I need to upgrade mower blades soon for my Gravely ZTX 52", and I've been looking at Ballard Products blades (Kick azz Products from Ballard Inc (ballard-inc.com) since I don't want some cheap Chinese metal off Amazon but wanted to see if yall had any other suggestions or if anyone has used Ballard Product blades before (specifically if their "X" blade configuration is worth it on a residential zero turn). I kinda need two sets of blades: one for regular cutting and one for mulching leaves in the fall and winter (the OEM blades that came with my machine work great for regular grass cutting but they don't mulch leaves all that well). thx!
I run high lift blades when I have the blow bagger installed. Oregon Gator Blades work really well if I want to mulch. One thing to keep in mind is that mulching blades usually tell you to block the discharge chute , they do tend to chop it up a little more even without blocking the chute than a standard blade. Most of the time I just run the high lift and try not to let it grow too long between cuttings.
Also running a mulching blade in a non mulching deck creates clumping and is not very efficient. A true mulching deck has additional baffles to keep grass in suspension so it gets chopped up.
I went from high lifts to Toro Fusion (Gator style) blades a few years ago. They do everything better on my Toro with Turbo Force deck: finish cut, mulch, brush hog, discharging wet grass, etc. Even though the sail is notched, it's much longer so it has more surface area, produces more vacuum. I got a heck of a deal on Ebay, 12 blades for $54 delivered.
I have heard good things about Gator blades. I don't think they make them for my application. I need to look again. I'm hoping they last longer. I have tried blades from a local OPE store which were the same I believe that I ordered off eBay, I think they were rotary brand. I have ordered another set off eBay that's a different brand. None of them last a season, I don't even cut that much a year 25 to 30 hours a year. By that time the blades are severally eroded away and missing material on the ends and the lift gabs starting to wear in two. I'm hoping to find a set that might last longer. Maybe it's too much to ask and just keep buying a $40 set of 3 every 9 months now to keep them in shape. It appears that Airens used a more obscure size blade for my 42xl cause they don't seem to make any dirt cheap blades for it like you seem to be able to for other makes.
Looked this company up. They leave out the Airens 42" deck size from their listing which makes me believe my theory on this size mower useing an obscure blade that is not available from everyone.
