It'll be tough to drop the height all at once with the manual reel mower. Just start at the highest setting on it (3" I think) and bring it down everytime you mow. Or you can just use your rotary and bag the clippings and bring it on down faster, and then start using the reel for regular cuts.

I just started using a manual reel last summer, and I love it. It's nice and peaceful without all that noise and I'm less likely to upset those late summer yellow jackets that get so ornery.

I'd just scalp them at the lowest setting with rotary mower and bag grass clipping. Warning - it may take a lot of bagging grass clipping! Fertilize and water it deeply. Use reel mower immediately. It should look good in 2 weeks.

Fertilized it yesterday and it's raining today. I guess now would be the best time to scalp it if that's how I'm gonna do it.

I scalped it this spring and bagged the clippings.... that was indeed a ton of work.

Let us know how that mower works out, i was considering it. Also, incase you didnt know, the yard will probably be brown after you scalp it.

So I received the mower.... assembled the handle and was about to attach it to the pre-assembled reel/blade/wheel structure only to find one of the wheels completely busted.

Had to have amazon ship another.

I had already mowed with my rotary by the time I got the new one, so I just tried it out in an area that grows quickly. There is definitely a learning curve involved since you have to overlap your path, but it does look pretty good... after a day I couldn't see the wheel tracks and the grass just looked better. More evenly cut, no choppy tips... just beautiful, de-stressed grass.

I got the 20-incher and man is it wider than I expected. There is a good 4" from the edge of the blade to the outer edge of the wheels, making it a little unwieldly, especially trying to turn it around, so I might've gone with a smaller one had I seen them in person beforehand.

{{gwi:98023}}

Using my Scotts 20" mower, mowed at 1 inch. Pictures don't really do it justice.
I'm gonna buy a Mclane and mow it at .7 next year.

Just got a scotts 20 inch classic myself. It's doing a great job on my Tifway!

I am a lawn rookie but from my perspective those looking for the uber-lawn cut should consider the reel mower. I bought a 27" tru-cut last fall and have been very pleased with it. With that said, things I have learned (YMMV):

Blade sharpening is expensive and its not so easy as going to the local golf course (our courses send their mowers away for sharpening). Make sure you know where your reel will be sharpened before you buy.

Yard must be very flat (Smooth) or you will end up cutting at rotary height.

Adjusting blades to knifebed can be tricky. One should acquire skill.

More blades on reel provides a better cut. If one goes to a reel seeking a smooth cut they shouldn't use less than 7 blades (opinion only).

Roller on front of mower does prevent scalping.

I really like my reel mower.

gatorinfla,

Very nice yard makes this ole sod farmer's heart smile.

All this talk makes me want to leave work early to go mow my lawn.

I've officially become a lawn junkie.

Nice work.... Whether motorized, or manual. 5 blades or 14. 1 inch or 1/4inch..... There is no better cut at any time or any place than a reel mower. Now don't go nuts, I'm not talking about KBG or TTTF cut at an abhorently ugly 3 inches. I'm talking about a nice low-mow Rye or Bermuda...nothing better!

@ TRIPLEPLAY. I have the same Tru-Cut as you I believe. There is no way you should have had to have your reel ground already. I'm going to give you a tip that goes against everything you've probably read about reel-bedkife clearance. I have been using reel mowers for many years, but did not learn how to "really" use them until I started cutting fairways at a golf course. We grind our own reels here when needed and reel grindings are very few and far between. When you adjust your reel to your bedknife on your Tru-Cut, forget everything you've ever heard about 100th of an inch clearance, 2 strips of paper or anything else. Adjust the blade so it is MAKING CONTACT with the bed knife. Not alot, just enough so that it requires firm pressure from ONE finger to turn the reel. You will achieve a very uniform metal to metal sound. The constant contact between the reel and bedknife keeps a sharp edge on both surfaces and keeps them mated together properly. If there is any kind of clearance between the two, the edges of both will become "rolled over" or worse, nicked by debris. Re-adjust your reel when the noise is no longer present. Should be almost an entire season before you need to adjust. Just remember No Noise....Bad Loud Noise...Bad Slight Noise....Good.
This also eliminates backlapping. The only reason you should ever have to grind a reel is if it is streaking, or you hit something. Trust me on this. I've been cutting Fairways eight hours a day for the last three years. That's alot of mowing. This method works.

"* Posted by texas-weed 7A (My Page) on
Fri, Jun 12, 09 at 13:11

gatorinfla,

Very nice yard makes this ole sod farmer's heart smile."

Thx thx...It came in real nice. I'm hittin it with Lecso 39-0-0 about once a month, per your recommendation. Using a reel mower makes all the diff.
I'm going to topdress and try to fill in a few low spots in a few weeks......is masonry sand ok for the job?

"..is masonry sand ok for the job?"

I've used masons sand an it appears to work just fine. I have read not to use it though.

is masonry sand ok for the job?

Yep it is the best you can use or Sharp Sand which is basically the same stuff.

I was using the new mower in my front yard yesterday and had 2 different neighbors stop by to comment. One man said, "I haven't seen something like that for 60 years!" and complimented the grass clippings. lol...

The other neighbor mentioned that her son has asthma so he can't use the rotary mower without wearing a mask, so she said she'd look up reel mowers.

If I can get at least one person in the neighborhood to convert, I'll be pleased.

I've got that same 20" Scotts reel mower that you have and enjoy it. I can't say that I work less hard mowing with it than the power mower, but I like the excercise I get. Besides, I rather like the clippings and I know deep down that it's actually much better for the grass than the power mower.

One thing I've been less than impressed with is the the ability of the thing to cut cleanly on just one pass. Typically I have to overlap a half blade when cutting to ensure I get everything cut clean, even when I'm clipping I got mine just before a major lawn renovation, and after once or twice over that weedy lawn with the reel mower, I was about ready to garage sale it. However, once I got a decent lawn in (TT Fescue (Avenger/Picasso/Rembrant)) it cuts a WHOLE lot better. =D

Good luck with it,

Dave

Does anyone have any suggestions for a quick way to dislodge the blades?

I guess my grass was too tall when I cut it, but sometimes the mower would be extremely difficult to push and I could never find any stick or other object stuck in the blades, so I'm not sure what was going on.

When this happens, what's the best way to fix it?

I also get lots of clippings that lay on the mower... that's ok though - probably cuz the grass was too tall.