I would say that you don't have the correct blades on your deck. Let's say your deck takes 21" blades but you have 20" blades on it now. You will have that mowhawk look like you described.

You might also check to be sure the cleaning is really cleaning between the blade paths and not leaving a triangle shaped clump which would create a fan effect and "blow" the grass down instead of sucking it into the blades. When you say that you are leveling the deck most decks should be about 1" higher (or more) in the rear also to help create the vacuum effect. Hope this helps.

Are these the original blades? Or did you buy new blades. I had that problem years ago with Gator blades. Could be several things. Could you take some pictures of the mohawks. And the bottom of the deck showing the blades? Sport98 is correct. The deck needs to be level, and have forward pitch. I don't know about 1 inch. I have always heard, and used 1/4 inch. But you know I just might try a 1/2 inch to 1 inch just to see what happens. My guess is your blades are wore out, or short, or the wrong type, or the middle blade is upside down.

A picture is worth a 1,000 words!

ms

Thanks for the replies guys. I did elevate my mower and there were some triangle shaped clumps in the middle of the blades (between 1 & 2 and 2 & 3). I also saw that one of the blades was horribly damaged - I took it off and ground out the burrs, sharpened all the blades, and that seemed to help. I still don't have the most even cut though. I will try the advice of lowering the front of the deck some; that is something that I haven't done.

Happy mowing everyone!

I am having the same 2-mohawk problem.

I have only just bought the mower brand new, and the dealer set it all up.

Did you ever resolve the issue?
please please help

jamesed - take it back, let dealer make it cut right. that's what you paid for.

Great advice. I think I'll try that myself. I have a friend that is having this problem with his 3-blade Craftsman riding mower (not the newest thing out there). I plan to look at it soon and was - without seeing it - ultimately thinking it's a blade problem, but the buildup and such makes sense too.

Your blades are too short creating a gap between the blades. Buy longer blades so they overlap by about an inch. Doh

***"Buy longer blades so they overlap by about an inch."***
Not good advice to follow at all unless you have a deck made for that.
First thing to find out is exactly what the blade length is supposed to be for your specific deck.
Then check to see if that is what is on there.
And beware.......blade length is measured on the diagonal from tip to tip........not on the flat ends of the blades.
The only decks that can actually use blades that "inter-mesh or overlap" are decks that have cogged pulleys with toothed belts to keep the individual blades "in time" or "in phase".
Due to belt slippage with standard Vee belts, overlapping blades will contact each other at some point (probably on the first running).

It was a joke. Therefore the Homer Simpson DOH! All multi blade decks do this to some degree.

"All multi blade decks do this to some degree."

another HS DOH ?

I relish humor, especially on a hot dog.
But to post something which is completely unsafe advice, and then to semi-rescind it as humor later...........is pushing the envelope a bit much for this kind of forum.
You know where the OEM operator manual always states that you should wear gloves when handling the cutting blades??
Well, there are actual people out there that need to be told that in advance, however obvious or CYA it may seem.
And there are people who would read advice such as given for 1" overlap of the blade orbits and believe they were seeing the gospel.
I'm glad you retracted the statement with some clarification.
Everybody, have a safe and happy Independence Day here in the states, everybody else.............eat some hot dogs and relish them :^)

Well mownie i never wear gloves when handling blades. And guess what? my tractor cuts in reverse too. Thanks for saving so many lives in this gospel forum...

Mownie, you gave the right answer, the problem is if people take it. Remember the tuff guy til he gets out of the car....

My problem is the mower is so heavy that the wheels crush the grass in front of it and the grass never comes back up to be cut. Looks like hell. Grass is always laying down. The blades are supposed to be high lift butn they do not stand up the grass

I recently bought a used Toro Timecutter from the Toro dealer and it has the same problem. Their mechanic installed new blades before I bought it. It leaves uncut grass in the center and left side of the deck have passed on a fresh pass. The right side of the deck cuts good. I took it back t the dealer and they replaced the Vee belt, swearing that it would cut properly. There was no improvement that I can see. I have to mow fresh grass with the right half of the deck and use the left half to clean up the ragged left-overs from the previous pass. Hell - it's like cutting with a 25 inch mower. Any recommendations to get a full 50 inch wide cut are welcomed.

Good points David , level deck along with less under deck turbulence seems to be the key !

I have a 5 YO Toro Timecutter MX5075. I was not impressed with the cut from the beginning but it did the job. It has gotten worse over time and I have dealt with the M cut about 2 seasons. I recently cleaned the deck throughly, I replaced 2 pulleys that showed wear, installed 3 new top rated blades, leveled the deck, and the belt is less than a year old. I also installed a new Toro carburetor. The carb not directly related but it does run better. I cut 5+ acres and having to make multiple passes is a huge pain in the butt. Any fresh ideas?

I still am not happy wit the cut but I'm 82 years old and can't justify buying a new mower at the point. Perhaps a used John Deere if I can sell this.

I've had this mower for five years and I have never been happy with the cut.

MX5050 owner here. Chiming in here as it may help current owners or prospective buyers. I bought mine three years ago.

The difficulty of leveling the deck and achieving satisfactory cut quality is challenging. The adjusting mechanism is really hard to dial in. I have had the mohawk and unevenness problems.

When adjusted, properly, with sharpened blades,...This mower will not produce perfect cuts, but it will produce good to very good.

Every 2-3 months it needs tweaks. Here are my tips...

Watching videos on youtube from Toros master service guy was a revelation.

1) FIRST you MUST inflate all 4 tires to exactly spec. If mine is off by a few pounds left/right the cut is not as good.

2) If you have replaced any tires, he says you MUST check their circumference with a string or soft tape measure. Or if you have a good bit of wear.

3). This is my blade experience ...

The stock mulching blades are crappy soft metal. I replaced them with Gators medium grade mulching. They stay sharp longer and produce a little more lift. I tried the heavy grade Gators but they hurt gas usage and clipped the side walls too easily.

Despite this, overall I like the mower a lot. Would I buy it again? Not sure. I would probably try to see if I could demo a Deere to evaluate the cut quality and ease of dialing it in.

Lets assume you have a lawn with a slope. If you have a mower where the deck swings like a pendulum then you'll get the mohawking on every pass unless you mow up and down the slope. The deck will swing so that it's lower above ground on the high side of the hill and high on the downhill side.

Having a mower with wheels on the deck is the only way to get good cuts.

Never adjust the deck unless it's actually cutting uneven. "If it ain't broke don't fix it"