Fiskars Push Mower, Cut Width Manual Reel Mower with No Motor, Eco-Friendly Manual Reel Lawn Care, 18", Black

I've owned this model for about ten years now. Things I regard as positives - (1) It costs less than most quality gas or electric mowers. (2) Burn more calories cutting the grass. (3) It is environmentally friendly. (4) It costs much less to maintain compared to gas mowers - no need to purchase gas or oil. (5) This design seems to spin and generate more power than just my manual push, probably related to how they have the chain linked to the wheels to blades. (6) Lasted ten years before any part broke (7) Can direct the cut grass to be thrown front or back - I prefer front so it sort of gets that double cut into smaller pieces (not mulching though) (8) It has a pretty good cut on the grass, not as good as gas powered mowers if you are looking for that manicured, picture perfect lawn shown in real estate ads, BUT, cuts well for a functional, nice lawn. So over-all, the last ten years I've saved money, burned more calories, and helped the environment..., that's a win, win, win.. :)For negatives, which don't really bother me, but could for others: (1)Takes longer to cut the grass than all powered mowers. (2) For a really nice cut, you need to cut one way, then turn around and cut the other way over the same space. (3) I have somewhat steep hills in my yard, and you will definitely get a workout, especially if the grass is thicker or taller. (4) In some case, similar to gas powered mowers which will clog with thick, tall, or wet grass, you'll need to cut once at a raised blade setting, then again at the lower height. (5) You will need to muscle it to get through thicker grass, but I view that as a good workout. (6) It will not cut TALL grass, so you'll need to weed whack those extra tall stragglers after you do the level cut for the full lawn. (7) Unlike gas powered mowers, you can't just place it over a tight spot, such as a corner of a yard gate to cut the grass. You need movement to roll/cut the grass. Again, I need to weed whack a little more to cut grass in tight corners.I'm 55 and healthy, so I don't mind a little extra muscle work and time in cutting the lawn, plus I'm frugal, so I don't mind the negatives and really like the positives. BUT, if I was older, not steady on my feet, didn't have the time (like I used to with my previous long commuting job), have a lot of hills in a much larger yard, or if I really wanted that perfectly manicured lawn in one mowing, then the negatives would weigh much heavier.

I had purchased a brill but had to send back due to defective handle. I researched all the newer type of reel mowers. First I should tell you we wanted a reel mower. We have a fairly small yard less than 500 ft/2 and the back is the same. Mostly landscape, flowers and various plants we really don't need the big gas mower. WE had a very good Neuton battery mower for several years but it too finally gave up. We wanted to leave a smaller carbon footprint hence the manual reel mower. And the extra exercise is good too. Since our mower went out and we had a bit of a struggle getting the right mower our grass had grown a bit high.This afternoon we received the Fiskars mower in great condition packaged very well. Put it together requiring only a couple of tools.The only fall back that we had experienced was the grass catcher, and the blade sharpener that was part of a multi order from the middle of the page that Amazon has for many products, had the wrong grass catcher bag and the wrong blade adjustment /sharpener tool.So beware when looking at the 3 pack order that is on the page. The items are wrong, you will need to order each item separately from the respective page.The Mower ran like glass, no sound other than the movement of the earth, the sky and the birds.Just kidding, but the mower is extremely quiet. Even the action of the no contact blades is unbelievably quiet.The mower due to the action of its wheels and the blade that spins quit fast compared to the motion of the wheels is really something to be experienced. I started to cut the front yard, then the wife took the mower and cut the rest of the yard and then went to the back yard. I got some sweet tea and sat down in the patio, work really fascinates me, I could watch it for hours. I took out the new Black and Decker cordless weed eater and had a blast with it.I am really sold on the new style reel mowers. This one is easy to push, quiet, cuts even over grown grass with just a bit more force, but if kept down , which we always do anyway, it will be an absolute joy to cut. One big difference I would like to mention here, is the reel mower actually cuts grass, like scissors at a much slower pace than rotary mowers. Lawn mowers beat the hell out of the grass bruising it and leaving frayed tips. This is an opening for disease and browning of the grass. I expect to have a greener lawn with less water usage, and less feeding. I will update this review as we use the mower and have more experience with the unit.Have had the mower for a bit now, and it is still going strong. We had quite a windy couple of months so there were lots of tree branchesand stuff on the ground but it cut it all like it was nothing. The blades are still sharp, wheels are still firm and the blade rotates with little effort. I have cleaned the mower a bit taking the grass stain off the blade. I did not realize the blade is so sharp. Be aware that you can and will cut out a chunk of skin of you don't wear gloves. Had to have a few stitches. Of course my doctor laughed at me cause I am always hurting myself, and paying for his Cabo vacation. All in all the mower performed beyond expectations, will never go back to a power mower again.Many thanks to Fiskars for producing a mower that outperformed the German design.joe

I love the way the lawn looks after the first few mows of the season. The sharp blades really do a great job. Other reviews have mentioned this won't cut anything over ~6 inches and that's true from y experience as well.It's not particularly lightweight nor is it easy to maneuver in some portions of the ¼ acre lawn I'm using this on, but I do love that it's so quiet, requires no gas or much if any maintenance and that I can cut when I want.The quality of the cut is really nice as compared to the gas-powered mowers we have so on that score I'm very pleased. I also like that I can route the grass to the front of back while mowing.It could use some ergonomic improvements. It feels like a substantial piece of equipment (other than the plastic grass hood) and it's a bit of a struggle pushing it through a thick lawn, but overall I'm pleased.Happy not to deal with the smell and sound of an obnoxious gas-powered mower, but I do wish it could deal with those fast-growing taller weeds that can crop up. Plus, it's really hard to move and manage in tight quarters.