lawnmower blade

For quite some time now my lawnmower blade has been blunt and misshapen. I have pushed the mower over the lawn to flatten the grass down, and when I've finished,the grass box has been empty which has been a clue as to the ineffectiveness of the blade. I bought a spanner because my pleas on facebook did not elicit a positive response from my 'friends'. I put the spanner 'somewhere safe', which as many of you know, equates to, 'somewhere I can't find it when I next look for it.' I bought a second hand mower on ebay because it was cheaper than a new spanner and a new blade. As I was putting it away I found the spanner in the 'safe place.' By now I had spent all my savings on the mower so I couldn't afford a blade as well, however I could manage a whetstone at £1.25 so I decided to try and sharpen the blade. I watched several videos on youtube explaining how to sharpen a blade. I wouldn't trust ANY of those men with a sharp blade. The best way to sharpen a blade is to take it to a blade sharpening shop where they will put it on their special sharpening machine and charge you twice as much as my second hand mower cost.  The second best way is to buy a drill attachment which will cost one and a half times as much as my second hand mower. The third best way is to use a metal file.

Oh, so you can't use a whetstone to sharpen a lawn mower blade - £1.25 down the drain. I tried the metal file but my G clamp, (which American blade sharpeners call a C clamp) isn't good enough to hold the bent up jagged edged blade still while I attack it with a metal file. Incidentally, a metal file is very effective if you want to skin your knuckles. After hammering the blade a bit straighter and watching the sparks fly, I used my new found spanner to replace the very slightly less blunt, slightly straighter blade, and pushed the mower up and down the lawn. Some grass went into the grass box. This constituted a result so I put the mower away and mowed the lawn with my new second hand mower which has a pretty decent blade.

In the Bible in the book of Ecclesiastes it says, "Using a dull axe requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That's the value of wisdom, it helps you succeed. If a snake bites before you charm it, what's the use of being a snake charmer?"  The Bible is a book full of wisdom. May I recommend that you read it. In it I am sure you will find wisdom for life and purpose for living.