expired Posted by phoinix | Staff • Yesterday
Jul 5, 2025 8:26 AM
Item 1 of 4
Item 1 of 4
expired Posted by phoinix | Staff • Yesterday
Jul 5, 2025 8:26 AM
Prime Members: Amazon Basics 18" 5-Blade Push Reel Lawn Mower w/ Grass Catcher
+ Free Shipping$60
$116
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Reel mowers are more work than a power mower. They don't cut very long grass or any weeds well, instead just pushing them over. The suction created by rotary mowers greatly helps them cut floppy weeds and tall grass. If your yard has lots of sticks and debris, or is super bumpy, these mowers don't work well. They can cut through even small twigs and can skip over sections when there are bumps. Thick or long lawns will clog up reel mowers, too that is particularly exarcerbated by this light, cheap mower. No matter how great your lawn, they will not cut every blade. If you can't accept that, don't buy one.
If you want a reel mower, but a heavier, higher quality one. The gold standard is the mascot silent cut reel mower. It starts at $350, but they mow great, need almost no maintenance and last about forever. This mower is the direct descendent of the Scot's Silent Cut. My 1960's model still mows great. Ideally you find a used one. Agri fab made them under their name, Craftsman, and several other names. The next best modern brand is Fiskars at around $250.
Reel mowers are great. Even the best ones are light and small (though you should get the heaviest reel mower possible). My agri fab hangs on a hook in my garage, taking very little space. These mowers are very quiet and produce no foul odors, making mowing pleasant. Agri fabs, mascot and white label versions of these cut with a scissor action, which puts very little wear on the blades, so you almost never need to sharpen them. If your lawn is small, it may be faster to use a reel mower, because you can go straight to mowing. No gassing up, checking batteries or the like. Putting away is easier because they are small and light. Just don't buy the cheapest reel mower and judge them all by that model. Aldo don't fool yourself that this is going to get a golf course cut. Greens mowers are power mowers, spinning the reels at tremendous speed. Manual reel mowers are slightly healthier for your lawn, but they will leave some odd, uncut blades.
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The manual mower took 3 hours. Edger took 2 hours. Electric wired mower took 30 min (had to keep emptying bag otherwise would have been much faster). Less then 600 sq feet.
will never use manual one again lol
The problem is the clip frequency. It has very little to do with strength. The gearing in these push reel mowers means they CAN'T spin fast enough to avoid washboarding. Reaching maximum achievable reel RPM usually means a brisk(ish) walk; anything faster than that and you're lengthening the distance between cuts. But an aggressively growing, healthy lawn is often dense enough to stop the reel in its tracks at that speed, so you have to push harder and faster just to stay moving, but then the bouncing happens. There really is no "sweet spot", so to speak. Your only real option is to mow the same track several times over. Then do it again as soon as the next day to keep up with it. You'll lose your mind in one season.
If you insist on starting with a push reel mower, do yourself a favor and at least go with one that has 7 blades (which will increase the clip rate)... Even that you'll likely outgrow.
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