The 8 Best Lawn Mower Blades of 2026

If the mower in your garage is a 22-inch Toro Recycler, this is the blade to buy and there isn't much to debate. It's genuine Toro, it replaces 108-9764-03, and the 7/16-inch center hole lines up with no adapter and no guesswork. Fit is the entire point of a replacement blade, and this one gets it right.

The tooth-mulcher profile is what we like about it beyond the fit. Rather than a straight high-lift airfoil, the teeth keep clippings circulating under the deck for a second chop, and the practical result is less clumping on tall, wet spring grass. At 0.150 inch thick and 21-11/16 inches long it's a substantial piece of steel, and it goes on with the same single bolt as the original.

Toro has used more than one blade on the 22-inch Recycler over the years, so pull the number off your deck before ordering — 108-9764-03 is what this one replaces. For a Toro, the price sits close to the Maxpower and the fit is exact, which is a trade worth making.

What struck us lifting these out of the box is the weight — 3.4 pounds for the pair, in high-carbon steel. On a 42-inch rider that has been running thin stamped blades, that heft is most of the argument, because a heavy blade is a blade that comes back straight.

The 6-point star center and 21-3/16-inch length cover a long list of 42-inch MTD, Cub Cadet and Troy-Bilt decks, and they cross to Craftsman CMXGZAM110108 as well. Match the OEM number off your old blade — 942-04308, 942-04312, 742-04308 or 742-04312 — before you order. A 42-inch deck doesn't by itself tell you which hole you have.

Durability is where this pair earns its spot. A 42-inch rider finds roots, ant hills and the occasional rock, and this is the set in the group that shrugs those off; the high-carbon steel is thick enough that a bad hit damages the edge rather than folding the blade. The sharpening is the trade — these turn up with a working edge rather than a finished one, so plan a few minutes with a file on both before they go on. Do that and it's the strongest 42-inch value here.

If you run an EGO, you're in a different position from everyone else on this list. The mower is a battery platform you keep for years and the blade is a wear part you swap on a schedule, so the only real question is whether the replacement is the right one. The AB2100 is, for the 21-inch models: LM2100, LM2100SP, LM2101, LM2102SP and LM2142SP.

It's a 3-in-1 blade, which matters more on a cordless mower than on a gas one. Mulching, bagging and side discharge all work off the same piece of steel, so changing how you handle clippings doesn't mean buying a second blade. It's factory sharpened at 1.1 pounds, and we appreciate that the direction of fit is marked on the blade itself — that alone saves the usual under-deck squinting.

Installation is one bolt, no adapter and no cross-referencing. Torque it, check it after the first mow, and you're done.

What settles it is the record behind it: this is the best-liked 21-inch blade in this group, and the one that needs no part-number archaeology at all. What you give up is weight. At 1.1 pounds the blade is light and pleasant to handle, but stony ground takes its toll on the edge sooner than a heavier blade will.

Honda's HRX decks don't use one blade, they use two: a lower blade that cuts and an upper blade that recirculates what the first one throws, chopping it again before it drops. The kit supplies both halves — 72511-VH7-000 and 72531-VH7-000 — in genuine Honda steel, and it's the only set here built for that stacked arrangement.

Replacing both at once is the whole point, and this is the kit we reach for. Fit is exact on the HRS and HRR models, the parts are Honda's own, and the double cut is what produces the fine mulch these mowers are known for. Put one new blade in and leave the other worn, and the second chop never really happens.

One thing to know: they arrive with a working edge rather than a shaving edge. That's the spec, not a defect, and they cut cleanly from the first pass — but if you're expecting a razor out of the wrapper, you'll be reaching for a file. Check your deck before ordering, because a single-blade Honda takes a different part entirely.

A 52-inch deck doesn't run two blades, it runs three — 18-inchers, side by side, so the cut stays tight across a wide swath without a single blade long enough to flex. This is the full set: three blades, 2.25 inches wide, a 0.63-inch center hole, heat-treated alloy steel, made in the USA.

The high-lift profile is the reason to pick this over a plain replacement. The airfoil throws more air out from under the deck, which stands the grass up before the edge arrives and packs the bag harder. If you bag, or you want a striped finish, that's the difference you feel. If you mulch everything, this isn't the set.

Sharpness is what tips it for us. These come out of the wrapper with the best edge of any set here, and the balance is right from the first spin, which is not something every three-pack manages. The center hole seats properly on IKON XD and Edge spindles with no filing and no wobble.

What you're paying for is the set and the steel. The listing names both 52-inch and 42-inch decks, so confirm the blade part number for your deck before ordering — three wrong blades is an expensive mistake. For a 52-inch IKON XD that bags, this is the set.

This is the least expensive way onto a 21-inch MTD deck in this group, and it isn't a knockoff gamble. The Grasscool covers the TB110, TB130, TB230 and TB240 along with the MTD and Cub Cadet equivalents that take the 942-0741A, and its fit record is as clean as the top pick's. If price is the first thing you look at, this is the one to look at.

Where it beats the Maxpower is the edge — these come out of the wrapper sharp more consistently, so there's less bench time before the first mow. Where it gives ground is the record behind it, which is shorter and less settled, and we put it second for that reason alone. Both are single mulching blades within a few ounces of each other, so the choice comes down to whether you want the longer history or the better edge out of the box.

John Deere's 42-inch decks take three different blade numbers depending on the tractor and the year — GY20850, GX22151 and AM141033 — and the hole is a 7-point star. That's the confusion this set answers: one pair, cross-referenced to all three, for the D100, D110, D125, D130, LA115, LA125, E120, E130, S100 and Z225 tractors among others.

The dimensions are the interesting part. At 2-3/4 inches wide with 1 inch of air lift and a 5-7/16-inch cutting edge, these are a real mulching profile rather than a plain straight blade — the width and the lift are what keep clippings suspended under the deck long enough to be cut twice.

Installation is the usual single bolt per spindle, and the 7-point star seats without shimming or filing. There's no adapter and no ambiguity once you've matched the number, which is more than can be said for ordering a generic 42-inch blade and hoping.

We came away thinking of these as a value set, and thickness is where they give ground to the Maxpower pair. On a maintained lawn that costs you nothing. On rough ground with hidden stumps these can bend, and the heavier set is the safer buy there. If your Deere cuts a lawn rather than an acreage, they're a sensible buy.