Planer cutter head lock lever

Yesterday the cutter head lock lever of my DeWalt 734 planer came loose. After a brief moment of grinding noise the planer spit it out, somewhat the worse for wear (it's partly ground away and slightly bent)
I'm ordering a replacement lever, and I'm going to check the blades.

Meanwhile, while I'm waiting for a replacement, is the planer safe to use? My thought is a missing lock lever is the same as an open lock lever.

Dan,

I think its safe to say that anytime you have a major contact with the planer blades with anything other than wood you should do a close inspection. Planer blades will crack, trust me I have had it happen to me, I found a cracked blade when I was sharpening mine. No doubt you need to sharpen or replace the blades.

Thanks. I switched the blades to the other edge. They look OK. A new lock lever has arrived, which I'll install eventually.