machine is flipping things over, taking what was once deep on the ground and kicking it up to the top where air and water can get at it.
More importantly where it can be raked up.
a lot of people rake it afterwards, detaching can fill up the catcher a lot faster then lawn mowing
Or rake. Definitely don’t leave it. You want space for new topsoil, water and seeds to go. Thatch is choking your green grass.
That lawnmower needs some tlc. I clean mine after each use and 8 years later ....not one issue
The prior video to this one is taking 2 mowers from the dump and making one good mower. Actually a great mower, this one is still in service today as my main bush mower.
you really need to make the blade very low, almost touching the ground, maybe cut those plastic little bit longer
They come pre-cut.
I feel like a tow-behind dethatcher would do better
planejet42 I agree, I just don't have one yet so I figured I'd give this one a try.
Seems like you could do this with a standard lawn mower blade and a bunch of zip ties
Zip ties are not stiff enough.
On Idle? Really? That's a good way to bend your crank shaft if you hit a root. Turn it up to Operating speed and try again!
TJ Shine Not sure your logic there...spinning it faster to cause less damage...
Operating a mower on low idle is bad for the machine. They are designed to run wide open.
MadMetalManiac74 Define bad? Getting thrown in the dump is bad, running at low idle? Pretty sure if it's "bad" is so low on the scale of bad things it's a moot point.
Turbo231 engines like this are not designed to be put under load while on idle. Every manufacture will tell you the same thing. Not exactly doing it any favors that's all I was implying. Also might not have worked as effectively for that reason. Low rpm=bad juju.
MadMetalManiac74 just making sure folks understand that a lot of manufacture recommendations are for warranty purposes only. Running a mower at lower rpm affects blade speed which for an operator may be desirable, but not actually doing any harm. Juju=personal belief. If I break the crank at low rpm, I'll let you know.
Umm you do know they sell / make a lottle thing called OIL for that mower right? Lol.
Pick a spare mower to use that is on its way out. OR, Rent a Power Dethatcher at HD for
$30.00 and do it right. This method ruins good plants. Been there done that!
Where on earth can you rent a Power Raker or Power Dethatcher for $30.00? Here in Northwest Florida I would have to pay HD $500.00 for four(4) hours, more for a day rate and even more for a week; the countdown starts when I leave the store, so half my rental time is driving in my truck and then setup.
@@PappyNet01 54$ for 4 hrs at home depot here. Looked yesterday
@@xchris46324x you can probably pay somebody $60 to come& do it for you. lol
ROD KNOCK NOT LONG UNTIL BANG
No, it’s the blade brake. It’s my primary bush mower now for the ditch and back trails.
Use your bagger mower and bag the thatch dummy otherwise your waisting your time and should have just raked it by hand
Give him the benefit of the doubt. He was just showing us how this blade works. For all we know he used his bag while actually dethatching.
Rips your grass to shreds. Not recommend.
So can an actual dethatching machine.
That is the intent of a dethatcher. Running this on a lawn with no thatch is certainly not a good idea but dethatching works wonders on a lawn with a thick layer of thatch.
If you mulched your clippings you wouldn't have this issues.
Bullshit. I've always mulched and the thatch eventually builds up regardless.
Than you are doing something wrong. Go watch this video and educate yourself. th-cam.com/video/c6jzP2hnm0g/w-d-xo.html
Boodieman72 . Thanks for the video. I think that I may be waiting too long between mowings. I have Bermuda grass.
Mulching is what causes thatch.
@ Wil W Bermuda grass actually likes a little thatch. Also Bermuda grass will always thatch if you don't mow it often and super short. Just go out and take a look at it, it's really different then other grasses only the very top is green the rest below goes woody. It will always have the same amount of 'green' no matter how tall you let it get so you just end up with more brown woody the taller it's mowed at.
Useless blades .Not worth a jar of urine
They work as mower blades, just the dethatching part is meh. I used it to mow pastures for quite a while until the rocks killed it