Push reel lawn mowers

They are the straight razor of the lawn maintenance world!

http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/image...a273c010.L.jpg

I just got one to tend my in-laws new place. They have a small yard, so a push mower seemed like a good idea. No gas, no ear splitting noise, very little maintenance.

I must say, the sounds of the blades swirling away as you push it around the yard is quite relaxing on a nice summer day.

Grass aint nothin' but green whiskers for your lawn, get out there and get your yard BBS, the old fashioned way!:tu

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Originally Posted by Seraphim

They are the straight razor of the lawn maintenance world!

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It's true! That's all we used to use when I was growing up and I loved it. Not the biggest yard to mow, but it was just so much fun using this type of mower- getting a workout in the sun on a nice day. Anyway, now I live in my fiancé's parent's house, they use a safety razor mower. You know the kind- motorized and no skill required to use. Needless to say, I won't go near the thing.

It's funny too, I have been talking to my fiancé about these mowers a lot lately.

I have one, and liked it initially, as it cut the grass cleanly and easily.

Now, I hate it, because it will not cut anything over 6" tall, including weeds, which grow about a foot a week, so unless I want to use it every 3 days, it's not a viable lawn grooming tool.

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Originally Posted by jockeys

I have one, and liked it initially, as it cut the grass cleanly and easily.

Now, I hate it, because it will not cut anything over 6" tall, including weeds, which grow about a foot a week, so unless I want to use it every 3 days, it's not a viable lawn grooming tool.

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+1.

And then you have rake all the grass on a heap, and then put it in a wheel barrow, and then move it to the compost heap or the trailer...

I can see how it is fun to use if you are someone like my deceased grandfather, who religiously maintained his little garden so that it was perfect, every day of the year.

My, I have so much work in the house that I can't really be bothered to do more than cut the hedges once a year, and mow the lawn whenever the weeds get too high.
The grass itself doesn't grow too fast, but the weed do indeed grow almost a foot a week.

I love 'em, the noise is the main thing that keeps mowing from being enjoyable for me. I'll agree though, they do demand a lot of attention. If they're not perfectly sharp or if the grass grows too fast, you're definitely out of luck.

Do you finish sharpen them with a Chinese 12K or Japanese waterstone?

I have a Sunlawn push reel mower, and I love it. My wife on the other hand hates it. the only problem I have, and it is only specific to my lawn, is the prior owner used a lot of wood chip mulch around the entire perimeter of the lawn, and my dog kicks the chips into the lawn. the blade then gets stuck on the mulch as I mow, and i am about to trade it in (:cry:) for a toro or Honda or some other self propelled version of the gas hogs.

http://keetsa.com/blog/wp-content/up...40_display.jpg

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Originally Posted by kelbro

Do you finish sharpen them with a Chinese 12K or Japanese waterstone?

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Unless you nick the blade a swaty or any other good finishing hone should do the trick. Chrome Ox with a paddle will get you BBS everytime, your neighbors will notice the difference too, all the birds and bees will be at your place!:w
Used to use these things when I was a kid, about the time Fred Flinstone got rid of his turtle mower, they work great as long as you keep them sharp and the grass doesnt get too thick or high, otherwise its like shaving with a badly honed razor, except all over the yard!:rant:

That's a great photo, Seraphim

I love these too, though ours need sharpening and I need to learn to do that. (Yes, that's plural. Through various circumstances, we have two or three.) Yes, they do get in trouble if the vegetation's too high--their only disadvantage in my opinion. I started using them when I was responsible for a fairly substantial lawn (front, back, side) around the corner condo building we lived in--I still saved time all in all, when you count stopping to refuel, yanking the cord a dozen times when the :cen engine decides it doesn't want to start, cleaning the gunk out of the housing, and draining the gas in the fall.

Now we live on a block of bungalows with postage-stamp yards, and even though neighbors have seen me pushing my reel mower and expressed interest, I'm still the only person on the block who doesn't use--in order from least annoying to outrageous--an electric mower, a gas mower, or a freaking landscaping service!!:eek: Three or four guys pulling up in a truck, rolling these big honkin' pieces of equipment out of their trailer, then making so much noise it's a good thing Rosehill Cemetery is two miles away--they'd be waking up everybody in there--for fifteen minutes while working over a yard maybe twice the size of my cubicle here!! :confused:

Ahem. OK, rant over. Yep, I like your metaphor, Seraphim--straight razor of the lawn maintenance world.

~Rich

I have one. It is much nicer than having to deal with the hassle of remembering to get gas for a regular mower, and it really does not take much more effort than a powered mower. The one thing that I don't particularly enjoy is having to do a pre-mow walk around the yard picking up any small twigs so they don't get caught in the blades.

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Originally Posted by hoglahoo

That's a great photo, Seraphim

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It is a nice photo, however, it is not mine I copied it off of an Amazon ad:rolleyes:

I used one for several years; however, went to a gas mower this year. I found that it cut grass beautifully but had a difficult time on weeds. I would often have to do two or three passes then follow it up by pulling the longer pieces that it couldn't cut. We have a herbicide ban in Halifax which unfortunately turned my lawn into a weed farm (today the weeds are the only thing keeping the yard green). :(

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Originally Posted by rastewart

I love these too, though ours need sharpening and I need to learn to do that.

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Sharpening is usually done with some abrasive paste and a crank handle that would fit into a square socket on one of the shafts on the side... at least that how the old ones were sharpened. I can't imagine the new ones being any different. Most manufacturers have a sharpening kit available for their mowers.

Regards

Christian

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Originally Posted by kaptain_zero

Sharpening is usually done with some abrasive paste and a crank handle that would fit into a square socket on one of the shafts on the side... at least that how the old ones were sharpened. I can't imagine the new ones being any different. Most manufacturers have a sharpening kit available for their mowers.

Regards

Christian

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yep... I do mine with some valve polishing compound and a crank to turn it backwards. I wanna say this is called "backlapping" but I might be remembering wrong. I'm totally with the guy who has a yard of weeds, mine is the same way and since I'm next door to a daycare, I'm not allowed to spray roundup all over. If anyone in North Texas wants a reel mower, pm me, I'm going to break down and buy a gas mower once it gets cool enough for the grass/weeds to grow again.

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Originally Posted by rsrick

I used one for several years; however, went to a gas mower this year. I found that it cut grass beautifully but had a difficult time on weeds. I would often have to do two or three passes then follow it up by pulling the longer pieces that it couldn't cut. We have a herbicide ban in Halifax which unfortunately turned my lawn into a weed farm (today the weeds are the only thing keeping the yard green). :(

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How long should I use one before attempting an against the grain pass?

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Originally Posted by foundlingofdollar

How long should I use one before attempting an against the grain pass?

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Check out www.reelmowerplace.com

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Originally Posted by kaptain_zero

Sharpening is usually done with some abrasive paste and a crank handle that would fit into a square socket on one of the shafts on the side... at least that how the old ones were sharpened. I can't imagine the new ones being any different. Most manufacturers have a sharpening kit available for their mowers.

Regards

Christian

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Originally Posted by jockeys

yep... I do mine with some valve polishing compound and a crank to turn it backwards. I wanna say this is called "backlapping" but I might be remembering wrong. ...

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Thanks, gentlemen, I will check into this.

Rich

I have used nothing but reel mowers for the past 25 years. On the rare occasion that I get behind and the grass gets too tall, I just do a fast swinging buzz of the tall stuff with a weed wacker. I love using reel mowers. If you keep them sharp, they do a better job (sound familiar?), they require minimal maintenance, they don't pollute, and I can (and have) mow at midnight without annoying the neighbors.

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Originally Posted by Utopian

I have used nothing but reel mowers for the past 25 years. On the rare occasion that I get behind and the grass gets too tall, I just do a fast swinging buzz of the tall stuff with a weed wacker. I love using reel mowers. If you keep them sharp, they do a better job (sound familiar?), they require minimal maintenance, they don't pollute, and I can (and have) mow at midnight without annoying the neighbors.

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Where do you get enough light to mow at midnight without annoying the neighbors? :confused: I'd love to be able to do that

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Originally Posted by hoglahoo

Where do you get enough light to mow at midnight without annoying the neighbors? :confused: I'd love to be able to do that

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The push reel lawn mower doesn't annoy the neighbors, but the 60,000 Watt stadium lighting system he uses makes them pull their shades down!:p

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Originally Posted by Seraphim

The push reel lawn mower doesn't annoy the neighbors, but the 60,000 Watt stadium lighting system he uses makes them pull their shades down!:p

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:w strangers in the night exchanging lawn clippings :w sounds romantic

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Originally Posted by Seraphim

The push reel lawn mower doesn't annoy the neighbors, but the 60,000 Watt stadium lighting system he uses makes them pull their shades down!:p

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I just go ahead and use the gas mower, I find the neighbors don't hear it over the generators.

My light source is a tad less obtrusive than stadium lights. It consists of both distant street lights and moonlight. When I have the urge to mow and the moonlight is lacking, I just do it by best guess. If I miss a few patches, I figure I'll just catch them next time. In other words, while I don't want to annoy my neighbors (except for chasing their damn cats out of my gardens), I don't care about impressing them with manicured lawns either.

Funny this thread should come up. I bought one of these last summer while living in Florida. Currently it is on the porch of my San Diego apartment because I liked it too much to give away. Like the straight razor, the mower was just another case of me becoming fed up with all things modern. I remember from growing up that the fancier and more costly a mower, the worse job it always seemed to do. Self bagging mowers were the worst, always clogging. This other old, busted and rusted up no name mower never seemed to have any problems.
After living in apartments for a while and finally having a house with a yard, but not expecting to be there too long, I went for the reel mower because I thought it would be cheaper, and because I always thought it would be fun. Turns out they run about the same price as lower end mowers, but I still think it was worth it, especially because my wife was so intrigued that she took to mowing the lawn while I was working. :D We had numerous people walking and driving by stop to stare or chat about it. A surprising number said that they had used them and loved them, but couldn't find one.
Concur on the twigs and weeds part. a twig jammed in there is a pain, and those tall, slender weeds just get pushed over and come right back up. No big deal though. Biggest upside, as others mentioned, is a peaceful swishing sound rather than another loud engine in your life.

I was thinking of graduating to a reel pusher as my 36 year old Lawnboy has to give up the ghost some time, but learned that my neighbor just got two beagle puppies which are now learning to bay.:td I think I'll take the muffler of the old gas hog so they can enjoy noise too.:w

Ear muffs at midnight, in the moonlight:y

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Originally Posted by Bruce

t my neighbor just got two beagle puppies which are now learning to bay.:td I think I'll take the muffler of the old gas hog so they can enjoy noise too.:w

Ear muffs at midnight, in the moonlight:y

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:nono: You've got something wrong with you if you don't think that beagle puppies howling is the absolute cutest thing on the planet. (Says the owner of two beagles)

P.S. I'm not your neighbor, so don't blame me :D

I still have mine but unfortunately cant really use it. It would take a little too long to mow almost 2 acres with it. But I miss the nice sound of it compared to the 48" riding mower we use now.

When I lived in town and had a smaller lawn I used it about half of the time (when the grass got too high I switched to the gas mower) but I was out mowing the back yard with the Reel mower and a lady drove by and looked....stopped ....backed up...rolled down her window and proceded to tell me about her yard sale that weekend and that she had a "real" lawnmower she was selling. I politely thanked her and informed her that I already had one, she said "no I mean a Gas mower." So I said "yes, I have one of those too." She had this extremely puzzled look on her face and drove off. :D

p.s. after you put the reel mower up and get out the hand scythe to do the trimming you get some frightened looks from people walking by...:eek:

it's funny how attached some people are to the "newer and better"

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Originally Posted by drewdog

it's funny how attached some people are to the "newer and better"

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And there are all levels of it. For instance, the guy who I saw using a pair of scissors to trim his sidewalk (no joke) last summer probably thinks you are a victim of "new and improved!" 1930s marketing schemes with your fancy push-reel

We used to have a couple of these in the shed when I was a kid, also a large 'Atco' petrol cylinder mower with a Villiers engine, I think the lawnmower shops use a special cylinder grinding jig for sharpening.
These days, to save enough time to be able to use a cutthroat razor, I have a petrol driven mower.
It takes over an hour to do both lawns, I think I'd need half a day a week in the growing season if I used a human powered machine. We usually have sheep in the field behind us, I've been tempted to leave the gate open to save time and fuel.

If I can get one to mount on my garden tractor, I'm in!

I used one as a kid on the lawn at home and then there was Grandma's old one with cast iron wheels and a wooden handle that I used on her lawn. They cut well unless the grass was too long.

But I just shoveled 2-3' of snow, so lawm mowers are just a fond memory for about the next 4-5 months.

I didn't use the shovel out of any romantic notions - the darned snow thrower wouldn't start. And come spring the old Lawnboy will cut the grass. It cuts well too, regardless of the length of the grass.

Merry Christmas :beer2:

Thats all we had when I was growing up. My dad did not like the gas powered ones and considered them unsafe.

I did not see the gas ones until we moved into the 2 acre property.

I've been using one for about 2 years now and love it. I've got a small yard so its pretty easy to keep up with. I would like to get a larger (wider cutting path) one some time in the future.

They're wonderful machines. When the grass gets too long for the reel mower, you get out your scythe (the wedge razor of the lawn care world).

It takes me 2.5 - 3 hours a week to mow my yard. Sometimes I can't get to it for a week or two due to the storm seasons that we get here in the sub-tropics, and by then it is long, thick and waterlogged and takes longer to mow.
I wish I could have one of those mowers, but it would turn an hours long task into an all day job.
When I bought my current mower, I was shopping for a reel mower, but was advised against it for the above reasons.


Mick

I use one of these 2 to 3 times a week to keep the lawn down, Viva la inconvenience.

You folks mean those fancy push mowers aren't the latest in technology? I just saw one at fenny's feed store and he says they just came out. Around these parts we been using a sickle to cut the grass and weeds. Thats how we get to be so musu...err...mussilu...err you know what I mean you be big and strong.

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Originally Posted by mhailey

I have a Sunlawn push reel mower, and I love it. My wife on the other hand hates it. the only problem I have, and it is only specific to my lawn, is the prior owner used a lot of wood chip mulch around the entire perimeter of the lawn, and my dog kicks the chips into the lawn. the blade then gets stuck on the mulch as I mow, and i am about to trade it in (:cry:) for a toro or Honda or some other self propelled version of the gas hogs.

http://keetsa.com/blog/wp-content/up...40_display.jpg

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I've owned a Honda self-propelled for three years now and it has always started on the FIRST pull. It cuts grass very well if you keep the blades sharp. Great mower.

I use one of these also because it is better for the grass. The spinning blades in a typical gas mower shatter the blade of grass as they, cut leaving a frayed end that is prone to browing, whereas a reel mower cuts the blades like scissors leaving an unfrayed healthier greener lawn. That is why they use reel mowers on golf courses (gas powered not push).