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They all look pretty good to me. Do you think any of them could work for me? I wonder if any of them might meet my needs for cutting grass and weeds that have gotten a bit long? And for maintaining the lawn in a small yard after that ?
What kind of weeds do you have? Or how high do you let them grow before dealing with them?
You're kinda using a dull butcher knife for brain surgery.
Just buy a new weed eater. If your yard is small enough to be done fairly easily with a reel mower you don't need much of a weed whacker.
When I was kid we had a self propelled walk behind reel lawnmower. This was back in the early 80's, I'm pretty sure self propelled for any lawnmower wasn't common yet.
I used a self-propelled reel-type mower when I was a kid in the late 50s. Before that (early 50s) I used a reel-type push-mower.
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Originally Posted by North Beach Person
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I've seen a couple old (pre-1960s) gas powered reel mowers. My sense, from watching them be used, was that they were a pain.
Seems like ours was green and orange. Maybe Scott? I can't recall it being a pain anymore than a rotary mower. I was ages 12-17 when I used it, and our house sat on a steep hill. I didn't like the steep grades for it! Truthfully, I didn't like mowing the lawn at all by that time, but our house wasn't run as a democracy. Even if it had been, I'd have been out-voted on everything anyway.
OP, those scythes are not easy to use. We had one on the farm. Dad used it a bit to keep weeds down in a few areas where there wasn't room for the big tractor/mover to do the job. I tried to use that thing from the time I was old enough to pick it up until we left the farm at age 12. I knew how to do it from watching my dad and from him trying to teach me, but I never could really handle it well. I sure wouldn't want to do it now! I'm impressed when watching those videos. They make it look easy. It ain't.
Weed eaters aren't really great for mowing a lawn either. I use them to trim around my house, fence, trees, etc. -- places where my mower can't hit -- but I don't think anyone can really make a lawn look well-manicured with only a weed eater.
Reel mowers do a very nice job with the grass, and because they slice the grass off like a scissors would, rather than knocking the heck out of it like rotary mowers do, the grass will be healthier. But if I had a very small yard, I'd get an electric mower. You won't need that much cord, and you can eliminate gas, oil, battery (or hand-starting) and the noise associated with gasoline engines.
I'm just going to say it. If you can't figure out how to use a basic weedeater properly, you probably shouldn't be wielding any of the tools you mentioned above. Hire someone to come clean your yard and be done with it.
I'm just going to say it. If you can't figure out how to use a basic weedeater properly, you probably shouldn't be wielding any of the tools you mentioned above. Hire someone to come clean your yard and be done with it.
Maybe so but too cheap to do that . Hiring someone cost money. And I need to save every penny so unfortunately I cannot afford to hire someone to do something I can do myself. I guess you are all stuck trying to help advise me. And who knows maybe I could actually get good at it?
You still do not want to share your secrets to a good looking lawn you mentioned you have ? No tips or advice ? I think you must want to keep it to yourself.
I used a self-propelled reel-type mower when I was a kid in the late 50s. Before that (early 50s) I used a reel-type push-mower.
Seems like ours was green and orange. Maybe Scott? I can't recall it being a pain anymore than a rotary mower. I was ages 12-17 when I used it, and our house sat on a steep hill. I didn't like the steep grades for it! Truthfully, I didn't like mowing the lawn at all by that time, but our house wasn't run as a democracy. Even if it had been, I'd have been out-voted on everything anyway.
OP, those scythes are not easy to use. We had one on the farm. Dad used it a bit to keep weeds down in a few areas where there wasn't room for the big tractor/mover to do the job. I tried to use that thing from the time I was old enough to pick it up until we left the farm at age 12. I knew how to do it from watching my dad and from him trying to teach me, but I never could really handle it well. I sure wouldn't want to do it now! I'm impressed when watching those videos. They make it look easy. It ain't.
Weed eaters aren't really great for mowing a lawn either. I use them to trim around my house, fence, trees, etc. -- places where my mower can't hit -- but I don't think anyone can really make a lawn look well-manicured with only a weed eater.
Reel mowers do a very nice job with the grass, and because they slice the grass off like a scissors would, rather than knocking the heck out of it like rotary mowers do, the grass will be healthier. But if I had a very small yard, I'd get an electric mower. You won't need that much cord, and you can eliminate gas, oil, battery (or hand-starting) and the noise associated with gasoline engines.
You may be right I bet they do make it look easy. I believe you. You are really selling me on the push reel mower. I definitely want one. I want my lawn to be healthy and pretty like that. I want to learn to garden and have native plants that are good for the environment, and good for the wildlife, plus easy to take care of because they are meant to be here.
That is another reason I have let my yard go a little. It went dormant during the winter shortly after I just bought this home . I am a first time home buyer. It was only cut once then by a neighbor as a favor to me and then the winter set in and it didnt need it anymore. Now that spring is here it is getting long I have bought two weed eaters to trim it thinking it was such a small lot I didnt need anymore than that but as you know they both stopped working. My lawn is fuller then it was before the winter, and I feel very grateful those horrible sandspurs are gone,if you do not know what those are you do not want to ever find out. I hope they never come back . They were annuals so maybe they are gone permanently.
Now I need to figure out what to do with my lawn. I took some hand clippers to the front lawn a couple of weeks ago to get the tallest weeds. It is just this and you may laugh but I see the butterflies and the bees flying around some of the flowering weeds and I just do not want to kill them. I like helping wildlife. I also want to start my own herb and seasonings garden and I wonder if some of the weeds can be used as herbs ? I do not know how to recognize what they are yet.
I have bought several plants and will try to learn to garden . I do not want my lawn to look ugly or like an abandoned lot but at the same time I do not want to kill the plants that have some value to wildlife. I was thinking of transplanting some of the useful weeds of into a corner. I just hope I can do it gently enough that I do not kill the plants .
I also want a privacy hedge in the front yard because it will also help the wildlife. It will look pretty, and will help to hide an overgrown lawn.
Last edited by vanguardisle; 05-06-2015 at 10:12 AM..
Today just about an hour ago my neighbor took a look at my black and decker grasshog weedeater and figured out how to get it to work . He turned it upside down and twisted the end line part a little and then we plugged it in and it worked! I started to mow my front yard with it. It jammed up again about 5 minutes later so I tried to do it myself. I unplugged it, turned it over took the bottom line thing and twisted it up and then twisted it back down, plugged it in and it worked! I had to fix it several times while using it because it would jam up again and again but I managed to mow my front lawn. Each time it jammed up I got it to work again! I feel so happy that at least I have a weed eater to use. My lawn looks better now. I will work on it again tomorrow.
Last edited by vanguardisle; 05-08-2015 at 06:34 PM..
I went through several low end weed wackers before I broke down and bought a john deere commercial quality one for about $400. It's a dream! and I can handle it one handed, even as an older, small female.
Unless you know how to use a scythe - stay away from it. It is not a 'how to by UTube tool'. Get a decent weed eater, wear boots, long pants and safety glasses or let your wife do it or get a lawn service.
It's not rocket science either. My siblings and I started using sickles and scythes as children, clears a small field fairly quickly but not the kind of thing I'd want to use on a front lawn unless your neighbors are the live and let live type.
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