American Lawn Mower 1204-14 14-Inch Deluxe Hand Reel Mower
i've researched reel type mowers for a while, searching for the perfect one. i haven't been responsible for yard work ever and i just moved into a place where that job rests on my shoulders. so i wanted a mower that was manageable for me and sensible for my smallish yard. this particular mower had great reviews so i bought it. it was delivered to my location in no time, i had it assembled in less than 10 minutes. me and my 8 year old daughter were outside using it and having a blast. our small yard is a mix of steep hills and smooth flat areas but we found the mower could handle it all with ease. i made sure to put WD40 on all cutting edges and moving parts (i'm sure that helped tremendously) and found it wasn't necessary to change the factory settings at all. we got a nice even cut that left the grass about 1 1/2" or so (guestimation). we only had to make one pass over most areas to get an efficient cut (a couple passes for thick weedy grass) and as other people posted, it won't cut weeds much over ankle height and it doesn't like rocks or sticks (luckly my yard has very few of both). i found it MUCH easier to use than a gas mower and less messy. it makes a nice sound as it's cutting the grass and i had a great time with my daughter. we even met a couple neighbors who were curious about our "old fashioned" mower and wanted to try it out.
my only complaint is with the handle bar grips. the foam is very flimsy and doesn't stick to the handle bars. they slip and slide and won't stay in place. i'm sure i can rig them up to stick, but i shouldn't have to do that. the manufacturer should design it with the handle bar grips already stuck on there with some heavy duty glue or something!
other than that, i highly recommend anyone with a smallish yard to try this mower out.
