Reel mower.

[James02]

Thanks to all...I've been looking for some time now. I do let me grass get high in places, but I don't mind a double pass.

 

[pybyr]

Here's a source with a range of choices, and while I haven't bought mowers from them, have been pleased with anything else I've gotten there:

(broken link removed to http://non-electric.lehmans.com/hardware/Reel%20Mower)

 

[Dtunes]

I have a scotts reel mower. I've used it a fair bit, but it doesn't replace the gas mower. Like people have said if the grass gets to high it doesn't cut so well. Also sometimes a second/third pass doesn't do the job on weeds or very high grass. If you have only grass it works great, but I haven't had so much luck cutting weeds with it. Also even fairly small twigs will lock the blade and cause the mower to stop suddenly so you smash into the handle bars.

I like the idea of cutting using human power but it doesn't replace the gas mower. I use it to keep the grass in check and extend the time between using the gas mower. I remember my great grandmother had an ancient one as a kid and it seemed to work better than my modern reel mower. Although this was years ago and as a kid I cared a lot less about end result than I would today. Other brands may be better than scotts, it was pretty cheap if I remember.

 

[midwestcoast]

I've used a manual reel mower for 4 years now on 1/3'rd acre lot & I like it. It's light & nimble. Cuts pretty fast. It's nice & quiet and it starts on the first pull, er push, every time. It's just simple. Oh, and it spreads the clippings out nicely so they nearly disappear into the grass. No winrows of grass like a side-discharger.

But (there always has to be a But), there are some things it won't do well or at all:
As mentioned, if you let your grass grow more than you should it will be hard to push the mower through & half the grass will just lay over as the reel passes harmlessly over-head. So you kick yourself & go over it again in the opposite direction. No big deal. UNLESS you let it get really long. My lawn is a fine-bladed Fescue that grows like crazy in spring & if I let it go too long (like I'm on vacation or something) it just falls over & the only remedy is to ask a friendly neighbor to borrow their gas mower . This has happened twice.
The other minor Buts are: It will stop dead in it's tracks when it hits a stick. Even pinky-sized twigs.
Because the wheels are mounted outside the blades it leaves a wider uncut strip around obstructions & borders.
If you are one of those neat-freaks that bags all your clippings the bagging attachments on these things are basically a joke.
Long weed stems often escape being cut.

Mine is the TaskForce from Lowes, but if I were buying now I'd go with the newest Fiskars. It can be raised to a 4" cut height to get that grass that you let grow too long (huge plus). It has the wheels mounted behind the blades so you get closer to obstructions. It's bigger, heavier blades are supposed to act kinda like a fly-wheel to cut through weeds & twigs.
Mine has never been sharpened but still cuts fine. The sharpening kits they sell are just sharpening paste and a handle. You take off the one drive wheel, paste the blades & turn them backwards with the handle (or your power drill ).

 

[James02]

I really only to be mindful of what my front yayd looks like, the neighbors haven't said anything bout logs in the driveway on occation. As a return favor I like to keep my property neat. The back is my pups yard, I do steady pick ups bit miss some puppy bombs here and there. So as long as she isn't lost in the tall grass, I am fine with the ins and outs of the push....

 

[jotul8e2]

I've had several reel type manual mowers - paid a quarter each for two of them 35 years ago. I currently have a Scotts/Great States mower I got nearly new for $25. It should be 100 times better than the old ones.

There is much I like about them. Quiet. No tune ups (not much, anyway). Always starts. My current limitation is grass height. I want to mow it to 3" to 4", and no reel type I have ever seen can cope with grass 5"-6" tall.

Here is a website on sharpening: (broken link removed) . I've not tried this. As others have pointed out, they should go a long, long time without sharpening.

 

[coaly]

Growing up we had a green painted Craftsman from the 60's that was geared well, high speed blade with rubber tires. They probably sold it in a yard sale, but my dad had a half mower too that is built for a trimmer. I still have it, and It works great.
I missed having a push mower, so picked this one up at a yard or mud sale for 10 or 15 bucks. Steel wheels makes it a little heavy, but it doesn't slip. It's an antique with adjustable bed knife. All mine have always been "self sharpening" and never required additional sharpening.

Notice the short handle on the trimming side to get up against fences so the handle doesn't hit. The oversize wheel gears it up to keep spinning fast while moving slow around obstacles.

 

[Jags]

And I am complaining cuz my big mower only has a 5 ft deck.

 

[coaly]

And my renters complain when there's an A/C problem ! No A/C Here............. My wife just took the summer grate out of the Kitchen Queen to bake bread and cookies in the oven while she cooks supper on top. It cooled down to 63* f. today with no sun, so she figured it's a good baking day ! (you can't circulate the exhaust around the oven with a summer grate, so it's in the full firebox winter mode with real splits today) Yikes ! We take turns pushing the mower to cool off !!