Sports Turf Essentials · Technical Guide
Bedknife Selection Guide
Understand bench settings, actual height of cut and bedknife profiles, using STE Toro parts as examples.
This guide explains how to think about bedknife selection across reel-mower brands. The STE Toro bedknives below are examples to illustrate how profiles and published height-of-cut ranges differ; always confirm the exact part and cutting-unit specification for your machine.
Workshop setting vs actual height of cut
The workshop or bench setting is a setup figure, not necessarily the height the grass will be cut to. As a practical rule of thumb, allow for the actual cut on turf to be lower than the bench setting: the rollers settle into the turf instead of riding on a perfectly firm, flat surface. How much lower varies with turf firmness and density, cutting-unit weight, accessories, down pressure and setup, so there is no fixed amount to subtract.
For example, one golf-course mechanic reports that his 4–4.5 mm bench setting for greens gives about 2–2.5 mm actual HOC; 9 mm on the bench for tees gives about 6 mm actual; and 11–12 mm on the bench for surrounds gives about 6–8 mm actual. Treat these as examples of his setup, not a universal conversion. Use your normal operating experience and turf conditions when choosing a bedknife.
The product-listed HOC ranges below are guidance for bedknife selection, not a promise of the finished grass height and not a direct conversion from a bench setting. Consider the expected actual cut, the required OEM reference and the bedknife profile together. A prism reading can help where available, but is not needed to use this guide.
Toro bedknives used as examples
These figures apply to the individual STE product listings below. They are examples, not ranges to apply to other manufacturers’ parts.
| STE example / Toro OEM reference | Size and profile | Product-listed bedknife HOC range | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| STE 93-4262 (Toro OEM reference: 93-4262) |
21-inch micro cut | 1.6–4.8 mm | A low-cut setup needing a micro-cut bedknife, within the stated range. |
| STE 93-4263 (Toro OEM reference: 93-4263) |
21-inch tournament cut | 3.2–12.7 mm | A 21-inch cutting unit using the tournament profile and working within this range. |
| STE 93-4264 (Toro OEM references: 93-4264 / 63-8470 / 62-8470) |
21-inch, 1/8-inch thin low cut | 4.8–25.4 mm | Use when the Toro OEM reference is 93-4264, 63-8470 or 62-8470 and the 1/8-inch thin low-cut profile is required. |
How to choose
General approach: first match the machine and cutting unit to the correct OEM reference and bedknife profile. Then compare the expected actual cut on turf-not only the workshop bench setting-with the range published for that specific replacement part. These ranges are product-specific and must not be transferred to a different brand or part number.
Using the Toro examples above: STE 93-4262 has a listed range of 1.6–4.8 mm; STE 93-4263 is the tournament profile at 3.2–12.7 mm; and STE 93-4264 is the 1/8-inch thin low-cut profile at 4.8–25.4 mm, corresponding to Toro OEM references 93-4264 / 63-8470 / 62-8470. The ranges overlap, but that does not make the profiles interchangeable; confirm the OEM reference and cutting-unit specification.
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