Please respond with information re: your experience with reel mowers.

How do you sharpen them and with what? Do you like how they work? Do you dream of gasoline-powered mowers? We want one here but want to know about maintenence.

-- J.J. (Haha@pa.prg.com), July 27, 2000

Answers

Reel mowers are still being manufactured. Now a days their primary use is in cities where there is almost no grass to mow, but even here they have largely given way to small electric mowers. As I recall they were very low maintenance, just needing oiling and the blades sharpened with a file every so often. They are excellent exercise. When my yard needs mowing I turn my heifer herd in on it and they do a pretty good job, also fertilizing a bit. About once a month I use the riding mower to clip what they didn't want.

-- Ken S. (scharabo@aol.com), July 28, 2000.

Bought a brand new one this year.. Love it. Yes I live country and have a huge lawn compared to city - However, I do not have to worry about flying missiles at my kids, I can still hear them playing or fighting (my gas mower drowned out all other noise) I didn't want to turn out livestock around the children's play area or over the well. Anyway works well, but you have to keep up with it, level lawn is the best. To sharpen buy the kit, it is a lapping compound you brush on the blades and then spin them backwards- all done. The new mowers are much lighter than the old ones with modern type options, different cutting widths and grass catchers.

-- TerriYeomans (terri@tallships.ca), July 28, 2000.

My wife had one that she used to cut alfalfa yard grass to be dried for rabbit feed. She found rabbits will not eat grass hay cut with a gas powered mower. Use a file to sharpen the blades.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), July 28, 2000.

I'd forgotten about the valve grinding compound. That lessens the need for a file and makes everything last longer. If you used a file you also have to be very careful to keep the blade edge straight.

They really are best for level lawns with few sticks, weeds, etc. And you cant let the lawn go. They dont work well in tall grass unless you are a glutton for punishment. Guess you could use a scythe and a rake then the reel mower. By way the really old ones with the cast iron wheels, although heavier sometimes are easier to use if in good condition. Like everything else there were good ones and not so good ones. You'll only know from using one.

I also dont much care for average power mowers. Most made now are "mulching" and this takes lot more engine power and worthless in tall grass. Most are also self propelled so too heavy to push without using this feature and too fast in rough tall grass if you do use it.

My favorite power mower is an old 21" aluminum deck high wheel mower. I've never even noticed a brand name. Light weight and it uses a horizontal shaft 5HP Briggs with belt driving the blade spindle. (Like the early Yazoos only lighter.) You set it at half throttle so its much quieter than modern buzz bombs. You hit something uncuttable and the belt slips, saving a bent blade or crankshaft. You dont need any self propelled non-sense due to bicycle wheels and light weight. It will easily wade into weeds and tall grass. Just push little slower and the govenor ups the throttle opening to maintain shaft speed. OSHA would never approve it today though as its not idiot proof what with open belt drive to grab fingers and high deck that lets the grass escape and toes get under. Also no blade brake. Thing is it will last forever and good reason to even replace engine or any other part when it fails since its so pleasant to use compared to any alternative.

-- Hermit John (ozarkhermit@pleasedontspamme.com), July 28, 2000.

I'll concur with the other respondents about sharpening them, my husband just touches them up with a file. We have three old reel mowers, we had to get that many to stop the kids from fighting over the first one we bought. We picked up one with a grass catcher at the local Salvation Army store, the other two I bought at garage sales for $1.00 each. The kids love using them, they have lawn mower races with them, and do a top knotch job of cutting the grass. Polly

-- Polly (oakridge@netcommander.com), July 30, 2000.

We have two that we bought at the local annual mennonite auction for $5 a piece. My oldest children are boys 8 & 10 and they get out every morning early and mow for 30 minutes. My husband has had to weed eat twice all summer around places they can't get close to. It costs us $6 a piece to have them sharpened yearly by one of the mennonite men up where we bought it. Best thing we ever did both for the lawn, my husband and my boys' work ethic. We don't have a very smooth or manicured lawn that would make them easy to use but then we don't really have the time factor to deal with since the boys are doing it.

-- Kathy6 (DavidWH6@juno.com), August 02, 2000.

JJ, to use grinding compound, stick the mower in a vise so it is up in the air so you can work on it. Remove the drive wheel, and reverse the ratcheting mechanism. Put grinding compound on the stationary cutter bar, start rotating the reel. Very, very slowly adjust the stationary cutter bar in until it is barely touching the blades of the reel. Especially if the reel is very dull, you're going to have to do a LOT of rotating, consider rigging a belt drive or crank to help you. If you've got some bad nicks, deformities, or if the reel is really dull, carefully file the edges before you start. Somewhere I once read that a father would reverse the drive mechanism, then send the kids out to drag the mower backwards around and around the block.

My "yard" has a lot of weeds, and a lot of earthworms which make for a really bumpy surface. So I don't use my reel mowers anymore. I used to use them in town where I had a smoother and smaller yard. Loved them, quiet, always ready to go. I've got another reel mower which is an early motorized version. Don't think I've ever even had that one started.

Everyone else has been right, reel mowers are wonderful to use, provided you've got a fairly level surface and few weeds. When I was using mine I didn't dream of getting a gas mower, I dreamed of getting all my neighbors reel mowers. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), August 03, 2000.