I bought this lawn mower a year and a half ago and have never replaced the blades. Recently, I noticed that the mower isn’t cutting the lawn well. I’m not sure if it’s a blade issue.
However, a year and a half is plenty of time for the blades to get dull and start cutting poorly even if the blades are not rusted and seem to be in good shape. For those having a lawn mower that has a deck similar to the one shown above, the hustler raptor xd 54 blades would be an ideal choice since they are about 18.5 inches in length and are meant for use in a 54-inch deck.