https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HZRiMoXvID4

Here's a good rundown of the different types.

 

Also... how sharp should blades be? I've got one of those sharpeners that you use a drill with. Use it to sort of "touch up" the cutting edge.

Thanks....

Sharp enough to not tear/rip/fray the tips of your grass when cutting. There should be a smooth cut across the blade.

I tried the drill attachments and didn't have much luck. A flap disc for the angle grinder was 1000% the better tool.

 

Mulching and high-lift are pretty much mutually exclusive. High-lift fills the bag better, especially in heavy cutting conditions. Everything else is in-between. Sandy areas experience much faster blade and deck wear with high-lift blades. I like OEM blades first, especially for those lacking a bunch of experience. I wouldn't go for anything aftermarket or gimmicky unless the OEM blades just aren't working for you.

Sharpening with an angle grinder and a flap disk works great, especially if you're kind-of hard on the blades or the blades are thicker. If you are just touching up, a bench vise and a sharp file (one with a nice big working end and a good handle) work great on most 21" walk-mower blades. I generally don't go for a knife-edge, as it dulls/bends quickly and starts to tear and leave bruised ends faster than if you square off the cutting face. As an example, I would sharpen blades on a professional bench grinder and get them down to a clean knife edge, then drag them across the stone very lightly, trying to leave a 1/32" or less square face. This was with municipal/commercial mowers that saw plenty of sticks/trash. The longevity of the edge and frequency of service were more important than getting razor clean cuts just after the service. Knife edge is fine, just needs more frequent attention.

 

If you mow areas with tall weeds, high lift blades will make a huge difference in reducing the number weeds that are laid over and not cut.

 

Clumping of grass will also depend your HOC when cutting versus how tall the grass actually was. The less grass you cut off the tops at once, will leave the yard clear of grass clippings versus cutting alot off at once

IMO as long as your not trying to cut 1inch HOC and doing it over a pile of sand, your blades should be fine. Big rocks and sticks will nick the blades, be sure to filethose out.

You have a push mower, so your mower was probably really only designed to run 1 type of blade which if its like a new honda mower, its that twin cut micro blade. I would not bother trying a different type because you most likely cant make adjustments to your cutting deck like you could with a zero turn.

Its best to keep the entire cutting edge of the blade in good condition otherwise it will wear differently. If you can get 1 year-2 years worth out of blade I would skip the sharpening all together and just buy new ones and keep on. You will never ever get the cutting performance out of a fresh factory blade versus sharpening. In other words, you might sharpen a 1 year old blade, but you best believe its performance will diminish in 6 months, thus leaving you are sharpening it twice a year.

A sharp blade gets duller faster than a semi dulled edge.

Sincerely, Guy who rotates his blades every week (but I have sand and a commercial zero turn)