What is Relief?

What is relief?

Relief is the grinding away of the backside of the blade on your reel or your bedknife. The degree of relief is usually expressed as a number (angle in degrees): the higher the number the more metal you’ve shaved off your blade.

What is the advantage of the procedure?

Takes stress off your engine and hydraulics when you have contact between reel and bedknife

What is the disadvantage?

You are grinding away your mower blades and weakening the cutting edge thereby (severely) shortening the reel’s operating life.

If I grind in relief, how long will it last?

Until you backlap. Backlapping quickly wears down the relief angle. A reel mower that has been backlapped three or four times has a virtually flat blade.

Do I need relief?

If you use a precision grinder like the Express Dual, then set up your mowers with no reel to bedknife contact, you won’t need relief.

When do I need relief?

If you use a grinder where you have to backlap the blade in – then you need relief. If you adjust your mower so that the bedknife and the reel have direct contact – then you need relief.

The manufacturer of my new mower specifies relief. Why is that?

The manufacturer has to take into account that many golf courses still use antiquated grinding equipment and methods. By gauging their instructions to the lowest common denominator, manufacturers safeguard their machinery as well as their guarantee.

Related Link: See Perfect Relief