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Depends on the kind of grass you have, too. My first house had a zoysia lawn, and the newly refurbished and sharpened manual mower couldn't cut the blades at all.
I have one and it works just fine. You might have to go over an area a couple of times, but it does the job. I have Bermuda and St. Augustine. I just bought it on a whim years ago. We have gas powered mowers also.
My lawn is sloped and parts of it are rocky. I think it's crab grass and fescue. It sounds like reel is not the best option. Is there any particular gas or electric you recommend?
Is self propelled or manual push better for a sloped lawn? Does it make much of a difference?
I've seen some online comparisons that note some mowers are better for different terrain types: "uneven with obstacles" and "sloped with obstacles". Not sure if there is a big difference between the two. My lawn is sloped, uneven, and partially rocky.
LOL irman ^^^ nice combination. I use the Fiskars model you mentioned earlier, just finished up and now recuperating for the trim job. I'm afraid to take it anywhere to get the blade sharpened for fear they will screw it up. Fiskar claims the blade stays sharp for life, others say 4 years, but going into the third year it's getting a tad harder to cut the thicker grass. The 18" cut kind of saves me because if it were any wider I would have trouble pushing it on my sloping lot.
What I like most about my Fiskar's is later in mid summer when you get used to the work of it on the hottest days, when you can go out there and mow the whole lawn in one session without pause. At that point, you and anyone watching you will know that you can open up a can of whoop ass on someone that might want to mess with you, as the whole Fiskars lawn experience is one giant punch out. Your arms get more beefed up each time you step in the ring (your lawn).
Well, I'm all rested up now, time to get back to work ! I wish Fiskar's made a keyboard where you punch the keys so hard you get bulging finger muscles after 30 days use, might get one of those.
Just had my first problem with the Fiskars Momentum last week. There's a small bolt/nut with bushing that fell out and caused the front wheel section to fold up under the blade. This bolt connects the blade height adjuster to the front wheel carriage. I emailed Fiskars to ask how much to ship a new one, expecting to get ripped a little, but to my delight, they sent me a new one free of charge! They answered my email quick and I had the new part within a few days.
While I had the wrenches out today after fixing that problem, thought I'd have a go at doing a blade adjustment, to move blades closer to cut bar. It was pretty easy, just loosen a pair of 11mm bolts on each side, but not both sets at the same time. Then adjust another bolt on top left or right, the ones with marker lines around them, turning clockwise to bring blade closer to cut bar until you hear the blade rub a little, then back it off a little and tighten up those side bolts again. Do that for both sides and you have it done. It still does not pass the paper cut test, but does cut a lot better now, and thick grass won't get caught up between blades and cut bar anymore, and make me stop and clear. Guess I can put off sharpening the blade for now......won't cut paper anymore but still cuts grass just fine if you don't let it get too long.
I used a reel mower for years and years. I cut a 1/4 acre lot in Central WV with it. Mine was self sharpening- reverse the rotation and apply a little lapping compound paste to the blade, give it some rolls and the blades got nice and sharp. Turn it back, adjust the screws and it cut paper every time.
I had zero issues cutting lawn grass with it. Dandelions were another story- it would not cut round stems.
I could cut a 1/4 acre in about an hour or so. Did it twice a week after work. It was a nice diversion and a way to get some exercise. All you heard was the thin slicing of the reels and the smell of fresh grass. Not a bad tool at all. Very much misunderstood and underused.
Wow! 1/4 acre with a reel mower is very ambitious. I did this a few times with a yard about that size then went out and bought a gas powered push mower. I had to mow too often with the reel mower. And if we got a lot of rain and the grass really shot up the reel mower took forever.
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