Oregan Blades versus Kubota Blades

[Scrounger]

Has anyone out there used Oregan blades on mower decks enough to know if they are equal to or not as good as Kubots's? Seems to be some savings with Oregan blades, but sometimes saving a couple of bucks can cost more in the long run?
Thanks

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Oregan makes alot of decent after market parts from mower blades to guide bars for chain saws. You'll be fine with the Oregan blades on your mower.

 

[Orange Tractors]

I have been using the same set of Oregon blades on my Woods L59-K17 since I got the L175 that it is mounted under running (four years). I don't pick up sticks or limbs in the yard unless they are bigger than two inches in diameter.

The blades are as straight as the day I put them on, and don't have nicks either. I sharpen them once a year.

I have never used a Kubota blade, but if they are better than the Oregon's, I couldn't afford them.

The local small engine guy recommends Oregon blades over just about anything.

Robert

 

[jamesemu]

I also would like to know more about the difference between the OEM Kubota Blades and the best Oregon Blades?
I am hoping that a lot more "users" out there more knowledgeable than I, will jump in here with there experience and opinions.

My machine is only an older "little guy" a, T1770 bought new in o7, with the RCK44 (44") LTB deck.

I have been buying the three blade sets from Kubota and price is up to near 60.00 a set. I really would like to know more about other sources and cost as well as who actually manufactures the blades and if in USA or elsewhere.

Thanks for more responses.
jamesemu

 

[Eric McCarthy]

You can get a good look at a T-bone steak by sticking your head up a bulls ass or you can take the butchers word for it. I've bought several different brands of after market blades and have been happy with just about all of them. I own a commercial Toro walkbhind and a Landpride finishing mower and use them both in my lawn care business and I go the cheaper route on blades. I get alot of mine from Agri Supply. Simple reason being I can get so many different blades for all my mowers in one place. They stock over 250,000 blades for over 800 different mowers.

http://www.agrisupply.com/lawn-mower-blades/c/2700008/

 

[Bluegill]

I put a set of Oregon blades on my cheap mower and they are a whole lot better than the original.

I suspect the Kubota blades are better than most, but no better than Oregon.

 

[wills670]

I installed a set of blades on my b2620 and have been very happy with them. These are the g6 blade and they seem to give a better cut than the oem blades. They are very heavy built and have quite a bit more turn up to get better lift than oem.

 

[jamesemu]

Wills670---Thanks much, Great Photos, and am sure u have had a lot of experience.
Curious what size the blades in the photo are, and what u use them on?
Thanks again.

 

[lreops]

I've been using the Oregon gater blades on my zero turn for some years. I find that they offer far more "Lift" resulting in a better cut and with the mulching the blades do create less "Clumping" out the discharge, especially with lightly wet grass.

Ron

 

[ipz2222]

When I first bought my bx, I was disappointed in the cut, had to go slow to mow even. Replaced the blades with the gator blades and can now mow at full speed.

 

[Scrounger]

Hey, thanks for all the input here! I think I'll have to try a set of those Gator blades. This has been a big help & maybe save a few bucks too!

 

[Eric McCarthy]

You got to figure Kubota is in the market to make and sell tractors not mower blades. Kubota gets there blades from a company such as Oregan and buys in bulk, puts a mark up on them and sells them on their equipment and at the dealer. There's a TON of other things you can buy after market for your tractor that meets or exceeds Kubota's OEM standrds and a helluva lot cheaper. You can go to Wal-mart and buy 5 gallons of UDT cheaper then the dealer. You can get belts, hoses, and filters at Napa for a fraction of the cost the dealer charges.

 

[wills670]

Wills670---Thanks much, Great Photos, and am sure u have had a lot of experience.
Curious what size the blades in the photo are, and what u use them on?
Thanks again.

These blades fit my B2620 mid mount mower and the mmm is 60".

 

[navy599]

I put Oregon gator blades on every mower i buy. love them clean cut and makes the blades of grass smaller for easier discharge. love them!!!

 

[thollywood]

B2400HST been using the Organ Gator G6 Fusion blade. It is the best trust me on this one. You will be very happy. The blade is thick, hi lift and excellent mulch. Mowpart.com has the best price on them also.

 

[bweeden]

what is the part number of the gator blade, I can only find the ones with the 1 1/8 hole, I need the 7/8 for my BX 60inch MMM

 

[Stubbyie]

Compared Oregon blades to OEM blades for a Hustler commercial ZTR mower.

Learned from Oregon engineering dept that in the case of Hustler the OEM blades are made by Oregon. Wouldn't surprise me if the same was true with regard to Kubota. After all, how many manufactuerers of blades are there?

It was explained to me that Oregon furnishes OEM blades to Hustler/Excell under contract that prohibits them for also offering an aftermarket EXACT match.

In this case, if you look closely, the blades sold by Hustler as OEM have a 'rough' or 'pebbly' tungsten carbade coating compared to the aftermarket Oregon that do not have the coating.

The point is to compare closely--you may not be buying what you think you are in the aftermarket market.

The OEM blades cost me (after a lot of shopping around) $12 more for the set of three compared to the aftermarket Oregon.

The kicker is that--in this case--with the supplemental tunsten carbide coating, the OEM blades last longer.

I can get an entire season of mowing gopher mounds out of the OEMs compared to requiring two sets of the non-coated aftermarket.

The OEMs are a much better value when the total system cost over time is considered. Same may be true in the case of Kubota blades.

 

[g-paw-linn]

I purchased a set of Gator blades for my BX2360/60”MMM in July of this year. Mostly so that I would have a spare set to when they needed sharpening. My East Tennessee yard is really just pasture consisting of mostly crabgrass/wire grass/goose grass/dallis grass/switch grass/Bermuda grass/and a little fescue. But it is green and looks good from a distance when mowed.

This combo of grass/weeds is fairly tough on blades and I really needed to sharpen monthly. Until I put the Gators on. They are still as sharp as when I put then on and for most of this year I have had to every 5 days to keep from needing a hay rake.

Like others I could not find the hole size for the BX --- BUT while on the phone with TEwarehouse.com their tech told me that the

20-9/16" Gator Fusion Magnum
Item:* 496-787
Gator Fusion Magnum
20-9/16" x 1-1/8"
For 60" Deck

would be perfect for the 60”MMM just buy a cat-0 to cat-1 adapter and cut a ¼” slice off for each blade and pound it into the 1 ¼ hole. Worked perfectly.

I have found that these high lift mulchers don't like wet grass ( blows clumps out and coats inside of deck) but I normally mow in the late afternoon when the “grass” is dry. With these blades and dry grass the deck stays VERY clean – no need to scrape since July.

I have also found that the fuel consumption has gone up noticeably since changing blades. I usually run at about 2600-2700 RPM.

Side note --- earlier this year a landscaper nearly died while changing blades. Jacked up the Zero-turn, using socket wrench and block of wood to put the sharpened blades back on when the wrench slipped and the blade cut deep into his wrist. Nearly bled to death before he could get back into the house.

I now drag the compressor and impact wrench out each time!!!

 

[jbasnak]

I have a B2620 with the 60 inch mowing deck. Do you know the part number for the Oregon blades?

 

[bobkeyes]

Would these gator blades work well on a b2620 with a grass catcher? I don't see why not. But, I'll yield to the experience here.