Homemade Sausage Making

I just resurfaced the grinding plates and sharpened the cutting blade. I had neglected to do so for too long (probably about 300 lbs of meat ground in 6-12 lb batches since the grinder was new), and so it took quite a bit of work and metal removal to eliminate some of the grooves and such.
While there was a very distinct improvement in meat grinding performance, I was a bit dismayed when I inspected the plate after using it to grind a pound of raw spinach leaves. There were noticeable grooves forming again.

My question is: Is it possible that leafy greens are harder on the plates and blades than meat is?

If so, that could solve a bit of a mystery, and in which case I’ll just designate a set of plates and blade for veggies only.

(I could just use a food processor instead of my food grinder, but I really like the way it “chews” up spinach and cabbage, without blending them into a purée)

While I don't think Spinach alone would damage the plate/blade it can have some dirt/sand left even after rinsing and that is likely the culprit.
Its also a good idea to have each plate paired with its own blade, they wear together and stay true much longer

Thanks for the advice, Bob. The problem seems to be mostly with the coarse grinding plate, but it also messes up the blade a bit, which then messes up the surfaces of the other plates... So your suggestion makes perfect sense to me!

I’ll order another set of plates and two blades, and keep them paired. If nothing else, I won’t have to do damage control on everything if one part gets a little bit of uneven wear.