Any Old School Lawn Mowers Out there?

[jscott2135]

As spring begins to rear its head I'm thinking gardens, salmon fishing and yards!  We sold our John Deere engine mower last year and went to and old school push mower.  My Dh was highly highly resistant to the idea, but after one use was a convert!  I can't believe how easy and convenient it was...quite frankly I felt a little "got over on" by the lawn mower industry once I found out how cheap, quiet and easy these things are! (Obviously might feel different with a large yard)  So anyone else a convert or looking to convert this season?

[bogart]

We bought one last year and found it was a disaster -- only a small part of our lot requires mowing, and that's because the rest is covered in trees.  DS found that every single time the mower crossed a twig or a pine cone (about once per 5 seconds of forward motion), said debris got stuck in its blades and he had to stop and flip the mower over (or get down on the ground) to extract it.

We now own an inexpensive gas push mower (again). 

That said, congrats on finding something that works well for you and is easy to maintain and environmentally friendly!  I wish one worked for our setting, but no luck.

[Thegoblinchief]

I have a gas push power, but have considered getting a reel mower if I can find a used one.

[boyerbt]

I have an old school lawn mower that I purchased on CL when I bought my house 2 years ago. The yard is relatively small but it still takes about an hour because you have to go over everything at least twice. You can't go too long between mowing either or else the grass will be too long and the mower can't cut the grass at that point.

Overall I am very please with the cheap alternative.

[schimt]

My grandparents have one of these, they live in a shore area on the bay (salt water) and the property is sandy, very hard to maintain a nice lawn. So their front yard is 100% stones and 75% of the back is the dock, they have a small patch of grass that we cut with a manual push mower and I loved that thing as a kid. Living in an apartment at the moment, but would love to have one of these someday if I have a small amount of grass to maintain. Congrats on the change

[going2ER]

We have a push reel mower as we only have a small area that needs cutting, plus it is on a hill. I feel like I have much more control over this mower than I would with an electric or gas powered. Just keep the blades sharp and don't let the grass get too long. If its too long the mower just goes over it and doesn't cut.

[Fonzico]

We were given both a push and a gas mower when we finally moved into a place with a yard. Personally, I loathe the gas mower anyways, but DH likes it. I would have to second the points of the previous posters: Sticks and whatnot in the grass are a pain, and you definitely can't let it get too long. But otherwise it's great, I figure that's a small price to pay. Plus, it's a half decent workout (we have a hilly yard).

That being said, how the heck to you sharpen the blades? (I shall go conduct a google search, but I won't turn down any pointers if anyone has them!)

[MrCash]

I definitely want to try and use a reel mower once we move into a house, but thankfully I don't have to worry about any of that right now.

[mollyjade]

That being said, how the heck to you sharpen the blades? (I shall go conduct a google search, but I won't turn down any pointers if anyone has them!)

Look for a knife sharpening shop. There are also home kits that you can buy at the hardware store, though my brother doesn't give them high reviews. (Not sure if it's because they're difficult to use or if he was too lazy to actually do it himself.)

I come from a family of reel mower-users. My current one is a hand-me-down. The grass has a different look when you cut it with a reel mower. I think it has a softer edge, which I like. It looks more natural.

[Miamoo]

That being said, how the heck to you sharpen the blades? (I shall go conduct a google search, but I won't turn down any pointers if anyone has them!)

Look for a knife sharpening shop.

You beat me to it.  Knife sharpener sent me to an old timer who does it for $10 cash out of his garage.

[MandyM]

I have a reel mower, which I love. I stopped using it at my previous residence as the lawn was just too big with too much incline for me to not be cursing about halfway through. I have since moved to a home with a MUCH smaller yard and look forward to using my reel again. Only downside as others have noted is that you really (reely?) have to keep up with it as it won't cut long grass or tall weeds.

[jpo]

Bought one when we moved into a new house.

Haven't had to use it yet. Having a few doubts because we have multiple sweetgum trees.

[MrCash]

Bought one when we moved into a new house.

Haven't had to use it yet. Having a few doubts because we have multiple sweetgum trees.

A rake will come in very handy.

[greaper007]

Goats

[pdxvandal]

Purchased a late 1970s Scott's reel mower (all metal parts, bearings) about 13 years ago for about $45. Best money I ever spent on lawn equipment. I sharpen it once every two years. Works like a champ. No gas, no noise. Probably about 1,800 square feet of grass and takes me about 25 minutes while burning some calories.

[cambridgecyclist]

Goats

   Yes! My sister has plenty of old school lawnmowers. Hers generate wool!

[nawhite]

I picked up one of the Fiskars Push Reel Lawn Mowers (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045VL1OO/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0045VL1OO&linkCode=as2&tag=kayaklines-20") on craigslist for about $120.

Well worth it in my opinion. I get giant seed pods from my neighbor's tree and it cuts right through them. Easy to push, sometimes required 2 passes if I don't cut the grass for more than about a week.

[mollyjade]

Goats

   Yes! My sister has plenty of old school lawnmowers. Hers generate wool!

One of my neighbors rents out his goats for this purpose ($3/hour).

[dcheesi]

My yard is small, but too uneven and un-level to work well with a reel mower. I wound up getting an electric (corded) instead.

[BlueMR2]

So anyone else a convert or looking to convert this season?

I made the switch when I moved to a new house 4 years ago.  Best thing I ever did!  I save enough in gas to buy (if I wanted to) a new reel mower every year or so!  Have not had to of course.  Just adjust the blades every year or so and good to go!  So much nice not having that awful racket and bad smells that gas mowers make.  No worries about being stupid and mowing the cord or having a battery explode while charging like an electric.

[Prairie Stash]

Mine has adjustable height, up to 4" in case I let the grass grow longer. I cut it shorter if I plan on not getting to it for a week or more, down to 2". Two passes and it's still faster than my old gas mower. I also like how I can mow at 10 PM, or before work at 6AM, without waking up the neighbours.  I had the 7 year old nephew mowing last year, it pushes pretty easy.

I also have hand held shears for the edges, just got them as a present. They look pretty badass, way nicer than weed whips.

Surprisingly I'm finding old school stuff is saving me time.

[jpo]

I cut it shorter if I plan on not getting to it for a week or more, down to 2".

This might be a fallacy... http://www.richsoil.com/lawn-care.jsp

[scfishy]

We just got our first house this past October, and we got one of these on Craigslist for something like $80, if I remember correctly: http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-6201-18-Inch-Staysharp-Mower/dp/B0045VL1OO

This summer will be my first full year with it, but I mowed with it last year until winter hit and I loved it. Not having to listen to the loud mower the entire time was much more pleasant than I expected. I also got an electric string trimmer and a long extension cord, so no gas powered lawn care tools for me.

[okashira]

I use a reel mower on a small property with ALOT of massive pine tree's.
Like 20+ total tress on something like a 1/8 acre lot. it's ridiculous.

I use a pine needle rake to rake the entire lawn before mowing and the reel mower works good.
I also do a walk through to manually pick up twigs in a bucket.

[greaper007]

I have a Honda mower I bought with my first house 7 or 8 years ago.   That thing still runs like new with very minor adjustments like an oil change every year.   I don't water my lawn anymore, and plan on going with a native grass in the next few years so I only mow every 5-6 weeks.    If the Honda ever breaks down (probably 20 years from now) I'll definitely switch to a reel mower.    So far, this has been a great investment though.