# Verticutting with a "sharpened" Sun Joe



## DR_GREENTHUMB

I sharpened the tines or teeth on the Joe and gave her a short test run.



This pic is the Joe on 0 setting. 


This pic is the Joe on -5 setting. 


These are the settings if you not familiar with the Joe.


I understand it would be nice to cut down pretty far without harming the grass too much, but is this doable with the JOE? The first picture wouldn't be too bad of damage, but is it cutting far enough down to make this a feasible cut? The grass finally filled in, and I just don't know if this is too much damage for not enough reward?


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## Jimefam

Sweet I am very curious to see what the experts think about this as ive been wondering about this also. How did you put the edge on it?


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## Ware

Looks good! You have this one?


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## DR_GREENTHUMB

Jimefam said:


> Sweet I am very curious to see what the experts think about this as ive been wondering about this also. How did you put the edge on it?


Hand held angle grinder, didn't take too long. The blades are extremely wide though...


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## DR_GREENTHUMB

Ware said:


> Looks good! You have this one?


That's the one. What do you think of the cutting path or the depth settings? 0 cut, or the -5 setting?


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## Jimefam

DR_GREENTHUMB said:


> Jimefam said:
> 
> 
> 
> Sweet I am very curious to see what the experts think about this as ive been wondering about this also. How did you put the edge on it?
> 
> 
> 
> Hand held angle grinder, didn't take too long. The blades are extremely wide though...
Click to expand...

Cool ive got the same one and posted a thread in the equipment section asking about this. Just used a vice or something to hold it in place? Might give this a go tonight as i plan on vertucutting with it this wednesday before I scalp and level.


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## DR_GREENTHUMB

Jimefam said:


> DR_GREENTHUMB said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Jimefam said:
> 
> 
> 
> Sweet I am very curious to see what the experts think about this as ive been wondering about this also. How did you put the edge on it?
> 
> 
> 
> Hand held angle grinder, didn't take too long. The blades are extremely wide though...
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Cool ive got the same one and posted a thread in the equipment section asking about this. Just used a vice or something to hold it in place? Might give this a go tonight as i plan on vertucutting with it this wednesday before I scalp and level.
Click to expand...

I just held the blade with my hand, when the blades started to get sharp I put on a set of gloves. I've used grinders forever, if this is something out of your comfort zone I am not sure I would attempt. It's just like sharpening a knife, or lawnmower blade etc.. I went over with the grinder, then what really put a blade onto it is going on the backside with a sharpening file.


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## Austinite

Man that looks good! Ok,. that's it, I'm sharpening the swardman verticutter today.


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## DR_GREENTHUMB

Austinite said:


> Man that looks good! Ok,. that's it, I'm sharpening the swardman verticutter today.


What setting or picture did you think looked good? The higher setting with less debris, or the lower setting that took more material out?


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## Jimefam

DR_GREENTHUMB said:


> Jimefam said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> DR_GREENTHUMB said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hand held angle grinder, didn't take too long. The blades are extremely wide though...
> 
> 
> 
> Cool ive got the same one and posted a thread in the equipment section asking about this. Just used a vice or something to hold it in place? Might give this a go tonight as i plan on vertucutting with it this wednesday before I scalp and level.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I just held the blade with my hand, when the blades started to get sharp I put on a set of gloves. I've used grinders forever, if this is something out of your comfort zone I am not sure I would attempt. It's just like sharpening a knife, or lawnmower blade etc.. I went over with the grinder, then what really put a blade onto it is going on the backside with a sharpening file.
Click to expand...

Will give it a shot i got some thick leather gloves that should work and worst case scenario if it slices through them and into me i guess it will mean i did a good job and it will slice up that bermuda.


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## smurg

DR_GREENTHUMB said:


> Austinite said:
> 
> 
> 
> Man that looks good! Ok,. that's it, I'm sharpening the swardman verticutter today.
> 
> 
> 
> What setting or picture did you think looked good? The higher setting with less debris, or the lower setting that took more material out?
Click to expand...

What I mostly bought mine for is to cut runners, so I would say if you're doing it every 2 weeks or so, just go with the light -5 setting. The once or twice a year dethatching can be done at -10 along with the other cartridge as well.


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## Teej

The 0 setting looks pretty good and the -5 setting looks better than it otherwise would. I have a Sun Joe Scarifier as well and used it to "verticut" this year, but my main complaint was that it took up a bunch of runners instead of cutting through them. You still see a bit of that in your -5 picture, but I'm definitely going to try sharpening the blades.


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## Kicker

I was wondering about doing this. I gotta say, the 0 setting looks great.

I've never verticut with a true verticutter before, but that's exactly what i had pictured it looking like when done correctly. I know what i'm doing now... thanks for posting about this.


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## DR_GREENTHUMB

@smurg @Teej @Kicker

I will attempt the entire lawn, the amount of debris will be pretty substantial so it might have to wait for a weekend project.


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## Austinite

DR_GREENTHUMB said:


> Austinite said:
> 
> 
> 
> Man that looks good! Ok,. that's it, I'm sharpening the swardman verticutter today.
> 
> 
> 
> What setting or picture did you think looked good? The higher setting with less debris, or the lower setting that took more material out?
Click to expand...

this one looks great to me. Thats the result I'd be looking for.


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## Bermuda_Newbie

@Austinite let me know how that goes if you sharpen it. Might be worth buying for me.


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## Jimefam

DR_GREENTHUMB said:


> Jimefam said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> DR_GREENTHUMB said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hand held angle grinder, didn't take too long. The blades are extremely wide though...
> 
> 
> 
> Cool ive got the same one and posted a thread in the equipment section asking about this. Just used a vice or something to hold it in place? Might give this a go tonight as i plan on vertucutting with it this wednesday before I scalp and level.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I just held the blade with my hand, when the blades started to get sharp I put on a set of gloves. I've used grinders forever, if this is something out of your comfort zone I am not sure I would attempt. It's just like sharpening a knife, or lawnmower blade etc.. I went over with the grinder, then what really put a blade onto it is going on the backside with a sharpening file.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this idea. Put it on the vice and went to town with the grinder on both sides of the blade then finished it with a fine file. I am not about to throw out the Shun knives or anything but its fairly sharp. Will be verticutting tomorrow or wednesday.


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## DR_GREENTHUMB

Austinite said:


> DR_GREENTHUMB said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Austinite said:
> 
> 
> 
> Man that looks good! Ok,. that's it, I'm sharpening the swardman verticutter today.
> 
> 
> 
> What setting or picture did you think looked good? The higher setting with less debris, or the lower setting that took more material out?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> this one looks great to me. Thats the result I'd be looking for.
Click to expand...

Perfect. I think it'll cut deep enough, I need to measure that cutting depth somehow...


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## DR_GREENTHUMB

Jimefam said:


> DR_GREENTHUMB said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Jimefam said:
> 
> 
> 
> Cool ive got the same one and posted a thread in the equipment section asking about this. Just used a vice or something to hold it in place? Might give this a go tonight as i plan on vertucutting with it this wednesday before I scalp and level.
> 
> 
> 
> I just held the blade with my hand, when the blades started to get sharp I put on a set of gloves. I've used grinders forever, if this is something out of your comfort zone I am not sure I would attempt. It's just like sharpening a knife, or lawnmower blade etc.. I went over with the grinder, then what really put a blade onto it is going on the backside with a sharpening file.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Thank you for this idea. Put it on the vice and went to town with the grinder on both sides of the blade then finished it with a fine file. I am not about to throw out the Shun knives or anything but its fairly sharp. Will be verticutting tomorrow or wednesday.
Click to expand...

Looks nice! :thumbup:


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## Jimefam

Did the front tonight with the setting on zero. Did ok although brought up a good amount of sand in spots i guess from the last time i leveled.


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## Bermuda_Newbie

Jimefam said:


> Did the front tonight with the setting on zero. Did ok although brought up a good amount of sand in spots i guess from the last time i leveled.


I wondered about this. How long do you wait before you are no longer bringing up sand?


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## Jimefam

Bermuda_Newbie said:


> Jimefam said:
> 
> 
> 
> Did the front tonight with the setting on zero. Did ok although brought up a good amount of sand in spots i guess from the last time i leveled.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I wondered about this. How long do you wait before you are no longer bringing up sand?
Click to expand...

Not sure. I leveled pretty much exactly one year ago. Thing is there were spots that were probably 2+ inches lower and i just buried the grass there and let it grow through. So maybe that is why.


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## Teej

I know this is an old thread, but wanted to comment for others that I sharpened my Sun Joe scarifier blade yesterday and verticut in two directions. With the sharpened blades, I'm pretty impressed with this thing. It actually cuts runners instead of pulling them up. This made it a way easier job compared to last year.


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## nt5000

Teej said:


> I know this is an old thread, but wanted to comment for others that I sharpened my Sun Joe scarifier blade yesterday and verticut in two directions. With the sharpened blades, I'm pretty impressed with this thing. It actually cuts runners instead of pulling them up. This made it a way easier job compared to last year.


Got any pics?


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## quadmasta

Do you run the rake drum on the SunJoe over the area after you've done the verticutting?


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## Teej

quadmasta said:


> Do you run the rake drum on the SunJoe over the area after you've done the verticutting?


Nope. I run the verticutter in two directions and then run the rotary over it in a couple directions to pick up the debris.


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## Teej

nt5000 said:


> Teej said:
> 
> 
> 
> I know this is an old thread, but wanted to comment for others that I sharpened my Sun Joe scarifier blade yesterday and verticut in two directions. With the sharpened blades, I'm pretty impressed with this thing. It actually cuts runners instead of pulling them up. This made it a way easier job compared to last year.
> 
> 
> 
> Got any pics?
Click to expand...

This is probably the best pic I have of the cut quality at the moment.

EDIT: This is at the -5 setting.


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## JayGo

I have the same Sun Joe. I've only used it to dethatch, and I was impressed by how well it worked. I may need to sharpen the scarifying blade and give this a whirl.

I've already put down my pre-em. Will cutting into the soil break the barrier?


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## lvlikeyv

I have this same machine. I've been using the tine attachment to remove thatch. Should I be using this attachment instead? Seems like it's been working pretty well. What are the pros and cons to each attachment?


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## DR_GREENTHUMB

I used the tines the first year, after sharpening I used the blades on -10 and was excellent for de-thatch, cleanup for the yearly scalping process. I explained a little better in my journal with pics if interested.


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## devils27

Bumping up an old topic but finally got around to sharpening my sunjoe $120 verticutter. 1st time with Angle grinder but came out pretty sharp. Not sharp like a butchers knife but should be good enough. Well see how it works


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## adidasUNT8

devils27 said:


> Bumping up an old topic but finally got around to sharpening my sunjoe $120 verticutter. 1st time with Angle grinder but came out pretty sharp. Not sharp like a butchers knife but should be good enough. Well see how it works


Did you take pics of how it turned out??


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## devils27

adidasUNT8 said:


> devils27 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Bumping up an old topic but finally got around to sharpening my sunjoe $120 verticutter. 1st time with Angle grinder but came out pretty sharp. Not sharp like a butchers knife but should be good enough. Well see how it works
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Did you take pics of how it turned out??
Click to expand...

I didnt take pics but I did realize that the blades needed to be alot sharper. When I first did it, they were sharp like a butter knife but it left dug up runners everywhere instead of actually cutting through them. So I hand sharpened the blades even more and it seemed to do a slightly better job. I wish i had pics but it definitely "scarifies" the grass and scared the hell out of me about if what I was doing was actually beneficial, but 1-2 weeks later I can barely tell where I did it, and the thatch is much much less than before


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## SCGrassMan

https://smile.amazon.com/Smiths-CCKS-2-Step-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B00032S02K/

I'd recommend everybody owning one of these regardless, but if you get it sharp with the angle grinder first, run it about 50 passes on the carbide and the ceramic side each on that blade after, and you should either be at or close to cutting paper with it. Shoot for a 15 degree blade angle.


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## crstude

Would one of those drill attachment grinders that you get from Lowe's or anywhere work to do you think?


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## DR_GREENTHUMB

I used a typical angle grinder, however, I've used them to sharpen things for years. (shovels, mower blades, etc)

I'm unsure what attachment you are speaking of?

@crstude


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## Saint Louisan

What is wrong with using the spring tines during the growing season?

I sharpened the scarifier on mine last year and found a couple roots from our Bradford pear. That ruined the gearbox.

Bought another this year and I think I'm not going to be using the scarifier with this unit.


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## crstude

DR_GREENTHUMB said:


> I used a typical angle grinder, however, I've used them to sharpen things for years. (shovels, mower blades, etc)
> 
> I'm unsure what attachment you are speaking of?
> 
> @crstude


One of these types @DR_GREENTHUMB

Sharpener/Balancer https://www.lowes.com/pd/Arnold-Sharpener-Balancer/3168807


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## DeepC

DR_GREENTHUMB said:


> One of these types @DR_GREENTHUMB
> 
> Sharpener/Balancer https://www.lowes.com/pd/Arnold-Sharpener-Balancer/3168807


I really doubt it. Maybe but I doubt it. No no I'm pretty sure that won't work. Can you borrow an angle grinder. The sanding disc on the grinder works well.


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## Redtwin

@Saint Louisan The tine attachment will work if that's all you are able to use but it will cause a little more damage by pulling, instead of cutting, the stolons. If you have a thatch problem the tines will work. If you don't have a thatch problem I would not try to use the tines to verticut.

How big is the pear tree? Any chance of getting rid of it. From what I've read, Bradford pear trees cause a lot more drama than just breaking your SunJoe.

Edit: What about just avoiding the tree area? The grass is probably thinner around the tree anyway.


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## DR_GREENTHUMB

crstude said:


> DR_GREENTHUMB said:
> 
> 
> 
> I used a typical angle grinder, however, I've used them to sharpen things for years. (shovels, mower blades, etc)
> 
> I'm unsure what attachment you are speaking of?
> 
> @crstude
> 
> 
> 
> One of these types @DR_GREENTHUMB
> 
> Sharpener/Balancer https://www.lowes.com/pd/Arnold-Sharpener-Balancer/3168807
Click to expand...

That attachment may work fine if that's all you have, whatever you have to put an edge on the dull blades that comes with the Sun Joe.


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## littlehuman

@Austinite Did you ever sharpen your Swardman verticutter cartridge? How did it turn out/work afterwards?


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## Austinite

littlehuman said:


> @Austinite Did you ever sharpen your Swardman verticutter cartridge? How did it turn out/work afterwards?


No I did not. After using star shaped verticutter, I would never touch a Hook style verticutter.


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## TTown85

I removed the E-clip on the end of the shaft and was easily able to slide all the blades off. As I'm not terribly seasoned at sharpening, I'll take these to someone local and have them put a high-quality edge on them.


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## Redtwin

@TTown85 Is that off the SunJoe?


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## TTown85

Redtwin said:


> @TTown85 Is that off the SunJoe?


@Redtwin Yes it is. I might give it a shot myself and then take them somewhere if I mess up 😬

Edit: I've got a mobile sharpening service coming this afternoon to sharpen all 10 blades for $45. Couldn't say no to that


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## littlehuman

Austinite said:


> littlehuman said:
> 
> 
> 
> @Austinite Did you ever sharpen your Swardman verticutter cartridge? How did it turn out/work afterwards?
> 
> 
> 
> No I did not. After using star shaped verticutter, I would never touch a Hook style verticutter.
Click to expand...

@Austinite Were you able to return it, or do you just have a big paperweight?


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## Kicker

TTown85 said:


> Redtwin said:
> 
> 
> 
> @TTown85 Is that off the SunJoe?
> 
> 
> 
> @Redtwin Yes it is. I might give it a shot myself and then take them somewhere if I mess up 😬
> 
> Edit: I've got a mobile sharpening service coming this afternoon to sharpen all 10 blades for $45. Couldn't say no to that
Click to expand...

@TTown85 Since you have the blades off, can you measure the shaft (hehe) to see if the following would fit.

I'm really curious if Dynablades would fit on the shaft. Taken from this thread. https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=50










or if not those blades something from here: https://www.precisionusa.com/mStorefront/subcategorybrowse.do;jsessionid=28BD985D8ADBCA1FEF34C244F83278D1.Storefront8080?subcategory-name=Verti-Cutter+Blades&path=Catalog%2F%2F%2F%2FEquipment+Parts%2F%2F%2F%2FBlades

my mind right now


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## TTown85

@Kicker No problem! I'll update this post when I get home this evening


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## Rooster

@TTown85 , @Kicker : any reason you couldn't reverse the blades since you have them off, and sharpen the convex side? Seems like it would be much less likely to pull up and much more likely to slice. But I'm probably missing something.


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## Redtwin

@Kicker That's why I was asking if he took them off the SunJoe. I'm wondering if I could replace the blades with stars instead of hooks.


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## DR_GREENTHUMB

Bermuda_Rooster said:


> @TTown85 , @Kicker : any reason you couldn't reverse the blades since you have them off, and sharpen the convex side? Seems like it would be much less likely to pull up and much more likely to slice. But I'm probably missing something.


I like where your head is at!

I may just take them off and sharpen the entire blades on both sides. I do think it'll cut a little easier going forward like a knife.


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## TTown85

@Bermuda_Rooster @DR_GREENTHUMB Do you think there'd be any issue with the Sunjoe "floating" if I reverse the blades? Seems like its a plow in essence, with the hook side keeping the unit tight to the ground. Reversing the blades might keep them from penetrating, maybe?


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## SirWibin

Bermuda_Rooster said:


> @TTown85 , @Kicker : any reason you couldn't reverse the blades since you have them off, and sharpen the convex side? Seems like it would be much less likely to pull up and much more likely to slice. But I'm probably missing something.


I was thinking this as well.


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## Kicker

Bermuda_Rooster said:


> @TTown85 , @Kicker : any reason you couldn't reverse the blades since you have them off, and sharpen the convex side? Seems like it would be much less likely to pull up and much more likely to slice. But I'm probably missing something.


I can't say because I haven't tried it but I feel like it would cause the machine to push up off the ground and maybe even become somewhat difficult to control depending on the depth of contact of the blades. I could be way off base here, but with the more surface area of the blade making contact at a more acute angle makes it seem like it wouldn't achieve the desired results of a verticutter any more than leaving the blades as they were from the factory..

I guess there's only 1 way to find out.


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## Redtwin

I think one of us should try it with a cinder block bungee corded the top.


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## Austinite

littlehuman said:


> Austinite said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> littlehuman said:
> 
> 
> 
> @Austinite Did you ever sharpen your Swardman verticutter cartridge? How did it turn out/work afterwards?
> 
> 
> 
> No I did not. After using star shaped verticutter, I would never touch a Hook style verticutter.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> @Austinite Were you able to return it, or do you just have a big paperweight?
Click to expand...

I never actually asked to return it, but I did raise my concerns that it does not do what the its supposed to do. At any rate, it's a paper weight.


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## Thick n Dense

First off this thread is awesome good work.

2nd of all, I'd try using large round washers with sharpened edges.

When you convert to cordless by adding an dc to ac convert or and battery this will weigh down the washers. If you've ever used a speed seeder this is the cutting mechanism.

The other and better Idea if you don't go to cordless is to get stainless steel strips from McMaster. Cut them into 2 or 3 " squares and sharpen edges. This will give a 4 sided blade that will hold up due to STainless steel. 
The strips are nice cause you only need to cut 1 side to make a square.

https://www.mcmaster.com/1421T252/

Also another benefit is that this SS is very strong, you can go with smaller thickness and the "sharpness" won't matter as much because the lower surface Area increases force.

I bought a .048" thickness for another project and it definitely would have been adequate for this. My drill bits are dull from drilling it out.


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## TTown85

@Kicker the shaft is a 14mm hex (or 0.54" per my micrometer).

I've also found that there is a compression nut on the side of the shaft near the bearing that you are supposed to loosen and then use that to compress the blades/spacers once assembled. I'm having difficulty reassembling because I can't break that nut loose to get the E-clip back on… going to take it to work tomorrow and put it in the metal vice and see what happens.


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## Jagermeister

TTown85 said:


> @Kicker the shaft is a 14mm hex (or 0.54" per my micrometer).
> 
> I've also found that there is a compression nut on the side of the shaft near the bearing that you are supposed to loosen and then use that to compress the blades/spacers once assembled. I'm having difficulty reassembling because I can't break that nut loose to get the E-clip back on… going to take it to work tomorrow and put it in the metal vice and see what happens.


@TTown85 Did you get this to work?


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## TTown85

@Jagermeister I've got it reassembled, but I'm hosting a birthday party this weekend and didn't want to experiment right before I have a bunch of people over. I'll keep ya posted once I try it out


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## Jagermeister

TTown85 said:


> @Jagermeister I've got it reassembled, but I'm hosting a birthday party this weekend and didn't want to experiment right before I have a bunch of people over. I'll keep ya posted once I try it out


@TTown85 Thank you! Would you had to do it again, would you disassemble to sharpen? I am thinking about taking mine to a lawn mower repair shop to get them sharpened.


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## TTown85

Jagermeister said:


> TTown85 said:
> 
> 
> 
> @Jagermeister I've got it reassembled, but I'm hosting a birthday party this weekend and didn't want to experiment right before I have a bunch of people over. I'll keep ya posted once I try it out
> 
> 
> 
> @TTown85 Thank you! Would you had to do it again, would you disassemble to sharpen? I am thinking about taking mine to a lawn mower repair shop to get them sharpened.
Click to expand...

If you're comfortable with sharpening blades with an angle grinder I probably would leave it assembled. I intended to use my bench grinder so disassembling was a necessity. It was really easy to disassemble, and had that compression nut been easier to back off it would have been a breeze to reassemble too


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## Jagermeister

@TTown85 @Redtwin @wiseowl I was able to pay a local mower shop to sharpen this for $20! See the pics.

I have never verticut before. I started on the 0 setting. Is this what it is supposed to look like? I did get a lot of sprigs. Half a bag in this small section. My HOC is about 1"

Let me know if this is what it is supposed to look like before I do the rest of the lawn! Also, I am planning to scalp after the verticut. Is this the right sequence?


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## Hoghead22

Jagermeister said:


> @TTown85 @Redtwin @wiseowl I was able to pay a local mower shop to sharpen this for $20! See the pics.
> 
> I have never verticut before. I started on the 0 setting. Is this what it is supposed to look like? I did get a lot of sprigs. Half a bag in this small section. My HOC is about 1"
> 
> Let me know if this is what it is supposed to look like before I do the rest of the lawn! Also, I am planning to scalp after the verticut. Is this the right sequence?


I don't know if that's what it's supposed to look like but im watching this thread because I'm doing the same thing this afternoon when I get home. Had a buddy from work sharpen my blades for me.

Day before yesterday I scalped my yard down to 3/4in to prepare.


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## Redtwin

That looks about right to me. Don't bother with the bag. It's way too small. Just run the machine and pick up the debris with your rotary mower.


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## Jagermeister

I was able to verticut and scalp at .75". Man, that was such a huge amount of work! Hope the effort pays off!

Let me know what you think. Some really thin / bare spots in places.


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## Hoghead22

Got the sunjoe sharpened and back. My yard is so unlevel my rotary scalps to the dirt places but here's what my cut looks like. It's super thin and I have SO many runners on top. What do y'all think?


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## Jagermeister

What setting on the Sun Joe? Was that dirt patch from the Joe or from the mower?

I had some luck cut through the stolons where the lawn filled in but seemed like for the most part, these got pulled up. Worked best in the thick, well establish sections. I ended up using the -5 setting and I think it turned out pretty well. We'll see how the lawn responds.


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## Hoghead22

Jagermeister said:


> What setting on the Sun Joe? Was that dirt patch from the Joe or from the mower?
> 
> I had some luck cut through the stolons where the lawn filled in but seemed like for the most part, these got pulled up. Worked best in the thick, well establish sections. I ended up using the -5 setting and I think it turned out pretty well. We'll see how the lawn responds.


That dirt spot was from the mower scalping. I've been mowing it at 3/4 of an inch cause I was gonna have it leveled but the 2 different guys flaked out on me.

Got the sunjoe at -5. Looks pretty good outside the spots that it's scalped and just tills up the dirt lol


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## Redtwin

When it tills up the dirt just spread it out to the lower spots. It's not perfect but you can use the SunJoe to knock down some of the high spot.


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## Slingshotz

New to the forum and hoping to bring this topic back up for the '22 season. Last fall I took the blades off, sharpened them, put them back on in the "knife" position and gave it a test run. Results seem promising.

I was curious though, has anyone found stars that fit?

Another thought was… Since a replacement cartridge is only $30 on Amazon, order it and disassemble it for the blades. cut down the plastic spacers and make a 20 blade unit to tighten up the spacing more like an actual verticutter. Thoughts?


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## Redtwin

I'd be very interested if you could pull off the tighter spacing. I've also thought about rebuilding one with star or even circular saw blades.


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## Kicker

Slingshotz said:


> New to the forum and hoping to bring this topic back up for the '22 season. Last fall I took the blades off, sharpened them, put them back on in the "knife" position and gave it a test run. Results seem promising.
> 
> I was curious though, has anyone found stars that fit?
> 
> Another thought was… Since a replacement cartridge is only $30 on Amazon, order it and disassemble it for the blades. cut down the plastic spacers and make a 20 blade unit to tighten up the spacing more like an actual verticutter. Thoughts?


do you have a link to the $30 cartridge on amazon? I couldn't find it.


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## Slingshotz

Kicker said:


> Slingshotz said:
> 
> 
> 
> New to the forum and hoping to bring this topic back up for the '22 season. Last fall I took the blades off, sharpened them, put them back on in the "knife" position and gave it a test run. Results seem promising.
> 
> I was curious though, has anyone found stars that fit?
> 
> Another thought was… Since a replacement cartridge is only $30 on Amazon, order it and disassemble it for the blades. cut down the plastic spacers and make a 20 blade unit to tighten up the spacing more like an actual verticutter. Thoughts?
> 
> 
> 
> do you have a link to the $30 cartridge on amazon? I couldn't find it.
Click to expand...

Sun Joe AJ801E-SCRF Replacement Scarifier Blade for AJ801E

https://www.amazon.com/Sun-Joe-AJ801E-SCRF-Replacement-Scarifier/dp/B073ZCYPYL/ref=asc_df_B073ZCYPYL/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198076851563&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7122176539153491007&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1013042&hvtargid=pla-349392616489&psc=1#


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## atticus

Scroll down a bit on that listing and they have a bunch used in "good" condition for $15. If you're just getting them as donor blades, I'd do that.


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## ShadowGuy

atticus said:


> Scroll down a bit on that listing and they have a bunch used in "good" condition for $15. If you're just getting them as donor blades, I'd do that.


Great tip. I just picked one up too. For $15, I can experiment and not trash the original.


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## Slingshotz

ShadowGuy said:


> atticus said:
> 
> 
> 
> Scroll down a bit on that listing and they have a bunch used in "good" condition for $15. If you're just getting them as donor blades, I'd do that.
> 
> 
> 
> Great tip. I just picked one up too. For $15, I can experiment and not trash the original.
Click to expand...

Same here. Appreciate the tip on the $15 ones. If you start cutting up the spacers for a 20-blade stack up just be mindful there is only about a .25" thread gap between the compression nut and bearing. I would check that the saw blade has atleast a 0.08" kerf (similar to the thickness of the SunJoe blades) so that it all fits back together. You should be able to just cut the spacers in half with the right kerf and restack it. Note: a blade thinner than 0.08" kerf may not take out enough material from the spacer to restack the assembly.


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## Slingshotz

Just finished the mod to convert the 10 blade unit to a 19 blade unit. Still have to sharpen the blades and wait for green up before I go try it out. Will follow up in a couple months with results.


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## atticus

Slingshotz said:


> Just finished the mod to convert the 10 blade unit to a 19 blade unit. Still have to sharpen the blades and wait for green up before I go try it out. Will follow up in a couple months with results.


Ha! That looks awesome, will definitely be interested to see how it works.


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## viva_oldtrafford

Jagermeister said:


> I was able to verticut and scalp at .75". Man, that was such a huge amount of work! Hope the effort pays off!
> 
> Let me know what you think. Some really thin / bare spots in places.


these after pics look great! Don't be afraid to get real aggressive either...bermuda loves the abuse.


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## Bombers

Slingshotz said:


> Just finished the mod to convert the 10 blade unit to a 19 blade unit. Still have to sharpen the blades and wait for green up before I go try it out. Will follow up in a couple months with results.


Interested in how this will turn out. My only concern is the extra strain on the motor with the slight added weight and more resistance from extra blades.


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## Sonoran Desert Lawn

@Slingshotz Any update on the 19 blades? Worth modding?


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## colinlewissmith

Sun Joe should sell an after-market blade for true verticutting (more blades, finer, sharper blades)


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## Hogwild

colinlewissmith said:


> Sun Joe should sell an after-market blade for true verticutting (more blades, finer, sharper blades)


I would buy one


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## bobskizzle

Kicker said:


> Bermuda_Rooster said:
> 
> 
> 
> @TTown85 , @Kicker : any reason you couldn't reverse the blades since you have them off, and sharpen the convex side? Seems like it would be much less likely to pull up and much more likely to slice. But I'm probably missing something.
> 
> 
> 
> I can't say because I haven't tried it but I feel like it would cause the machine to push up off the ground and maybe even become somewhat difficult to control depending on the depth of contact of the blades. I could be way off base here, but with the more surface area of the blade making contact at a more acute angle makes it seem like it wouldn't achieve the desired results of a verticutter any more than leaving the blades as they were from the factory..
> 
> I guess there's only 1 way to find out.
Click to expand...

Tried this today (sharpened the first ~1 inch of the convex edge and assembled them backward), it worked pretty well - no floating to speak of, runners were cut pretty well, definitely still pulled them up somewhat but didn't rip them all out of the ground. I'm pretty pleased with the test runs I did, though I think I'll wait until the spring scalp to do the entire yard.


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