Which Lawn Mower Blade Sharpener Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 6 lawn mower blade sharpener options head to head. All American Model 5000 came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
All American Model 5000
Price shown in test: $235 when first introduced; the presenter later refers to it in the closing summary as 'around $200'
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Oregon 88-025
Price shown in test: $309, the most expensive product tested
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“I really like the All American, but it is sort of expensive at around $200. However, it is very compact, it saves shop space, and it works very effectively.”
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
New blade sharpening time
- 1All American Model 50008 seconds
to remove the factory paint and edge, the fastest of all options tested
- 2Oregon 88-02535 seconds
- 3Bench grinder generic, with flapper/flat disc, no brand givenabout30 seconds
- 4Work Sharp knife and tool sharpenerabout4.5 minutes
(270 seconds), the slowest of all options tested, and left a convex edge instead of a flat one
- 5Fun Volutionabout1.5 minutes
(90 seconds)
- 6Smith'sabout1 minute
(60 seconds), but only sharpened about half of the blade's cutting edge and only the top side, not the grass side
Badly worn blade test
- 1All American Model 5000
removed 19 g of metal in only 3 minutes (837 g to 818 g), the fastest of all brands to finish
- 2Oregon 88-025
removed 11 g of metal in 4.5 minutes (870 g to 859 g)
- 3Bench grinder generic, with flapper/flat disc, no brand given
removed 7 g of metal in 6.5 minutes (826 g to 819 g)
- 4Work Sharp knife and tool sharpener
removed only 3 g of metal in 15 minutes (829 g to 826 g); described as undersized for a badly dulled lawnmower blade, blade remained really dull
- 5Fun Volutionnot tested
- 6Smith'snot tested
Rock-chip damaged blade test (full 5 minutes)
- 2Oregon 88-025
removed 8 g of metal (1,096 g to 1,088 g), did not quite remove all the chips, needed about 2 more minutes
- 3Bench grinder generic, with flapper/flat disc, no brand given
removed 8 g of metal, tied with the Oregon
- 4Work Sharp knife and tool sharpener
removed 2 g of metal (1,087 g to 1,085 g); described as by far the best job among the brands tested up to that point in the video, though another 5 to 10 minutes could have removed all the chips
- 1All American Model 5000not tested
- 5Fun Volutionnot tested
- 6Smith'snot tested
All measurements (3 more)+
Rock-chip damaged blade test (5 minutes)
- 5Fun Volution
removed 4 g of metal (841 g to 837 g); a lot of chips remained, especially on the bottom of the blade, which this tool does not grind
- 6Smith's
removed only 1 g of metal (1,097 g to 1,096 g), did not change the blade angle meaningfully
- 1All American Model 5000not tested
- 2Oregon 88-025not tested
- 3Bench grinder generic, with flapper/flat disc, no brand givennot tested
- 4Work Sharp knife and tool sharpenernot tested
Badly worn blade test (15 minutes)
- 5Fun Volution
removed 4 g of metal (841 g to 837 g); the tool did not survive the test, wearing through its plastic guide at 12 minutes, and 3 of 4 replacement grinding wheels were also defective; blade angle ended up far off target at 40 degrees
- 6Smith's
removed only 1 g of metal (871 g to 870 g); the sharpener was too narrow for the blade, wore out its own edge, and carved out a section of the blade edge, leaving it at 54 degrees, still needing a lot of work
- 1All American Model 5000not tested
- 2Oregon 88-025not tested
- 3Bench grinder generic, with flapper/flat disc, no brand givennot tested
- 4Work Sharp knife and tool sharpenernot tested
Rock-chip damaged blade test (used only 4 of the allotted 5 minutes)
- 1All American Model 5000
removed 21 g of metal (1,095 g to 1,074 g), the most of any brand, all chips removed but left a burr on the back side
- 2Oregon 88-025not tested
- 3Bench grinder generic, with flapper/flat disc, no brand givennot tested
- 4Work Sharp knife and tool sharpenernot tested
- 5Fun Volutionnot tested
- 6Smith'snot tested
How it was tested
- time to remove factory paint and edge from a new blade
- metal removal and edge repair on a blade with simulated rock-chip damage (5 minute time limit)
- metal removal and edge repair on a badly worn, dull blade (15 minute time limit)
“I really like the All American, but it is sort of expensive at around $200. However, it is very compact, it saves shop space, and it works very effectively.”
