Yes, the poor cut issue of some of the AYP machines has come up before. Mine has a 46" 3 blade deck, and it's by far the worst deck design I've ever seen. Too many contours and obstructions underneath to allow the grass to discharge effectively. The clippings bouncing around underneath the deck rapidly begin to build up unless the grass is dry enough to crumble between your fingers. Even if the grass IS that dry, the clippings bouncing off of all of the obstructions STILL affects the airflow underneath to the point that the deck leaving the strips results.

Several forum members have offered up helpful advice when owners post problems like this, but sharpening the blades, leveling the deck, mowing with the throttle pinned wide open, etc. etc. have yet to answer why a different rider with a better deck design can mow the same grass....with dull blades....at half throttle....and at a higher ground speed. I've personally compared two other tractors to mine on my lawn. And I've done so immediately after sharpening the blades, leveling the deck, making sure the belts were properly tensioned, etc. on my machine. The machines I compared mine with, hadn't seen a lick of maintenance or fiddling of any kind. Both were cheaper tractors too. I like the tractor itself, but the deck is junk.

Use the search function, and enter phrases like "Husqvarna poor cut".

Here's one of the past threads:

Here is a link that might be useful: Poor quality of cut

I decided to go out and do some inspection and took off the deck to discover several problems - all were my doing so I don't want to trash Husqvarna mowers. I was wrong about the blades... I found out that what I had cut my hand on before was the back side of the blade which led me to an interesting discovery... these blades appear to be reversable. I couldn't find anything in the owners manual about this but the side I had been using was so tore up (new lawn - kicking up too much gravel and dirt in the beginning) that I couldn't even sharpen them back to original quality. But when I turned them over and used the other sides - problem solved.

Two other problems I discovered that may have played into poor quality was I cleaned out literally 10 gallons of caked in debris, mud and grass in the underside of the deck. Not to mention the middle blade had some twine wrapped around it that I finally was able to clear... it was rotating harder than before. So I'm back in business.. thanks for the responses! Now if I could only find a way to be able to step off the mower and not have it turn off automatically every time. That's one "saftey feature" I could do without.

To avoid mower shutting off...set parking brake before getting off the seat. If you are interested in leaving the deck running when you are climbing on and off...I cannot say I am a fan of that.

As for the "reversable blades... I have NEVER seen that. Not on any mower or replacement blade. I HAVE seen backwards blades, up-side-down blades--it Pays to be attentive when replacing blades. I suspect misinstalled parts are a much more common problem than most anyone can imagine. Lawn often looks like a $2 haircut after that sort of abuse.

Further note: I've seen chainsaw chains installed backwards on the bar (don't cut for **** that way despite being very sharp). In this particular case it was the operator that had sharpness issues.

Uhhh....blades aren't reversible. That rear edge is curved upwards to crate a vacuum to draw the grass blade upwards for a complete cut. I have a z254 Husqvarna as well and have the same issue( worn out rear edges) after 20 hours. Mine were sharp as well. It is literally from erosion of the metal due to friction. The blades are just that cheap! I've never seen such a poor product before ( the cutting blades). The material of the mower blades is substandard and I've read a dozen reviews on this very mower all reporting he same thing. I'm having to replace mine already and it isn't even a year old yet. When the mower was new it cut great. I had a problem with traction with this mower and replaced the rear tires with knobby tires. That improved things a bit. i think the overal weight of the mower is less than most commercial mowers and therefor traction suffers. A very rigid frame also contributes to this as well. Perhaps having spring loaded front casters would help that?

EC , Makes me feel better at least I get 2-3 yrs to a Toro Mulching Blade ! Yes the rear Air Foil Edge does get sand blasted away on sandy soil bases. P.S. Never , invest in any equipment without testing it 1st Chainsaws , Gas Trimmers or especially Very Expensive Lawn or Garden Tractors !!!

What brand of blades would be a better replacement for these? There are three of them each 18.25" long.

Tomplum has advised in the past of Gator Blades as a solution in some circumstances , however if your Husky has design flaws as some posters have thought , with the mower deck no blade may solve your problem completely . As advised returning to Dealer would be the most effective resolve . They may have a better blade for your application , or mower deck .