After Anne got the front yard cleaned up nicely a few weeks ago, we lazily let the grass run wild. We had never owned a lawn mower before as our previous rental apartments were mostly yardless (not much grass to be found in German Village) and we had been putting it off despite the recent warm weather bringing our grass back to life.
Over the past three days I’ve had three different people come up to the house and ring the doorbell and ask if they could mow our lawn for $10. The first two I turned down with a smile, but I was ready to shout “I GET IT ALREADY, OUR YARD LOOKS AWFUL” at the third guy.
So on that cue, we set off tonight to pick up a mower. We had been contemplating the last few weeks whether or not we wanted a gasoline, electric, or reel mower. Our yardspace isn’t very big, so in the end the reel mower won out. It fit easily in the trunk of our car, is fairly lightweight, doesn’t require gasoline, and is a nice way to get a small workout in the process. Some of the grass was a little tall, so I had to go over it a few times, but I think mowing once a week should keep that from being much of a problem.
Anyone else out there have reel mowers? I’ve read that they’re making a bit of a comeback these days. I’m wondering where we can get the blades re-sharpened at the beginning of next summer. Anyone have any recommendations?
We have a reel mower! It is nice, especially if you don’t have a garage and have to drag it from the basement, like we do. It does a good job with just plain grass, however, you might want to consider getting a weedwhacker if you have any weeds at all, because it doesn’t do the best job of tacking weed stems.
We have an electric whacker on a 50 foot cord, and the two in combitnation work pretty well.
This is an interesting topic. We had to get a lawn mower last spring when we bought our house. We were fortunate enough to get a used mower from the parents, can’t beat free.
I too wonder where we can get blades sharpened. The home stores just want to sell you new blades. I finally broke down and purchased a new blade last week and what a difference. I’m no longer going over the same spots twice. It’s talking less time to mow, it’s mulching the grass without leaving large clumps and I’m pretty sure we’re saving gas too.
I’ll keep an eye on this comment thread to see if anyone knows where we can get blades sharpened. I’d love to get my old blade sharpened rather than throw it out.
There was a lively discussion of reel mowers in the CU forums a few months back.
I posted there and I’ll say it again here: the only place to get the sharpening done is at Arlington Service (http://www.arlingtonservice.com/index3.htm) which is now conveniently located north of Clintonville. They have the proper jig to sharpen the blades, and after you get the mower back from them, it is like having a whole new mower.
I’ve got a Scotts mower, like the one you’ve pictured, and it has served me well for 6 years. Yes, I’ve got to mow both ways on the long stuff, and my yard doesn’t look like Hank Hill’s, but it is good exercise and doesn’t cost any gas money. You can also mow when the grass is wet, which has proved to be a big advantage this spring.
There was a lively discussion of reel mowers in the CU forums a few months back.
I posted there and I’ll say it again here: the only place to get the sharpening done is at Arlington Service (http://www.arlingtonservice.com/index3.htm) which is now conveniently located north of Clintonville. They have the proper jig to sharpen the blades, and after you get the mower back from them, it is like having a whole new mower.
I’ve got a Scotts mower, like the one you’ve pictured, and it has served me well for 6 years. Yes, I’ve got to mow both ways on the long stuff, and my yard doesn’t look like Hank Hill’s, but it is good exercise and doesn’t cost any gas money. You can also mow when the grass is wet, which has proved to be a big advantage this spring.
There was a lively discussion of reel mowers in the CU forums a few months back.
I posted there and I’ll say it again here: the only place to get the sharpening done is at Arlington Service (http://www.arlingtonservice.com/index3.htm) which is now conveniently located north of Clintonville. They have the proper jig to sharpen the blades, and after you get the mower back from them, it is like having a whole new mower.
I’ve got a Scotts mower, like the one you’ve pictured, and it has served me well for 6 years. Yes, I’ve got to mow both ways on the long stuff, and my yard doesn’t look like Hank Hill’s, but it is good exercise and doesn’t cost any gas money. You can also mow when the grass is wet, which has proved to be a big advantage this spring.
Lisa, we are storing it in our basement, which was one of the big reasons we went with the reel mower. We have an outdoor cellar entrance, and no garage, and I thought getting a gas mower in and out every week would be too big of a pain.
Angelo, sounds like Bob answered your question with an option. I’m going to check with Zettler Hardware downtown to see if they can sharped blades as well.
Bob, here’s the link to the CU Thread about Reel Mowers. I forgot all about that!
Also, here’s an image of the one we bought (I couldn’t find an image last night and just used that Scotts image up top since it looked pretty close). We got the Task Force 20″ Reel Mower With Bagger, but I didn’t attach the bag yet.
I have a reel mower and as long as I cut once a week, it does fine. I’m still trying to tame the yard from the spring rush, I waited to long to mow for the first time. I need to get the blades sharpened so I guess it’s time to head to Arlington Service.
I believe the Ace Hardware on Parsons sharpens them as well. I would call an Ace and check.
I’m glad… my wife was tired of mowing your lawn … LOL
(She told me she mowed it for you at the beginning of mowing season… did she?? … or was she just trying to make me feel guilty for not offering?)
Ha! Yeah, it did get mowed about three weekends ago while we were out of town, and we assumed it was you guys that did it.
Thanks! I owe ya one!
We have a reel mower… works pretty well unless, as you said, the grass gets too long.
We also have a rechargeable weed whacker (Black and Decker, available at Lowe’s). For a small yard, it’s just the thing… no filth-belching fumes or cords to drag around the yard while you whack weeds.
There’s a guy around the corner from Sabo’s (I forget, is that 5th?). Just as you turn the corner there’s kind of a fork driveway to the right. Go up, turn right and there’s kind of a creepy guy who just services lawn mowers. A few years ago he was charging $45. I heard of some place on Morse that does them for about $50. They need a sharpen ideally at least once a year.
Congratulations on not buying a gas-powered mower, Walker. I recently read that gas powered mowers belch out 11 times more pollutants than your average automobile. And in my opinion there thrice as loud.
$50 to sharpen a blade – ridiculous! Hell, you can buy a new lawnmower blade for $15 at lowes and install it yourself. I’d rather have my old one sharpened but not at that price.
We just bought a new mower and this thread has made me feel very guilty about that. I tried to push my mother into going reel but she said “i’m keeping it real”. Too much 50cent if you ask me, lol.
Would Zettlers offer a sharpening service? Or Sutherlands?
Zettler said that they don’t do sharpenings anymore. They used to but lost demand. Perhaps it will return some day.
I’m not too worried on finding a place for that just yet since it seems like it should last a good three years or so before it needs re-sharpened.
Hi! I just got caught up on the reel mower discussion…
In regards to sharpening, it is true that there are few places in town that will service and sharpen the blades; however, you must meet Louise with Sharpening On Site. We recently hosted a neighborhood “Sharpening Party” and she did our mower (cleaned, serviced and sharpened the blades, plus taught us A TON about its use and maintenance) for roughly $45-50. She sharpens just about anything and did a lot of kitchen knives, gas powered mower blades and garden tools while she was here! You might also find her at Oakland Nursery, the Clintonville Community Market, and Sears on a rotationg basis. Check out her website: http://www.sharpeningonsite.com/ I tell people about her every chance I get because she is so knowledgable and helpful and provides excellent service! Hope that helps!
Awesome, thanks for the tip!
I purchased a Task Force 20″ about two years ago – but never hooked up the bag. I tried today and can not figure out how the additional bar (one w/ hook) goes into the setup (mine is older than the one shown in the photo above. Anyone have any clue how this goes on?
I was a bit confused by it as well. The bag sort of drags on the ground and the hook doesn’t seem to be quite right. I’ve only used it a few times though. I usually don’t worry too much about the grass clippings. I’m hardly a perfectionist when it comes to lawn care.