Fiskars StaySharp Push Reel Lawn Mower

My preferred method of doing all this - pay someone. I get my entire yard cut and weed wacked for $20 a time. A real deal in the long, hot and humid weather of southern MS.

I wouldn’t mind pushing a mower when it was a kid, but I can’t imagine doing it when it is 104 and 99% humidity. We had a push mower as kids. WHile this one may be easier to push than the one we used as kids, it is still hot, sweaty work.

$20? We have the same weather in Memphis and some kid should shoot me if I offered $20

Hmmm. I wonder how long it would take to mow 3 acres with this thing. I don’t think I’ll be retiring my zero turn anytime soon.

So how often do the folks up in the Pacific Northwest get to mow?? Their grass has got to be a fair amount wet 80-90% of the time eh?

To be honest, you can mow wet grass all you want. It just clumps up. That’s the only problem. You’re not going to hurt your grass at all (look it up).

And the dulling the blade quicker part, really? How does that even make sense? Just sharpen your blade before you mow.

So how sturdy are the wheels on this mower? The look like really cheap plastic. I’m concerned they’ll crack if not made and attached well.

Also we have about .25 acres, is that about the right size to use this mower?

I bought the StaySharp Max from Amazon a while back so it is a little different than this model, but all of the StaySharp models are similar and I imagine build quality is similar as well. I have to say, after about a month and a half of ownership so far, lawn mowing has almost become “fun”. It did take me a few mowing sessions to change my technique after switching from the gas non-propelled mower I was using. But after I got the final cut height figured out and the routine set, cutting the lawn with my StaySharp is a joy and it looks great too. You will need a good trimmer if you have hard to reach areas or need to mow along fences, buildings, etc. and have a lot of objects in the yard. Also, it sounds obvious but try to mow downhill more than uphill. At least with starting a new row, try to go across hills vs. going up them from a stop. Like others have said, it requires mowing more often for best performance, and taller weeds just fold under and do not get cut. (another good reason to have a trimmer as well) But for the small changes in mowing routine that a person needs to make with a reel mower, the benefits of not needing to maintain a gas mower, deal with exhaust fumes, noise, etc., it is worth it.

My wife wanted a reel mower so I bought her the cheapo 16" model at our local Menards for $50. She used it a few times last summer but I discovered the delights of using it this spring. I had just seeded my lawn and didn’t want to use my gas mower so I took this thing out. What a joy to cut the lawn! I have not even fueled up the gas mower yet, I’m having too much fun with this thing.

If I stick with the reel mower I would purchase a wider model, I believe they had a 20 inch version.

Im actually in the market for a mower and was shopping last night. The Lowes in my area (North DFW TX) had a 18" Fiskars reel mower on sale yesterday for $110 with free assembly.

Not sure if its the same model, but looks like Fiskars is discounting these things pretty heavily across the board.

I order one three weeks ago. Customer. Service is a joke. Still don!t have the mower or a reply from CS.

Yeah, I live in the 21st century. My gas powered might be loud, but it is much faster and there is less pushing involved.

Yeah, if you have a pretty small lawn, this size is decent. It also helps if you don’t have a lot of bumps/unevenness in your yard.

I’ve noticed if you let it get a little too long, it helps to set the blades higher and do a first cut, then set them lower and do a second cut.

Where I live (northern Utah), I’ve found that if I do a quick cut once a week, I can leave the setting pretty low and I don’t have any problems.

I actually picked one up at a local farm supply store last year and love it (mine is a 19" & came with a clipping catcher). The front yard is super smooth, but my back yard is way to bumpy, so I can’t get rid of the gas mower yet. I have been getting the yard aerated every season, which is supposed to help calm the bumps over time (caused by worms pushing dirt around I’ve heard).

Does the little tie icon indicate that this should arrive before Fathers day? Thats a deal breaker…

I absolutely love my Fiskars reel mower. Can’t say that it is any better than the Scotts reel mower that costs half as much, but being green while mowing green is very gratifying. not to mention I mow my lawn in the same amount of time as my neighbor with his gas powered mower, without having to yank on a cord to start it. I just wish I had waited to buy it and seen this.

[I happen to like the forward throwing because it mulches the grass clippings, meaning I don’t have to rake it all after I finish mowing. That’s my $.02

Sorry for the delayed response and to also hear that you encountered issues with Woot Member Services.

I’ll forward your post along to them and see if I can’t find you a resolve.

I’m stopping in with an update for posterity - our gas mower died and so I ordered this one for my husband (with his blessing first, of course…that would just be mean to spring it on him “SURPRISE!”).

First impressions: It’s just about as fast as our previous mower and we love the convenience of not having to mix gas and oil and keep it filled, etc. It works very well and is quiet and is a decent workout, one of the reasons we prefer push mowers to riding ones.

We have just under an acre, both flat areas and hilly ones. This mower doesn’t do edges as well as our old one but we can pull out the weed whacker if it bothers us enough. Flat areas go much easier than uneven ones, of course, but some of it is just the learning curve of how to get enough momentum for cramped spaces. I think in time we’ll get it down to a science.

Our grass had gotten pretty tall by the time the mower arrived and the first run was tough since it was so long. We ended up borrowing a friend’s gas mower to knock everything down to a manageable level, and have used the Fiskar since then to keep it maintained. This seems to work really well so next year we’ll jump right on the lawn before it gets too long in the spring.

Obviously we haven’t had to deal with sharpening or Winter storage yet, so we’ll see how that goes. For the price, though, this was a great investment and I’ll feel a lot better about teaching our son to mow the lawn using this instead of our old mower. He could definitely lose a finger if he does something stupid but it’s not as intimidating.

Two thumbs up!

thanks for dropping in with the review!