Reel Mower

2006.03.25

I went over to my friend Frank’s house this afternoon, and he gave me this old reel mower.

I decided to go ahead and give it a try, even though it has been raining today, the yard is mostly tall weeds like dandilions, and very lumpy: pretty much the worst conditions for a reel mower.  That said, it did an ok job.

2006.04.23

I’ve used the mower a few times now in dry weather.  I still have the uneven ground and dandilions, but it does a good job with the clover and what little actual grass I have.  I’ve been considering buying a nice new one after I get a real lawn planted, but I wanted to try this one out first to see if I thought using a reel mower was even worth pursuing.  So far I think it is a good option, and actually I don’t mind using this one, even though it’s a heavy little monster, so I may wait a while before buying a newer reel mower.  I really hate dealing with small gas engines, and they are bad for the environment anyway, so my options are  either an electric mower, or a person-powered reel mower.  When I started pricing electric mowers, the reel mower looked good in a hurry.