Customer Reviews

Oregon 95-900 96-900 21-Inch Gator Mulcher 3-N-1 Lawn Mower Blade For AYP/Poulan

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased a pair of Oregon Gator blades to replace the worn/bent Sears blades on my Craftsman 42" riding mower. The Oregon Gator blades are MUCH heavier duty, thicker, and are on a whole different level than Sears blades when it comes to quality. These blades can hit stumps, rocks, and other debris and are bulletproof. No signs of wear at all after 5-6 mows of tall, thick grass.

A word of advice - make sure you install the blade properly. The teeth on the back of the blade must be pointed upward toward the top of the mowing deck. I made the mistake of installing them upside-down, and unfortunately mowed about 1/2 my lawn with the blades in the wrong position. Surprisingly the cut looked fine, but a few days later I noticed the badly torn grass blades, and knew that I installed the blades improperly. Dumb move, I know, but I had already taken off my other blades (which were bent/worn) and didn't bother to double-check the orientation of the cutting edge before installing the new blades. Just made the wrong assumption that the teeth should curve down toward the grass, and torn grass blades were the result.

These Oregon Gator blades would have received 5-stars, but I rated it 4-stars because there was no "grass-side down" marking on the blade, as is always the case with Craftsman mower blades. Otherwise, these blades I'm sure will outlast the mower as they are made of hardened steel and are much thicker gauge than other mower blades. Do NOT sharpen these blades out of the box, the protective layer of paint on the edge makes the blade feel dull, but it will wear off during the first mow, revealing the sharp edge. The blades are sharpened by precision at the factory for the most ideal cut, so by trying to sharpen the blades when they are new, the efficiency and effectiveness of the blade is reduced.

The Oregon 21" Gator blades will outlast most other mower blades sold at Sears and other stores, they are a smart investment as you'll save $$ by not having to sharpen/replace these every year.

I received this product 2 days after I order it. It cuts great and leaves grass in fine particles. No need to go back and rake or bag. Saves money all around. I have a craftsman mower and they fit perfect. I would recommend this product to anyone who wants a great cut and and to save money in the long run. You will not have to replace these blades every year. They should last a long time.

This is a good blade but is not a "miracle" blade. I live in the country and my "yard", or I guess it should more aptly be "the area I mow on a regular basis", conists of some grass (St. Augustine, Bermuda) and more weeds than grass. I mow my approximately 1/2 acre "yard" with a 42" riding lawnmower.

Pro: This blade cuts well in the grass. It mulches everything small enough that I don't have to worry about thatch buildup. And, it has accomplished what I wished when I purchased it. I now mulch when mowing versus catching the grass or just exhausting it out the side. This is much better for my "yard" and hopefully it will help the grass run the weeds out. One great advantage is that my mowing time has decreased from 2-3 hours to 1 - 1/2 hours by not having to dump bagging bins or go over the yard several times to mulch the clippings, so that in itself is worth the price of the blades.

Con: This blade is no better than any other I've tried with the weeds. Most of the weeds are just too tough for mowing at any speed other than low speed and cutting consistently in one pass. I think that this would be the case with whatever blade used but I was hopeful this one would be different, but that is not the case. Don't know that this is a knock on the blade as much as my "yardening" for not taking care of the weeds!

Overall, I am well satisfied with the blades and will continue to use them.

Other reviews have noted how long these last. I've only used the blades for a short time this season, so I'll have to hold judgement on that to see what kind of effect the weeds have on blade wear and tear.

Great product!!!! The blades work great as they should!! They chop up grass clippings and leaves down to nothing!!

This is our second purchase of these blades. Our first set performed so well that we decided to order them again! For seven seasons we tried every blade from Amazon and elsewhere that fit our Craftsman 42" mower. Some of the blades didn't even last the season without bending, distorting or just requiring resharpening when cutting our acre of thick Zeon Zoysia grass. We found the blades manufactured by Oregon generally superior to others we tried. These Gator blades are really no more resistant to bending or becoming dull than other heavy-duty Oregon blades, and they are more expensive. What makes them worth it is their performance. They cut cleanly into very fine pieces and distribute the pieces relatively evenly into the lawn, with or without the mulching attachment installed. The result is faster mowing, less raking and a very pretty lawn!

Put Gator blades on a Simplicity lawn tractor with a 38" deck. For those of you that don't know, Simplicity tractors cut cleaner than any other lawn tractor out there. Best deck design by far, Two blades offset with one larger than the other. Tip speed on the blades is outrageous compared to other lesser mowers. And that speed is what makes the Gator blades shine. These blades do a great job with the summer mowing but it's the fall when they really show their worth. I used to fill countless bags of leafs. Not any more. I simply raise the deck, "corral" the leaves and then obliterate them. Might bag a few leaves but not often.

You can mess around with other replacement blades but I don't know why. Mine have been on for at least five years and after one sharpening, they still cut fine. No shake, no wobble, still perfectly straight and I've been known to hit a few branches here and there. If you have a mower with good power and can spin these at the speed they need, that's where they really make a difference.

this blade broke on one end while i was mowing and i hit nothing. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN
BE VERY DANGEROUS

I bought this to replace the dented blade on my Craftsman riding mower. Installation was quick and easy, as soon as I figured out that the blade teeth are supposed to point UP. There's no indication on the blade that this is the case, and I had to go hunting around a little to find the solution. This lack of installation instruction is the only negative I've found with this product so far - I've mowed my lawn five or six times since installation and it's worked great. This blade seems much more heavy duty than the default blade that was in there - it should hold up well moving forward. I would definitely buy this blade again.

I ordered three 21" blades for my 42" lawn tractor (which takes two 21" blades), thinking I would have a spare to rotate with the other two.

Well, two match perfectly but the other one is about 1/2" different in height where the cutter ends meet when manually turning the fully-installed blades so they line up together underneath the deck! When I turn the blade that is a bit different, 180 degrees so the other side lines up with the other blade, still, 1/2" off! So, when the oddball blade is installed with either of the two (and two more that I purchased), one side of the mower cuts 1/2" shorter than the other side, which is a noticeable difference!

The model number is the same stamped in every blade and every blade has the alligator logo stamped on it, however the oddball blade has the logo stamped in a different location than the other four blades I have accumulated to rotate.

I guess I need to contact the manufacturer and have them make this right!

First, yes there is wording imprinted in the blade saying "grass side".

Secondly, it didn't mulch as well as I would have liked, but it did a much better job than the Craftsman premium mulching blades I've previously bought. I would buy these again if my only other choice was the Craftsman blades.

Third, it has a noticeably different sound than the old Craftsman blades...not really good, not really bad, just noticeably different.