Customer Reviews

American Lawn Mower 1705-16 16-Inch Bent Reel Mower

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Nearly every homeowner in my immediate area (where the lawns average less than 1/4 acre) possesses a giant, smelly, noisy gas powered mower. Surely a better way existed, but what to do? A reel mower, one state-of-the-art, simple to operate and quiet fills the bill. This product is easy to assemble (lawn cutting out of the box within 20 minutes), easy to use (I let my seven-year-old son push it around with supervision for a few minutes) and very effective on our small yard. Furthermore, the slippery handle grips mentioned above were neither easy to put on (unless lubricated with a bit of soapy water) or easily removed. If you have a small, relatively flat yard - you can't go wrong. The unit is quite maneuverable and generates about as much noise as roller-blade skates.

I bought the Great States model 1415-16 mower from Amazon two years ago. The same company makes the Great States, American, and Scotts brands... You can't buy directly from Great States/American and Amazon has the best selection. From what I've read and experienced, buy the lightest mower with at least five blades. I'll tell you this. These aren't your father's reel mowers. Today's reel mowers are state-of-the-art. Once you buy one of these, you'll never go back to gas. The one I have can compete with any of the "best" gas-driven mowers on my street. It's easy to push, more gentle on the grass, and doesn't pollute. Best of all? No starting. No gas. No maintenance. I haven't had to sharpen the blades yet. This is one item I can recommend without reservation.

An old BMX biking trick for putting handles on easily and making them stick is to spray them down with hair spray before slipping them on. They go on real easy when wet and are stuck tight when dry.

I've used one of these lawnmowers for years in Virginia, Michigan, Indiana, and now Minnesota. Unless you've got a very large yard (in which case I'd recommend you plant something more interesting than grass!) or let your grass grow very tall, these work well. They are far safer than gasoline and electric lawnmowers. If you hit a stick or rock with this type, the blades just stop! Neighborhood kids will be so surprised to see one of these that they often offer to cut part of the yard just to try it out. I'll never go back to a huge, noisy, stinkin' gas mower. When I'm done cutting the grass, I just hang the mower on a hook on the garage wall. No plugs, no oil, no gas. It doesn't get better than this.

12/07/11 Update: Actually, it does get better than this! I purchased a Fiskars 6201 18-Inch 5-Blade Momentum/Stay Sharp Push Reel Lawn Mower from Amazon and have entered a new realm of grass cutting. It cost a lot more but the technology is far more advanced. Fiskars has cleverly placed the wheels behind the cutting blades instead of to the sides and cuts the grass by trapping it between sharp blades rather than having the blades hit a striker plate. There are many more improvements that you can see in the videos for the Fiskar lawnmower. Sure, the Fiskars model cost a lot more but it's worth it.

I was looking for a small light weight mower that didn't wear you out pulling the starter cord just to get it going,or one that didn't need a long cord to hassle with. This mower fits the bill. It was easy and quick to assemble. I took it for a run around the yard. It really cuts great. The only down side was that some of the long grass tended to wrap around the axle, I had to stop and unwind that. So far I haven't had to adjust the cutting height, that looks like it might be a challenge when the time comes. Over all, I rate this as one of the better purchases I've made.

your grass. I've had mine for about 7 years. It definitely needs sharpening every other year, but it's a great little mower for smallish yards. If you don't have a smallish yard, save the money you would've spent at a gym and buy this mower -- [or the 18" or 20" which I'm now considering] -- it's also a great workout! Beware of letting your grass get too long, though. Hard to cut if long, esp. weeds. Nice that you don't hassle at all with gas, oil, noise and general smellyness of regular mower. Must edge with weedeater.

This is the fourth reel lawn mower that I have owned in the past 30 years. It took about ten minutes to read the instructions and assemble it. I then immediately cut my lawn and had excellent results. My lawn is about 50% grass and 50% weeds with a lot of sticks and branches scattered about. This mower performed the best of all the mowers that I have used.

I must comment on many other reviewers who noted either as an observation or a complaint that that this mower will not cut sticks or branches. This is absolutely true. But none of my previous push reel mowers could either. This situation is normal for a push reel mower. So if you are used to a power mower and have decided to go "natural", then be advised that cutting with a push mower means more physical work.

Another point that I must make. I have never owned a power mower. The primary reason is safety. It is almost impossible to cut off fingers or toes with a push mower. I assume it could be done but I have not figured out how. Many people who have criticized or commented negatively about why I would want such an old fashioned device have little retort when I point out that I know of no one who has lost a finger or toe with a push mower. Whereas I personally know of several people who have with power mowers.

This machine has fulfilled all expectations and I have no problem recommending this mower to anyone who likes a little exercise.

Great way to stay on top of your exercise program as well as have a nice looking lawn. The mower is truly easier to push than a conventional rotary with an engine. The relativly quite whiring of the reel against the bed knife is a more soothing sound to both you and your neighbors. Mow often, when you are removing 1/3 of the grass blade or less and your lawn will thank you by displaying it's true beauty. Mowing less frequently may require repeating the job perpendicular to the first course to slice off missed blades (because of their length). Works well with St. Augustine and Centipede, both Southern creeping grasses. I am anxious to try it out on my winter rye coming around Christmastime here in Tampa Bay. My friend said I was nuts to give up using my self-propelled Lawn Boy... then I let him mow a couple of swaths. Now he wants to buy the 20" model. Nuts, huh?

We have a very large backyard 1 acre. Ofcourse we have the riding lawn mower and the smaller electrical one.
But now I have my wonderful pushing mower. It is wonderful! I have lost close to 10 pounds. Instead of exercising. I hate the word exercising, I take out my mower and mow parts of my lawn. It does have a small problem it does not like any twigs it will stop immediately if it hits a twig. But my lawn is all grass so I haven't had much problems with this. If you have a lawn that has too many branches and twigs this mower will not work for you.

I have a john deer riding tractor for my lawn, but always have trouble mowing in between trees and hard to get spots, it is too big for a line trimmer, besides line trimmers do not cut evenly. It is a overkill for another motorized push mower; this one is the perfect match and it does not take storage space. The only drawback is that it comes with a low setting of 1 and half inch height; it says that it adjusts to 2 and half inch, but you have to remove nuts and bolds not very easy. Overall, it cuts nicely.