Customer Reviews

Brill 78371 Razorcut 38 15-Inch Reel Push Lawn Mower

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Pros:
No more lawnmower fumes and heat in my face.
Cutting my lawn is now very quiet.
My hands are no longer tingle from the vibrations coming from my old gas powered push mower.
Sturdy handle design. This is very important.
Very easy to assemble and use.
Very small footprint, easy to store.
Virtually maintenence free.

Cons:
This mower DOES NOT like tall thick grass. You'll really have to push hard to get it to go through thick grass and will probalby have to go over what you just cut a second time to make the lawn look manicured.
If you fertilize your lawn you'll need to cut it about every other day. Like I said this mower does not like tall thick grass.
If you have any large mature trees in your yard this mower is not for you. You'll spend too much time picking up very small twigs that otherwise will get caught in the mower blades and bring you to a sudden stop.
Little bumps in the lawn have a tendancy to bring the mower to a stop.
Brill could have made cutting high grass easier if this mower was capable of cutting at a higher leangth then what is available.

Other observations:
The size of your lawn doesn't matter as long as it is fairly smooth and not too hilly.
Don't throw away the little metallic strip that comes with the mower. This is your blade gauge and will cost you $10 to replace.
Overall if your in good shape and have patience with this mower you should be okay. The most improtant suggestion I would make is that you hold on to your gas mower to keep your grass under control when rain prevents cutting, otherwise you'll be in for a shoving match with this mower.

My friend and I run and eco-friendly lawn care business, so when it comes time to buy more push mowers, we are always exploring what is available. We were first attracted to the Brill Razorcut 38 because of its ability to fold up (makes transportation easier) and its contact free cutting system (far less frequent sharpening). However, upon examining the mower more closely, we realized that these two pros were outweighed by cons.

Here are a few of the key problems of the Razorcut 38
- flimsy: Many plastic parts, including the wheels (things can easily fall apart, as some owners have experienced)
- illogical cutting height range: Unless you want the grass on your lawn to look like the grass on the green of a golf course, this mower's height range is too low for a healthy lawn
- small cutting path: Unless the area of your lawn is miniscule, 38 centimeters (about 15 inches) of cutting path just won't do the job quickly
- very expensive: For all of it problems, this mower is a terrible deal. I could buy 2 or 3 Scott's push mowers, which are well designed and sturdy, for the price of 1 Brill Razorcut 38 with a grass catcher.

You will never find me using any of the Brill mowers when I am working. Even if it means I have to sharpen the blades of my Scott's mowers from time to time, and walk to jobs because there was not enough room in the car for the mower, it is worth it. I'd rather save my money and time, and keep business running.

Buy either one of these instead, or really any other brand besides Brill (which includes the Sunlawn series as well, same story on price and functionality).

Scotts 16-Inch Elite Push Reel Lawn Mower #415-16S

Scotts 2000-20 20-Inch Classic Push Reel Lawn Mower

I purchased the Brill Razorcut 38 in February, (not from Amazon though), and I am thoroughly disappointed with the machine. It may be highly rated by some people but in my opinion it's an overpriced piece of garbage. When I received it the first thing I noticed is the hubcaps had fallen off. Granted this is simply a cosmetic feature and doesn't affect the operation of the machine. The next thing I noticed is that I had to spread the lower part of the handles to create tension when it's inserted in the machine otherwise the handles continually fell off. Would you call this poor engineering? And finally after two and half months of easy use one of the plastic wheels is starting to fall off.

Warrantee on the machine appears to be another issue. From everything I have been able to find the manufacturers warrantee appears to be valid only in the European Union, warrantee in the United States apparently are offered by the individual seller.

This is a machine sold at Mercedes-Benz prices and is of Yugo quality.

I previously owned a Toro self-propelled gas mower, and before that, I used a Black & Decker electric cordless mower. I was very unhappy with my Toro mower (which Consumer Reports rated as #1), since it was frequently stubborn at starting, and since the bag frequently fell off, blowing dirt and grass in my face. Ugh. The final problem was when the oil cap blew off and hot oil splashed out at me. So I started investigating electric cordless mowers again to see if the problems have been resolved related to batteries overheating, etc. During my research of electric mowers, I stumbled onto the category of Push Reel Mowers. I ended up doing quite a bit of research and concluded two important points: (1) get the Brill and only the Brill, since it seems to have better customer reviews (outside of Amazon's small sample on this model), it seems to be better made, it only requires maintenance every 8 years due to the blades not making direct contact with the grass (unlike the American brands that require frequent blade sharpening), and it offers a grass catcher bag made specifically for it. And (2) only attempt to cut 1/3 of the length of the grass at a time, since it will be too hard to push if you attempt to cut off too much grass at once. Another point of consideration for others will be the fact that using a push reel mower results in a bit better workout than using a self-propelled gas mower or the lazy man's riding mower. If you use a non self-propelled gas mower, then the workout is probably similar, since you are pushing a 16 lb. mower instead of a 50 lb. mower. I find myself moving at a faster pace with the push reel mower (since it is lighter), so I tend to get a better workout with the Brill primarily since I am moving at such a fast pace. For me, I embrace the workout - it's killing two birds with one stone: get a workout while you make your lawn pretty! :-) Do some research on the Brill via a Google search, and you will no doubt be as shocked as I was to learn just how bad for the environment gas mowers are, since they don't have the same emissions regulations that cars and motorcycles have. I have also trained my 10 year old son to use the Brill, and he loves it. He has used it a few times now and is thinking about starting a lawn mowing business with it this summer (I would never let him do this with a gas mower). One word of caution: the first mow with this mower can be a bit tough if your grass is wet and tall, so raise the blades to the max. height for the first mow. Then lower it a bit each mow. It is very easy to use after the first mow; I'm not sure why the first mow is harder. My favorite points about this mower (other than the obvious environmental benefits) is that I can interact with my kids while mowing, I can stop and not have to worry about whether or not it will restart, I can enjoy listening to my iPod while mowing, and I don't have to worry about rocks or sticks flying up in my face (if you hit a stick, it will just stop in its tracks until you roll it backwards to release the stick). All in all, I have been very happy with the Brill Razorcut 38.

I fear I cannot recommend this mower. I have a very large yard, over five acres, which I either mow with a lawn tractor or have it mowed by professionals. I do have several small gardens with grassy areas that need to be mowed quite often and a power mower just will not do in these areas. This mower being reviewed here lasted for one year of very low and gentle use before it more or less fell apart. There was a problem right from the start with the quality of cut, but I put up with that...sort of. Then toward the end of the seasons, things started going bad. Parts began falling off, the blade needed constant adjustment, the handle kept falling off and it made stranger and stranger noises. Now I am no mechanic, that is for sure, but neither did I just fall off the turnip wagon. I can fix things, and usually have no problems even with the power mowers and tractors unless it is something pretty major. I never did figure out what was wrong with this thing...there just seemed to be so many little things that just did not work correctly. When I pay this much for a push mower, I expect a bit more for my money. Sorry to have to give this one such a low rating but I can only go by what I experienced.

Cuts about half the grass -- the rest is just pushed down and will pop up the next day to make your lawn look completely ratty. I've tried it with shorter grass, longer grass, cutting twice, and it always ends up looking awful.

This will be the third season mowing my lawn with this product and I am dreading it. The first year was ok. I enjoyed the quiet and felt good about my "green" decision. The second got harder as I really noticed the faults of this mower and the third season, well... I give up. My neighbor has watched me mow my lawn and has offered several times to let me borrow his gas mower. I think he feels sorry for me.

I have an average lawn in Michigan. It's pretty level and has no hills. There may be a few little bumps here and there. But those few little bumps get pretty hard to mow with this mower. I find myself stopping and starting again. And if I build up too much speed and hit a bump... The bar hits me right in the stomach. Ouch.

If you have any trees nearby, this mower may not be for you. Small sticks get stuck and stop the mower. My neighbor has a large tree and in the spring when the helicopters cover my lawn, they stay there for weeks unless I rake them up. The mower does not get rid of them. In autumn, when the leaves fall, this mower does barely anything to them too. They also get stuck in it. I hired someone last fall to mow my lawn a few times to avoid this problem.

Also, if you have any areas of lawn where the grass is thick... This mower is not for you. I often have to stop and start in these areas. The mower gets stuck quite often and I have to push really hard.

If you want to cut your lawn once a week, this mower is not for you. I end up cutting my lawn every 3-4 days with it. I have to have it on the highest setting or it gets stuck. If you have rain that prevents you from cutting it on time, you will be getting stuck with the mower many times as it can not handle long or thick grass well. The grass clippings clog up in the blades and prevent the mower from moving. You have to shake it out and start again.

I read that if you adjust the bolts after a couple of few years, that the blades will cut easier. I tried that, it still cuts the same.

So after spending all that money, I am considering buying an electric mower or getting a lawn service. It bums me out because reel mowers are the one and only true clean, green mower. I don't want to try another, this mower had the best reviews out of that category.
I gave this 2 stars because for some people with the picture perfect lawn that is perfectly level and have no trees nearby, it would work for you. And your lawn can not be thick, as in dense. The blades of grass have to be spaced out more for this to work well.

Pros:
Quiet
Small
Lightweight
Clean
Green

Cons:
Can't handle thick or long grass
Gets stuck if there are any twigs
Does not cut down weeds, dandelions, etc.
Have to mow much more frequently
Does not handle uneven terrain, even little bumps
Does not handle helicopter or leaves
Often is hard to push

The handle design has a spectacular flaw. While holding the mower at certain angles, the handle simply slips out of the mower assembly. This gets remarkably frustrating by about the second time it happens. Also, one of the cosmetic wheel covers fails to stay on. The blade assembly seems to really be well made, it is such a shame to see such a quality mower ruined by a fundamental design flaw. Very unexpected for a German made item.

After reviewing comparisons of push reel mowers, Brill appeared to be the best. However, when it arrived, I couldn't have been more disappointed. The assembly was easy, but it would not cut the grass well. #1 - it doesn't like grass that is the least bit long. I have spots in my yard that are longer than others due to the shade vs sunny spots. My grass wasn't that long and my neighbors push mower would cut it just fine. #2 - the handle kept coming off. It came off so many times, I was disgusted. I reviewed the instructions several times to see if I put it together wrong, and even asked my neighbor to double check what I did. It was assembled correctly, but there was nothing provided with the mower to prevent the handle from slipping off the mower. This was definitely the worst product I have ever encountered. I went and bought the same brand as my neighbor. I had originally bought the mower so my grandson could use it as well as me. This mower may not have to be sharpened as often as other mowers, but it doesn't cut grass well and the handle won't stay on!!

This is the second Brill Razorcut lawn mower that I have purchased. It is an excellent product, and does a nice, QUIET job mowing my small lawn. The blades do not stay sharp as long as they advertise in their sales literature, but it is still well worth the purchase price.