Prop sharpening?

The place I take my lawn mower blades to for sharpening also advertises prop sharpening.

Worth paying a few bucks for?

My prop is pretty beat up.

Never heard of it, but I'll say this ... the ONLY way it sounds like they can do it is to remove material. That can reduce the diameter at best and at worse ... cause it to be unbalanced!

If your prop is that beat up - keep it as a spare and get a new one, or get a good prop shop to refurb it. Maybe even check out that prop calculator by Turning Point Props that I posted, as maybe you even had a less than ideal one mounted, for your application.

DaleH said:

Never heard of it, but I'll say this ... the ONLY way it sounds like they can do it is to remove material. That can reduce the diameter at best and at worse ... cause it to be unbalanced!

If your prop is that beat up - keep it as a spare and get a new one, or get a good prop shop to refurb it. Maybe even check out that prop calculator by Turning Point Props that I posted, as maybe you even had a less than ideal one mounted, for your application.

Click to expand...

I looked at the turning point calculator. The one it suggested was $150!!!!

Maybe next year.

And yeah, I'd assume it would have to take off a little material, but being sharper would mean it would go through the water faster, and push more water faster.

IDK. Was just a thought.

When my prop is looking a little ruff I will take a large file to it to clean up any burrs and small dings.

I have never heard of "prop sharpening" and don't know as I can see any advantage to it. Unless you want to maim and murder swimmers and marine animals. In fact it seems like thinning the edges in any way would make it more vulnerable to nicks and bending. Perhaps for high performance racing?

My guess is "Sharping" just means cleaning up the leading edge

Just went and did a search and it seems they do sharpen the props on RC racing boats.

lckstckn2smknbrls said:

When my prop is looking a little ruff I will take a large file to it to clean up any burrs and small dings.

Click to expand...

Ouch ... I was taught to never take a file to the edge of a prop you like, as metal filings in the file can imbed in the prop blades and inhibit a future welding ... if ever needed.

We take a clean piece of crocus cloth on a hardwood backer to dress props.

lugoismad said:

DaleH said:

I looked at the turning point calculator. The one it suggested was $150!!!!

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Sorry, I should have been more clear ... as I didn't suggest it so you'd necessarily buy a new one, but where there tool calculates the prop to YOUR boat and load carried ...are you using the 'right' pitch/size prop now :?: ?

If you hit a punch with a hammer it will "mushroom" the head and make it wider than it was originally. When your prop hits a rock or something hard enough, it does pretty much the same thing. Now that leading edge at the spot where it hit the rock is effectively 1.5 to XX times thicker than it was because of the impact. That has to add resistance as well as causing all sorts of disturbance in the water. When this happens to mine, I use a flat file and knock those spots back down to the same thickness as the rest of the prop. I don't take any thickness off the prop or sharpen the edge though. Maybe I'm crazy, but I think it helps.

I know the hammer and punch is not a great example since the punch is steel and takes several hits to start showing signs of mushrooming but maybe you get what I'm trying to say.

labbed props are sharpened and balanced...yes its common - mostly for nice stainless props on nice fast boats lol