Old School Mowing

I've been using a reel mower nearly a decade now, and I love it. It requires a few more calories to mow the lawn, yes, but it's also a much more pleasant activity. And you're right: it's environmentally responsible.

I find that there are times, however, when I need a power mower. I just had knee surgery, for example, and mowing with my reel mower is not an option right now. For these occasions, it's a simple matter of borrowing a power mower from a friend. The friend gets a chance to
gloat ("Ha -- he can't handle his lawn with that old-fashioned thing!") and I'm able to mow my lawn with a clear conscience.

To summarize, the advantages of a reel mower include:

• they're evnironmentally responsible
• they provide exercise
• they're more fun to use than power mowers (for me, anyhow)
• they're less prone to accidentally chew up your wife's precious flowers
• and they're much less expensive to own.

I love the fact that people were stunned and wanted to know where to get one. Entries like this are so fun to read. Please, keep them coming. : )

Strange... They're quite common over here in Sweden. Eventhough the motorized is the most popular here too.

Good choice Todd, welcome to the Lawn Mowing Elite.

I bought this model from Home Depot a month ago and love it. I think back to all the many, many hours spent behind a noisy, gassy, and extremely loud 2 stroke engine — yuck!

This is great — I've been trying feebly to find whether these things were even available any more, for use on my prospective substantially-less-than-an-acre lawn.

But I was surprised to see that it's a US$129 proposition. You can get power mowers (not self-propelled, no) for around US$159, but I guess it's that old black magic of Supply and Demand, huh. Twould be nice if Home Depot / Scott's / whoever would encourage consumers with small lawns to buy these babies by pricing them under one bill.

I was considering one myself, but I heard that (especially with larger lawns), it takes longer to mow.

Has anyone timed themselves to compare to a traditional gas powered mower?

they should make a mower, like a vaccuum. bagless. that would be cool.

Another good property that the reel mower has is that it is QUIET. Nothing like mowing the lawn in peace and quiet.

You might want to check out Clean Air Mowing. My friend & his buddy started it a few years ago, and it's doing quite well.

The reel mowers are popular in the Northwest, probably since the grass isn't very thick. I've had trouble with mine since there are a lot of thicker weeds in our new yard, and if you let the grass get too long the mower jams up. Otherwise it's a breeze.. no more motor starting hassles or empty gas cans to worry about.

ss, I live in the Northwest (just outside Portland), and my lawn gets plenty thick! :)

Reid, it does take longer to mow a lawn with a reel mower when compared with a power mower. I've never timed myself, but I'd guess that it takes nearly twice as long to mow with the reel mower. I can do my front and back yards in 45 minutes, as opposed to something well under half an hour with a power mower.

Another disadvantage of the reel mower is that one must be careful to keep the cutting blades adjusted to the proper alignment. This isn't difficult, but does require a bit of effort. The right side of my mower had a tendency to open up a bit, which causes only the left side to any mowing.

Also, it's a good idea to clean a reel mower from time-to-time, though I haven't done so in more than five years. I'm lazy.

My husband and I bought a home two years ago and decided to purchase a reel mower. While it made our lawn one of the most lush and green on the block - and provided a good workout too! - there was a major drawback; frequency.

Being in Indiana, our grass grows like gangbusters. If we didn't mow every 4 or 5 days, the grass became too long to manage with the mower. I actually managed to give myself tendonitis in my elbows once from "hacking" at the grass when it became too long. Ick!

Because our business has grown by leaps and bounds, the time my husband has available to mow has decreased over the last two years until it is nonexistant. My work as a photographer has increased and I often take out of town trips now that range from 5 days to 4 weeks. There is also the annoying fact that we sometimes get rain for 3 or 4 days in a row. Running the reel mower on wet grass is a challenge at best. And, after 4 days, the lawn becomes far to long for the reel mower to manage and we end up paying the neighbor boy 15 bucks to mow.

I highly recomend the reel mower to those that have smaller lawns and that have the time to mow frequently. They are environmentally friendly, give you the bonus of a workout program, and your lawn easily looks the most lush and green on the block. However, be sure to have a backup system for those times when you leave town or get tied up. Scope out a neighbor kid and you should be fine.

Good luck with your new place!

Hey, you've found the next big thing for Segway: they can turn their gadget into a mower!

Outstanding!

We used to use a reel mower at our apartment complex. It was perfect for the small patches of grass in front of and behind each unit. I loved that mower for all the reasons mentioned above: clean, quiet, cheap, and enviro-friendly.

I didn't have to go to Home Depot. I walked to the neighborhood lawn mower repair shop and bought a used one for $5. They even sharpened the blades for me.

I loved that thing.

Then we bought a house with a large lawn. Easily three times larger than the total area of our apartment complex's grass. I had to sharpen the blades every three mowings; it took two hours to cut the grass; and long grass was just about impossible.

So now I chug gasoline again. I'm not proud, but please don't judge me. I might just get out my old friend and do the front lawn with it.

HAHA, love this post Todd.
I first thought it was a typo and that it should have read, "Real mower". It became painfully obvious that I do not have a garden when I realized that is wasn't a typo. And now I want a garden and a 20" Reel mower.

Great to hear folks are using the old school reel mowers. I got one for fathers day last year and I love it. (Sears Craftsman). It's perfect for our little rowhome lawn. Another benefit is the less space it takes up in the shed.

Regarding the price: I've seen some reel mowers in Home Depot for about $90. Maybe they're cheaper here (Texas). Although, I haven't seen many people using them. Does make a nifty noise though .. slicety-slicety.

What I want to know is why we haven't been able to engineer a type of grass that simply doesn't grow any higher than 1 inch?

Reel mowers are great! They give you a bit of a workout and they're great for mowing the lawn on a Sunday. At least in Minnesota that seems like a taboo thing to do. Loud lawn mowers are not allowed on the Sabbath I guess.

Excellent Todd, good choice. Thanks for choosing human power over petrol-power.

Like you I have rented in the past, and with my new house last year came the same decision you faced.

I sit behind this computer so often that mowing the lawn is about the most exercise I get, so I try to maximize than. Plus, I feel more in touch with my yard, I can hear the birds instead of a motor.

Great idea! We've used a reel mower off and on for about 10 years...you've given me the incentive to pull it back out and sharpen it up! thanks~

Hehe - we just got a human-powered mower that my parents bought for GBP 2 (yes, two pounds - about $3) in a charity shop. I can't wait to try it - too much rain lately though.

It should beat cutting a lawn with a strimmer ;)

I have wanted a reel mower for several years. I picked one from someones garbage once, but it was in bad shape so it hit my curb as well. I just found another at a Church festival though. It's a Craftsman and it looked near brand new.
I used it for the first time yesterday, I couldn't wait, and my unfriendly neighbor just stared at me. Funny, just one more thing to piss him off. Odd isn't it?
As for me, I felt so happy to cut the lawn in such peace and quiet. I had a ball and I think I have bonded with my lawn too. : )

It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop.