Lawn mower blade rack. Are Lawn Mower Blades Universal

Are Lawn Mower Blades Universal

A lawnmower is a necessary outdoor tool for maintaining your lawn and ensuring it is perfect and well-kept. This garden tool is a significant investment, and if you properly care for it, you will be able to get the most out of it for many years.

Every person with a mower needs to understand the elements or features their lawnmower possesses to keep it in good running order. Failure to do this means you may not cut grass properly, which means your mower and mower blade can be damaged, or your lawn loses its appeal.

Two critical areas on mowers are the engine, and somewhat mower specific, there are the mower blades. You’ll find there is much more to a mower blade than you think. In our guide, you can learn more about if you can get universal lawn mower blades and what models they could fit?

By the end, you’ll know more about all the mower blade areas and how you can deal with a damaged blade. (Learn Why Are Aluminum Lawn Chairs So Expensive)

Are Lawn Mower Blades Interchangeable?

Before asking yourself, are mower blades universal? It may not be the mower blade causing the problem.

You may have other issues if you notice your grass isn’t cutting evenly, and your riding lawn mower’s blade looks in good condition.

Cutting problems maybe be caused by grass sticking to the interior of your cutting deck as it accumulates and affects the cutting performance.

Here are a couple of ways to avoid these tell-tale signs you think maybe your mower blade.

• When your grass is entirely dry, mow it. Any grass moisture will make it clump together.
• To stop grass sticking, use a lubricating spray on the underside of your cutting deck and mower blade.
• If you have tall grass, it shouldn’t be mowed. However, it’s not always that easy. Yet, the more you mow to stop grass growing, the better the results to stop grass sticking to your mulching blades and cutting deck.
• When you’ve finished mowing, wash grass from beneath the deck and lawnmower blade once it has cooled. This prevents grass and dirt buildup after each mowing.

Lawnmower blades are mower-specific, and you don’t get universal mower blades.

You can swap out blades from one manufacturer for blades from another, as long as the length, thickness, width, hole numbers, hole shapes, and hole sizes line up with your mower.

A replacement mower blade must fit your mower perfectly and meet the manufacturer’s specifications.

Do All Mower Blades Fit All Mowers?

Not only do blades come in a variety of sizes and attach in a variety of ways, but they also come in a variety of types. (Read Dethatching St Augustine Grass)

The following compares two different mower blade designs and what they do.

Standard Blade

Lawnmower blades of this type are sometimes known as a two-in-one blade, as they cut grass and blow the grass out the side, or they fill your bag with grass clippings.

Mulching Blade

Also known as a 3 in 1 blade, the mulching blade has a broader cutting edge and is bent to mulch or finely chop the grass before discharging.

Mulching blades have the advantage of finely chopped grass settling to the ground and acting as a fertilizer as it decomposes. Such action adds valuable nutrients to the lawn and is an environmentally friendly way of dealing with cut grass.

Riding lawn mower blades are, by far, the most important equipment in the mowing process.

Your grass will cut smoothly if you use a good sharp blade. On the other hand, you’ll notice difficulties right away if your blade is dull or damaged.

Are Lawn Mower Blades The Same Size?

Different lawn mowers have different blades; there could be a difference even between the same manufacturer. For example, the number of cutting edges or the curved surface may differ considerably.

Luckily, it’s easy to identify your lawn mower blade:

Check User Manual

The quick way to identify a lawnmower blade is using the manual. There, you’ll find details for a replacement blade.

Check Make and Model

Use the mower model and make an internet search for part numbers or online to find new blades that meet the manufacturer’s specifications.

Check Your Current Blade Number

Check your mower blade. You’ll find this number stamped on the metal. It is blade type-specific, so you use this number, you will quickly have a new blade that is the correct blade the first time.

Measure Blade Dimensions

If the above doesn’t help, you’ll have to go manual and measure your old blade to find a replacement blade.

You’ll have to check in a few ways to get the length, width, and thickness.

You’ll find these dimensions vary from one manufacturer to another. So, accuracy in measuring is vital to get the correct replacement blade:

Blade Length:

Mower blades are available in various lengths, ranging from 6″ to over 32″. Begin measuring at one end and measure diagonally to the opposite corner. (Read Troy Bilt Lawn Mower Oil Guide)

Blade Width:

They are measured straight across, from one outer border to the opposing outer edge, ranging in size from 112″ to 414″. It’s in the middle of the blade, near the center hole.

Blade Thickness:

This measurement, which ranges from 1/10″ to nearly 1/3″, runs straight through the blade from one outer edge to the other.

Center Hole

The diameter of the center bolt hole is an important measurement. The blade’s center hole isn’t simply a bolt hole; it’s also the blade’s balanced center.

Shear Pin

The distance between the center bolt hole and the shear pin locating holes on the blade boss is the shear pin hole distance.

The shear pin hole distance is the distance between the center bolt hole and the shear pin locating holes on the blade boss. These are important measurements, or the blade will not sit properly on the blade boss.

Knowing the different types of blades available might help achieve the desired results in the long term.

Identifying the various blade types will help you choose the ideal mower blade for your grass. Choosing the wrong blade might ruin your grass and damage your mower.

• Various lawnmower blade styles and types are available that give lift and mulching choices.
• A lawnmower blade should be able to do three things: mulch, discharge, and bag.
• Many blades can accomplish all three jobs, while others can only perform one.
• Typically, a lawnmower will get something that matches the center hole of the blade or configuration if there is more than one center hole. However, there are still some mowers that offer compatible blade selections.

Types of lawnmower blade function:

Low Lift Blades

Mower blades with a low lift are frequently advised for lawns with sandy soil and short, dry grasses. These blades are explicitly developed for side discharge mowing.

They have a slightly curved blade edge that controls the passage of air and low suction power and a less severe swoop to ensure that the grass stays low in the area where it is more easily expelled at the side of the mower.

Dust and debris will be kept to a minimum due to this.

Pros of low lift blades:

They have curved ends that reduce air pressure, allowing cut grasses to exit the mower while keeping dust and debris to a minimum.

Low lift blades do not stress mower engines.

High Lift Blades

Unlike their low lift cousins, high lift blades are meant for lawns with wet and long grass that demand a high horsepower motor.

The blades have deeper bends on each end, providing a solid suction to propel grass clippings into a bagger.

The high lift air beneath the mower, which has a vertical swoop shape, generates a strong suction. This improves bagging efficiency and lowers the risk of blockage.

Pros of high lift blades:

When dealing with damp or long grass, high lift blades provide more airflow and suction, preventing clogging. (Read Should I Bag My Grass Clippings If I Have Weeds)

They neatly trimmed the grass before bagging and discharging it.

Deck Blades

This is also a standard blade since it is the most popular blade type for horizontally rotating lawnmowers.

They have slightly curved edges that create a continuous airflow as they revolve, allowing them to suction and cut.

Pros of deck blades:

These blades are straight and aerodynamically designed, allowing for a powerful lift that readily discharges grass clippings from the deck. They’re also long-lasting.

Deck blades can run for longer lengths of time, which means you can get more done in less time. They’re ideal for lawns that aren’t mowed regularly.

When grass clippings aren’t an option for mulching, they’re usually the best solution.

Deck blades are simple to install and can be used with various lawnmower models.

Mulching Blade

An all-purpose blade is also known as a mulching blade. The blade is constructed with a curved surface to perform all three essential functions: mulching, discharging and bagging.

The blade begins by drawing up and cutting the grass, after which the grass clippings are sucked into the deck and subsequently chopped into smaller bits.

Finally, the blade’s innermost curve produces compressed air, expelling the little clippings. Because of this design, the grass can be chopped into smaller pieces before being bagged or introduced into the soil for mulching.

Pros of mulching blades:

Mulching blades are helpful because they can accomplish all three jobs rather than just one.

The grass clippings are kept in the deck by the curved blades, which allows them to shred the clippings into smaller pieces. In addition, the long curved surface allows you to cut more material in less time.

When mulched grasses are released into the soil, they degrade more quickly, releasing vital nutrients into the soil to aid grass growth. Mulching blades, in other words, are environmentally friendly.

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How to Get the Best Looking Lawn in 2019

As a homeowner, you ​want the best performance from everything you own. You want to know how to make your dishwasher to wash its best, you want to improve your home’s ability to maintain a comfortable temperature more effectively and you want your lawn mower to cut as best as it can, resulting in the best looking lawn in the neighborhood. Good equipment is a big part of that equation, but for whatever lawn mower you use, there’s a few adjustments that can be made to help improve the cutting quality of that mower and a few mowing techniques that can be mastered to help foster healthy, full grass growth.​

Lawn mower deck adju​​stments

This isn’t about the cutting height. Did you know that the level and pitch of most lawn mower decks can be fine-tuned to perfect cutting results?

Pitch lawn mowe​​r deck

Pitching a mower deck enables the aerodynamic design of the cutting chamber to lift grass, cut it evenly and discharge it effectively.

What is mower deck ​​​pitch?

Lawn mower deck pitch, or sometimes referred to as, rake, is the tilt from the front to the back of the mower deck on a zero turn lawn mower. Forward deck pitch creates an air seal at the front of the deck when the blades are rotating. This seal limits air entry into the cutting chamber to the rear of the deck, allowing the aerodynamic design of the deck to lift grass and cut it evenly as the blades are turning. This design results in an appealing cut quality and an even grass clipping discharge that’s free of clumps.

For most effective results, a lawn mower deck should have a pitch of 1/8-inch to 1/2-inch between the height of the deck rear to the height of the deck front. Naturally, this makes the sweet spot about 1/4-inch of pitch, depending on the type of mower. In any case, the front of the deck needs to be pitched lower than the deck rear, but don’t pitch too much because deck pitch that’s too steep can scalp lawns.

How to adjust lawn m​​ower pitch

Most zero turn mower decks are built with a feature that allows deck pitch to be adjusted quickly and easily. On an Ariens IKON X or XL, there’s no special tools or mechanical training necessary, just some wrenching on a few pieces of hardware. Before you begin, park the mower on a flat, level surface, check that the tire pressures are equal and grab a tape measure. Before you start, stop the engine, remove the key from the unit and wait for all moving parts to stop and for all parts to cool.

Check p​​​​itch

As directed in the operator’s manual:

• Raise the mower deck to a cutting height high enough that allows your hands to fit under the deck.
• While wearing thick, sturdy gloves, manually and carefully turn the blades so they’re positioned front to back. When turning blades, always grab the dull edge of the blade.
• Measure:
• The distances between the front tips of the outer blades and the surface the mower is sitting on.
• The distances between the rear tips of the outer blades and the surface the mower is sitting on.

​​If front measurements are lower than the rear measurements by less than 1/8 inch or more than 1/2 inch, adjust pitch.

Adjust​ pitch

Deck pitch can be adjusted at the front of the mower deck, the rear of the mower deck, or with a combination of adjustments to both the front and rear of the deck. Use any method desired, just as long as the front of the deck is pitched about 1/4 inch lower than the rear of the mower deck and that the measurements at the front of the deck match the mower’s cutting height selection.

To lower the front of the deck if it is too high:

• Loosen the nuts on the front deck hangers.
• Retake measurements and continue adjustment, if necessary.

To raise the front of the deck if too low:

• ​​Tighten the nuts on the front deck hangers.
• Retake measurements and continue adjustment, if necessary.

To lower the deck rear if it is too high:

• ​Loosen the nuts on the rear deck hangers.
• Retake measurements and continue adjustment, if necessary.

To raise the deck rear if it is too low:

• ​Tighten the nuts on the rear deck hangers.
• Retake measurements and continue adjustment, if necessary.

After pitch adjustment is complete, check deck level.​

Level mower deck​​​

Level the mower deck to ensure grass cutting height is even across the width of the deck. This will help ensure a smooth and seamless side-by-side blend between each row of freshly cut grass.​

What is lawn mower deck le​veling?

This is easier to understand than deck pitch. Deck leveling is simply making the cutting height on the left side of the deck even with the cutting height on the right side of the deck. In all cases, decks should be level with as little variance between each side of the cutting deck as possible. No variance between the two sides is best.​

How to level the mo​​​wer deck

Leveling a lawn mower deck is done the same way as pitching a mower deck, except it’s adjusting the deck height from side to side, not back to front. Same components and tools used as with pitching a mower deck, and as before, start with the unit parked on a flat, level surface, inflate the tires to specification and grab a tape measure. Before you start, stop the engine, remove the key from the unit and wait for all moving parts to stop and for all parts to cool.

Check mower d​eck level

As directed in the operator’s manual:

• Raise the mower deck to the highest cutting height with enough clearance to fit your hands under the deck.
• While wearing thick, sturdy gloves, manually and carefully turn the blades so they’re positioned side to side. Grab the dull edge of the blade when turning the blade.
• Measure:
• The distance between the left tip of the left blade and the ground.
• The distance between the right tip of the right blade and the ground.
• ​If distances between the left blade tip and the right blade tip has a difference greater than 1/4 inch, level the deck.

How to level your lawn mower d​​eck

As directed in the operator’s manual

​To lower the high side of deck:

• Loosen nuts on front and rear deck hangers of high side of deck.
• Retake measurements and continue adjustment, if necessary.

To ​raise the low side of deck:

• Tighten nuts on front and rear deck hangers of low side of deck.
• Retake measurements and continue adjustment, if necessary.​

How to sharpen law​n mower blades

Same as with dull knives or scissors – they don’t cut efficiently and result in the need to duplicate work. On a mower, worn blades have trouble lifting grass while mowing, and they don’t cut well, leaving behind an uneven cut and stragglers. If blades are worn too much, it might require mowing the same rows twice.

Dull blades may need replacement, which isn’t bad since new blades are relatively cheap and easy to replace. However, if enough blade material still exists, the blade can be sharpened.

Blades should be discarded if more than a half-inch of the blade material is worn away (by previous sharpening or wear) or if the air lift (the bend in the blade) is eroded. Sharpening blades is a wasted effort if the blades can no longer lift the grass and cut it evenly, and blades that are bent or broken can be dangerous and cause damage.

Handling mower blades can be dangerous and is best left to those with knowledge and experience replacing blades. If you’re uncomfortable with this procedure, please rely on your nearest Ariens dealer to complete the service for you.

• Read the safety instructions in the operator’s manual before starting.
• Remove the deck as instructed in the operator’s manual.
• Remove the blades according to the directions in the manual.
• File or grind an equal amount of blade material from each cutting edge of the blade until sharp. Do not change angle of cutting edge or round the corner of the blade.
• Insert a screwdriver through the hole in the blade and hold the screwdriver horizontally. Position the blade horizontally and check for blade balance. This is critical. If the blade moves, sharpen the heavy end until the blade remains balanced in a horizontal position on the screwdriver.
• When the blade is sharpened and balanced adequately, reinstall it and torque it to the specification listed in the operator’s manual.
• Reinstall the mower deck.

Cleaning your m​ower deck

Mower decks packed with grass clippings, dirt and debris can damage your mower, affect cut quality and hurt lawns. Grass, dirt and debris holds moisture that corrodes bare metal on the spindles and mower blades, weakening them. Additionally, grass-packed cutting decks can harbor fungi and bacteria that can spread around your lawn and damage it.​

Grass buildup around the discharge area can prevent clippings from discharging evenly and could lead to clumping. Grass buildup under the deck can also affect the aerodynamics of the cutting chamber, disrupt the air lift under the deck (detailed in What is mower deck pitch?) and affect the cut quality.

Good lawn mowing prac​​​tices

Sometimes, getting a better cut quality can be achieved by simply breaking a few bad habits like mowing too fast, mowing in the same pattern and cutting grass too short.

Slow your mow

How fast should you mow? Driving slower while mowing has better results.

Driving faster than the mower blades and deck aerodynamics can cut and discharge overwhelms the deck and leaves behind stragglers and clumping. Slowing the drive speed of a mower allows the blades enough time to lift, cut and discharge grass blades evenly.

The right mo​​​wing pattern

By now, you probably know the most efficient a pattern to mow your yard, a pattern you probably don’t change with each mowing. Force yourself to change that bad habit and start mowing in different patterns.

Grass is like hair. If it’s accustomed to being pushed in the same direction, it learns to which way to fall. After mowing in the same direction cut after cut, it falls to one direction and doesn’t stand straight up, making it more difficult for the mower to lift the grass and cut it evenly.

Additionally, mowing in the same pattern creates ruts. A mower driving over the same rows with each mowing causes the soil under a mower’s wheels to become compacted, restricting the grass roots from getting necessary amounts of water, air and nutrients. This leads to grass discoloration in your mower’s wheel tracks.

Avoid these issues by mowing in a pattern that crisscrosses the pattern of the previous mowing.

Don’t cut grass too short

How much grass should you cut with each mowing? Keeping some length in your lawn is good for healthy grass growth.

Grass that’s cut too short becomes stressed because it uses its energy re-growing what was just cut instead of growing its root system. Longer grass makes healthier lawns be​cause longer grass has deeper root systems which access moisture and nutrients more effectively. Additionally, longer grass helps prevent the ability for weeds to take hold and germinate because tall grass blocks sunlight from those weeds.

Cut no more than one-third of the length of grass with each mowing.

Best lawn m​​ower brands

Performing service and adjustments on any lawn mower makes a big difference in cut quality, but you’ll never get the best cutting quality without having the right equipment. In 2019, consumers have numerous choices in a commercial lawn mower, but they’re not built alike.

Ariens zero turn lawn mowers are designed for homeowners who value time, performance and a landscape that can be enjoyed with their families. Read below to learn why Ariens lawn mowers deliver the best cut quality for homeowners.

Strong deck st​​ability

As opposed to decks that shake excessively while cutting, Ariens decks are sturdy and move with the contours of each landscape, ensuring an even cut.

Superior a​​​erodynamics

Ariens deck aerodynamics lift and discharge grass evenly and effectively, preventing stragglers and clumping. Additionally, the depth of an Ariens fabricated steel deck means there’s less need to trade speed for quality. Ariens decks are designed to process higher volumes of grass without degrading the quality of the result.

[image of Ariens mower cutting]

Constant belt tension

Constant belt tensioning is standard on every Ariens zero turn mower deck. This technology applies equal tension to a mower belt throughout the life of that belt, meaning that even after the belt wears and stretches, blade tip speed and cutting results are the same as when the belt was brand new.​

Where to bu​​​y an Ariens lawn mower?

Ready to learn more about the machines designed to give you the best looking lawn in the neighborhood? Visit your local Ariens dealer today to see which model is right for your yard.

How to Sharpen Lawn Mower Blades

Your mower blades are the “business” end of your lawnmower: keeping them sharp is one of the most crucial lawn mower maintenance tasks you can complete. To be blunt, dull blades damage your lawn and can even wear your lawnmower prematurely. So here’s how to sharpen your lawnmower blades.

Is it worth sharpening the mower blade?

It is critical to the health of your lawn–and the safe operation of your lawnmower–that you keep your blades sharp. A dull lawnmower blade does not slice grass stalks, it tears them. This tearing results in a jagged grass stalk that exposes the plant to disease.

A torn grass stalk often turns yellow; a lawn of torn grass can have an ugly, yellowish hue. This lawn is also susceptible to plant diseases.

A dull mower blade can be dangerous: nicks and chips in a mower blade’s surface can leave one side lighter than the other. This blade imbalance can eventually damage spinning components. And finally, a dull blade makes your lawnmower work harder–and wear out sooner.

Can I sharpen my own lawn mower blade?

Many homeowners and landscapers sharpen their own lawnmower blades, and you can too. The most time-consuming part of the task can be removing the blades from your mower, and the most dangerous aspect can be using a blade sharpener or other cutting tool to remove metal from the edge of your blades until they’re sharp.

I actually enjoy sharpening my mower blades. But I find the most mundane part of the process to be removing the blades from the mower. If you have a push mower, you will want to drain its gas, turn it on its side, secure the blade from spinning, and use a socket and ratchet to remove the nut holding your mower blade in place.

If you have a riding mower, you will need to jack it up to access the bottom of your mower deck and remove your blades. The Home Depot recommends you fix your blade in place by wedging a 2”x4” between your blade and deck, then clamping the board to the deck.

I have seen some mower mechanics slip a length of wide-diameter pipe over the end of the mower blade, then hold the pipe in place with one hand while using the other hand to spin the ratchet loosening the nut holding the blade in one place. But I feel that clamping each blade in place is safer mower maintenance for an amateur like me.

Finally, you may need some penetrating oil and even a breaker bar to remove your blades if they have been rusted in place for a while.

What is the easiest way to sharpen lawn mower blades?

Any job is easier with the right tools. A lawnmower blade sharpener is a round tool you spin with a power drill. It is angled, so you get a perfect blade edge every time.

After you have removed your mower blade, clamp it to a table or workbench. No matter what tool you use to sharpen your blades, you’ll want to protect yourself from metal shavings with gloves and safety glasses.

The Home Depot says that you then use a hand file or a blade sharpener stone and power drill to remove metal from the edge of your blade until it is sharp again.

How sharp should a lawnmower blade be?

Be sure to continue sharpening the edge of your blade past any nicks or chips in the blade’s edge. Continue sharpening until the blade’s cutting edge is not only sharp, but it’s a straight line.

The Home Depot specifies that a blade as sharp as a butter knife is sharp enough to slice your grass. But not every homeowner agrees.

Alan Hayne runs The Lawncare Nut YouTube Channel. He uses a mower blade sharpening procedure several of my friends and neighbors swear by: Hayne uses a mechanic’s angle grinder to sharpen his mower blades and always grinds them down until they are “razor-sharp.” His motto is that sharper is always better.

So who is right? Is there such a thing as too sharp?

Firstly, the sharper you get your mower blade, the more metal you must grind off of it. The more metal you remove from your mower blade with each sharpening, the sooner you must replace it.

Secondly, you stand a chance of injuring yourself while trying to reinstall a “razor-sharp” mower blade. A butter-knife-sharp blade is much safer to handle.

What is more, the edge of a razor-thin blade is not as strong as the thicker edge of a duller blade. If that razor-thin blade strikes a rock, it is more likely to bend or chip.

Finally, if a blade can slice your grass without tearing the stems, it is a sharp enough tool for the task at hand.

Do you need to balance your mower blades?

You must make sure the weight of your blade is balanced before reinstalling it on your mower. An unbalanced blade will cause an annoying vibration as it spins and can damage the rotating components of your lawnmower.

Many lawn mower blade sharpeners come with a balance-measuring tool. This tool is simply a cone that holds the blade aloft like a see-saw. Alternatively, you can use a nail driven into the wall of your shop or even a screwdriver held in your hand. Simply insert the nail or screwdriver through the hole at the center of the blade, then let go of the blade and see if its two ends balance each other.

If one side of your blade is heavier, you must remove more metal from that side until the blade is balanced. Home Depot suggests removing more metal by further sharpening the blade. But some mechanics prefer grinding metal off the “back” or non-cutting edge of the blade to preserve the cutting edge as long as possible.

Want to see how to sharpen a lawnmower blade for yourself? Check the video below:

The Best Reel Mower for Your (Small) Lawn

We’ve reviewed this guide, added competitors, eliminated older models, and reconfirmed our decisions on our picks.

Reel mowers aren’t for everyone. They’re designed for small, flat lawns, and they take some effort to push around. But they provide exceptional cut quality and a completely unplugged mowing experience, so they offer things no other mower can. We think the best one is the Scotts 2000-20 20-Inch Classic Push Reel Lawn Mower.

For the healthiest grass

The Scotts makes the cleanest cut, has the widest cutting path, and jams the least of any reel mower, and its unusually tall 3-inch max cutting height makes it more versatile for different grass types.

Buying Options

At the time of publishing, the price was 145.

During initial tests with a golf course grounds crew and in years of follow up use, the Scotts-branded mower has the best cut quality of any of the mowers we’ve tested, and its unusually tall maximum cutting height of 3 inches makes it a versatile choice for different types of lawns and grasses. It has a 20-inch cutting swath—the widest available—and at 34 pounds, it’s light and easy to maneuver. It was also the only mower in the group that didn’t jam during testing.

Good cut, less elegant

This mower cuts almost as well as our main pick and has a taller cutting height, but it’s bulkier (making it harder to turn around) and more expensive.

Buying Options

At the time of publishing, the price was 250.

If our main pick is sold out or otherwise unavailable, we also really like the Fiskars 18-Inch StaySharp Max Reel Mower. Its a solid mower with a 4-inch cutting height is higher than any other reel mower’s. In testing the Fiskars cut well, but it wasn’t on par with the Scotts and didn’t handle tall grass quite as well. It’s also heavier and bulkier, making it more of a chore to turn around, it also costs more than the Scotts.

For the healthiest grass

The Scotts makes the cleanest cut, has the widest cutting path, and jams the least of any reel mower, and its unusually tall 3-inch max cutting height makes it more versatile for different grass types.

Buying Options

At the time of publishing, the price was 145.

Good cut, less elegant

This mower cuts almost as well as our main pick and has a taller cutting height, but it’s bulkier (making it harder to turn around) and more expensive.

Buying Options

At the time of publishing, the price was 250.

Why you should trust us

We spoke with Jason Kruse, assistant professor of environmental horticulture and turfgrass specialist at the University of Florida. As his bio states, Kruse’s responsibilities include “managing the University of Florida turfgrass Envirotron teaching and research facility, planning and implementing turfgrass educational field days and leading the statewide turfgrass teaching design team.” The guy knows a lot about grass.

For testing, we enlisted the aid of the grounds crew of the Diamond Hawk Golf Course in Cheektowaga, New York, a bunch of people who are serious about mowing. While using the mowers, they picked up cut blades to carefully examine how cleanly the mowers cut; they also bent down to compare the color of the turf after each one made a pass, and pushed all the mowers around on various lengths of grass.

Here at Wirecutter, we’ve been covering lawn equipment since 2014. As for the specific topic of grass-cutting implements, we’ve written extensive guides to both lawn mowers and string trimmers in addition to reel mowers.

Since the first version of this guide, we’ve recommended the Scotts as well as the runner-up Fiskars, and we’ve continued to use both models in assorted locations, paying attention to their long-term performance and any ongoing maintenance needed.

Who should get a reel mower

Before getting a reel mower, you should be aware of their pros and cons. Simply put, a reel mower is not a direct replacement for a regular mower.

As one of our long-term testers said, “I love [my reel mower]. It makes mowing feel more like a pleasant way to spend time outside and less like something I need to grit my teeth and power through.” On the other hand, a second long-term tester stated that he regrets purchasing a reel mower and has “frequently considered selling it to get a cheap electric mower.”

Reel mowers are better for the lawn’s health. They snip the grass blades like scissors, while rotary mowers tend to shred grass blades. According to University of Florida assistant professor of environmental horticulture Jason Kruse, “The scissor-cutting action of the reel mowers results in less damage to the leaf tissue, which in turn puts the plants under less stress.” He continued, “They lose less water, are less susceptible to disease, and generally look better when cut with a reel mower.”

Reel mowers are also good for the operator’s health. Because you hand-push the mower and it isn’t motorized, it takes effort to use, especially if you have a large lawn. Keep in mind that the turning wheels are what rotate the blades, which adds to the resistance. So the task is not as simple as, say, pushing an empty furniture dolly, where you’re pushing the wheels and nothing else. According to a Livestrong.com article, (which in turn credits Harvard Medical School, among others) a person weighing 175 pounds would burn approximately 251 calories by pushing a reel mower—which the article refers to as a hand mower—for 30 minutes. This is 51 calories more than someone weighing 185 pounds pushing a mower with a powered blade for the same amount of time.

Reel mowers also require minimal maintenance and are much, much quieter than regular mowers. Aside from lubricating and sharpening the blades every few years, you don’t have a lot of upkeep to do on a reel mower. As for the noise, many users of reel mowers cite the gentle snipping sound the tool makes as a key benefit. Gas mowers, on the other hand, require gas, regular tune-ups, oil changes, and winterizing. They’re also noisy and smelly. As one of our long-term testers said, “I love [my reel mower]. It makes mowing feel more like a pleasant way to spend time outside and less like something I need to grit my teeth and power through.”

But for a reel mower to be practical, you need a fairly small lawn. Anyone with more than a quarter acre (roughly 10,000 square feet) will find weekly mowing with a reel mower exhausting. One long-term tester stated that he regrets purchasing a reel mower for the size of his lawn and has “frequently considered selling it to get a cheap electric mower.”. In contrast, another of our long-term testers has approximately 1,000 square feet of lawn, and mowing takes her about 20 minutes.

A reel mower works best with a strict adherence to a regular cutting schedule. If grass gets overgrown, a reel mower will merely push it down and roll right over it, so if you tend to go a while between mowings, you should stick with a regular push mower. One long term tester had to wait so long for the reel mower to arrive that once it got there, the grass had grown so high they needed to hire someone to cut their grass. And the necessary diligence goes beyond the schedule: Reel mowers can’t mow over twigs and leaves as gas mowers can, so additional attentiveness to pre-mow lawn cleanup is required, as well.

Reel mowers are troublesome on sloped or bumpy lawns. The torque that turns the blades comes from the wheels as you roll them along the ground. On an uneven surface, the wheels lose contact with the ground as they bounce or as the weight shifts on a slope. As one of our long-term testers put it, “Small dips can lead to grass getting missed, so I often end up mowing from two or three different angles to try and get it all.”

In fact, the results in general may not be what you expect. One of our long-term testers said that their mower “often totally misses taller strands of grass” and that they “have to go back and snip those with a pair of shears.” Also, on most reel mowers, the blades are inboard of the wheels, so you’ll have a wider gap of unmowed grass against a fence or a stone wall.

How we picked and tested

To figure out how to pick the best reel mower, we spoke to Scott Dunbar, superintendent of Diamond Hawk Golf Course in Cheektowaga, New York. He explained that reel mowers can cut much closer to the ground than rotary mowers. At the golf course, the crew uses reel mowers to cut greens and approaches but uses gas-powered rotary mowers for the rough. But the average homeowner isn’t cutting the lawn for use as a putting green—in fact, cutting your lawn too low is terrible for its health. Turf experts suggest never cutting off more than a third of your grass’s length; cutting too close to the ground can cause the grass to dry out and get scorched in the summer. This means that a mower’s minimum cutting height isn’t a useful measurement, since you’re unlikely to use that setting.

The maximum cutting height was a crucial detail. We used this spec as our primary factor in eliminating mowers from contention. Few reel mowers are able to get above 2½ inches, which may not be good for your lawn. “[Cutting height] is one of the primary complaints I have against the majority of reel mowers that are marketed for home use. Most residential grasses (both cool- and warm-season) have recommended heights of cut that are at the upper limit or even exceed the height of cut that is possible with some of the mowers,” said University of Florida turfgrass specialist Kruse. “While it would be possible to use the mower, the long-term health of the turf could suffer significantly,” he continued.

Other factors were also important:

• How easy is the mower to adjust?
• How hard is it to push?
• How wide is it?
• How much does it weigh?
• What have other reviewers said about it?

We took our final four mowers to a golf course. There the grounds crew helped us adjust the blades to the exact same standard they used on their mowers so that the blades could cleanly slice a piece of paper. Over the next three hours, we pushed all four mowers back and forth on different-height grasses. On hand were course superintendent Scott Dunbar, a member of the grounds crew, a mechanic who maintains the course equipment, and an equipment salesman who happened to be at the course that day. These guys are all turfgrass experts who deal with grass and mowing equipment every day. They really took to the task of comparing these mowers, examining every aspect closely and answering all our questions about turf and cut quality.

Our pick: Scotts 2000-20 20-Inch Classic Push Reel Lawn Mower

For the healthiest grass

The Scotts makes the cleanest cut, has the widest cutting path, and jams the least of any reel mower, and its unusually tall 3-inch max cutting height makes it more versatile for different grass types.

Buying Options

At the time of publishing, the price was 145.

The Scotts 2000-20 20-Inch Classic Push Reel Lawn Mower is the reel mower to get. Of the tested mowers, it offered the cleanest cut and the easiest adjustments, and it was the only one that didn’t jam. It also has a wide, 20-inch cutting swath—the widest we found—as well as height adjustments between 1 and 3 inches, which is a more versatile range than we saw on almost all of the other available reel mowers. At 34 pounds, it’s light and easy to turn around at the end of each mowing row, but it’s heavy enough that it doesn’t bounce around on slightly uneven turf.

The quality of the cut excelled against the competition. When our lawn experts were going back and forth with the mowers on a variety of grasses and lengths, they noticed that the Scotts model would leave a swath of totally trimmed grass with each blade snipped evenly across, no ragged edges to be seen. In contrast, the other mowers would leave a bunch of blades sticking up like chimneys after a house fire, requiring the testers to back up and go over the area again. The Scotts mower also never jammed up during testing, whereas all of the other mowers did.

The Scotts 2000-20 also snipped a wider path than most of the others. The Scotts is a 20-inch-wide mower, the widest size available (the measurement refers to the blade width, not the overall width). We tested another 20-inch model, the Lee Valley 20″ Mower, but that one was harder to push, and its cut quality was worse.

Our testers also gave the Scotts 2000-20 high marks for overall usability. At 34 pounds, it lands in the middle of our test group in weight but manages to hit the sweet spot between maneuverability and stability. The Fiskars StaySharp Max is heavier and harder to turn around at the end of a mowing row; by contrast, the lighter Lee Valley model bounced around on uneven ground and left a ragged cut as a result.

All of the adjustments on the Scotts mower are easy to make. For cutting height, it has two levers, one for each wheel. One other model we tested, the 16-inch Great States 415-16, required us to unbolt it each time we wanted to change the cutting height. Also, the height settings on the Scotts model are accurate; the 1-inch setting on the Fiskars, in contrast, actually cut much lower, practically scalping the lawn, before we readjusted it to a higher setting.

The Scotts 2000-20 has a cutting range of 1 to 3 inches. The vast majority of reel mowers top out around 2 inches, so we appreciated the ability to go taller, either for the health of the grass or for a less manicured look. A DIY Network article lists the ideal cutting heights for a variety of warm- and cool-weather grasses, and the capabilities of the Scotts land nicely in the strike zone for every grass mentioned. Our runner-up, the Fiskars StaySharp Max, has an even higher maximum cutting height at 4 inches, but it’s a much heavier mower with more difficult maneuvering, and it doesn’t cut as nicely.

The Scotts is easy to assemble, and doesn’t require any tools. The bolts that attach the handle have large plastic wing nuts, so tightening by hand is simple. If you ever need to take your mower apart—to fit it into a compact space like a car trunk or a small storage area—we found that the Scotts was easy enough to disassemble, too. You might need pliers to remove the small C-clips that attach the handle to the body of the mower, but otherwise it shouldn’t be a hassle.

Scotts stands behind their products. Erin Price, then Wirecutter’s Audience Development Manager, had a wheel fall off her Scotts push mower and the company replaced the entire mower for her. She told us, “I love my reel mower and perhaps love it even more now that the company was so helpful.”

It has performed well in long term testing. Two other Wirecutter staff members, who both happen to be women, also have Scotts Classics in their personal tool sheds, and they appreciate the mower’s simplicity and ease of use. Senior Photo Editor Rozette Rago had never used a reel mower before picking up the Scotts for her small, flat yard in LA, and found it quick to get used to. It was easy to figure out for two people who have never used it before. Wirecutter Producer Beth Niegelsky, who has used both the Fiskars and the Scotts, prefers the latter, “ I actually like the Scotts significantly more because it is SO much lighter.” She explained, “With the Fiskars, I basically couldn’t mow the hill of my front yard without feeling like I was doing something dangerous. It’s basically no problem with the Scotts.”

Senior Software Development Engineer Joshua Brewer had the Scotts for three years and recently replaced it for our lawn mower pick. Throughout his three years of usage, he highlighted that the Scott was “kinda fun to use.” He appreciated that it was easy to storetash, didn’t require fuel, and was quieter than a traditional lawn mower. However, the Scotts did squeak despite thorough maintenance, required multiple passes on his lawn, and his foam handle disintegrated after the first year. Overall, Brewer says The Scotts 2000-20 worked, but was much more laborious to use with a lush and dense lawn and worked a lot better when the lawn was more sparse. He’s much happier with the Ego LM2135SP now.

Supervising Editor Josh Lyon also has a Scotts and said there are bumpy parts of his lawn that he needs to go over one or two additional times, but that “the mower is so light and has such a smooth roll that even with the extra passes it takes half the time to do our entire lawn than with the gas-powered mower we used to have.” Overall, Lyon is very happy with the Scotts and says he’ll never go back to a gas mower.

Finally, even though it wasn’t a major factor in our decision, testers liked how the Scotts looked better than the other mowers (some found the Fiskars model’s oddball form to be off-putting). The Scotts 2000-20 is covered by a two-year warranty, and user reviews suggest that the manufacturer, American Lawn Mower, issues free replacement parts whenever a problem crops up.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

We analyzed the negative Комментарии и мнения владельцев at Amazon and found that most of the complaints center on the aluminum handle breaking, a plastic gear in the mechanism stripping out, or simply the realization that a reel mower is not the right choice for the owner’s particular lawn.

We investigated the plastic-gear complaint by removing the wheel of the Scotts mower and taking a look at the gear. As you can see in the photo above, it’s a pretty robust gear with deep teeth, and it interfaces with the teeth on the inside of the plastic wheel. The wheels turn as you push, and those teeth turn the plastic gear, which rotates the blades. Stripping it out is an issue to be aware of, but under proper use, the gear shouldn’t be a problem. And if it becomes one, replacing the gear is a 10-minute repair job. While it would be nice if both the wheel and the gear were made of metal, such a design would likely add money to the price tag and a significant amount of weight to the mower.

One of our long-term testers also noted that when the Scotts arrived, many of the screws holding the handle together were loose and fell out within a month. Once they were replaced, no further problems surfaced.

A close reading of the user complaints suggests that owners who were using the Scotts mower on tall or tough Southern grass had the most problems, but such difficulties are likely to be common among all push mowers and not just the Scotts.