American Lawn Mower Company 1204-14 14-Inch 4-Blade Push Reel Lawn Mower, Red

For areas where there are smaller lawns, for renters with zero storage, or if you want a shorter cut, this manual mower is perfect! It took about five minutes to assemble and the blades are very sharp. Using this for a smaller side yard the larger mower will not fit into comfortably. Gives a decent workout! Easy to adjust for height of grass cut you are looking for. Instructions were easy to follow. Highly recommended for the cost, quality, and ease of use.

First of all, I love that this mower doesn't require gas or electricity. No fumes, pretty quiet.It was extremely easy to assemble. The manual was not all that useful / a little aggravating, but assembly manuals tend to be. There are three screws you use to assemble the handle -- make sure to use the shortest one for the single hole (towards the top of handle assembly), not that it's a big deal if you accidentally put it in the wrong place. I finger-tightened the plastic knobs... no tools required for that. I was a little confused by the e-clips so I looked at a very short video on Youtube to see how they might be put on. I used needlenose pliars for that. I was careful doing that because, as many people have pointed out, the blades are very sharp. You put the handle on the metal orange nibs (I also was a little unclear on where to attach the handle, though a glance at a different Youtube video helped me see that clearly).Normally at this stage in my life, I'm not a big procrastinator. But I have to admit that I had been procrastinating doing anything about the back yard here, where I moved in late November (about four and a half months ago). I moved from a 99 year old house where we had landscaped our tiny yard to have no lawn, into a newer structure built on red clay. Never understimate what can grow in red clay! It might not be what you want, but plants will grow. Through late fall and winter, and really until fairly recently, the back yard was largely mud -- It's been another rainy year. Then things started growing, and I was curious to see what would emerge. Also, the pollen has been noxious, so I've not wanted to spend a lot of time out there (used a bandana over mouth and nose to reduce breathing pollen). I knew eventually I was going to have to figure out what to do back there. It isn't a large yard but is at least twice the size of my previous yard. Still not sure what all I will do, but now I have a way to keep grass and weeds at bay.I feel like it works pretty well on weeds. There are both weeds and grass in the back yard. I'm not looking for a manicured lawn back there, I just want to keep growth somewhat in check. There's a quite small area that had gotten very dense and long, and the mower actually did a good job cutting that long grass and weeds, though after I raked it (for 'fun'), I did notice I'll need to go back over some of it again in a couple of days. With long stuff, it wraps around the axles (?), so I had to pull grass / weeds out a couple of times (it's a good idea to wear work gloves for that, and even be careful wearing the work gloves... and I used the needle nose pliars again, to do that, before storing the mower in a shed that I now see is kind of damp and probably not the best place to store it).Definitely keep pets and children away from it. My dog would have followed me around the yard with it but I made her stay in. Again, the blades are sharp.If everyone would use mowers like this, we wouldn't have such anal lawn maintenance to compete with ;) Not that it doesn't so a great job of mowing. It does. I'm just not very picky about things sticking up here and there. Also, we'd have less noise and fumes from mowers (though of course I realize there is environmental impact in its production).I was so anxious before mowing ... Had let things get a little beyond where I would have liked. Was actually excited about this mower when I ordered it, and I rarely allow myself to feel excited. Now that I've used it and gotten the back yard somewhat in check, I feel relief!Strongly recommend!

My review is more for the people that are curious about the concept of reel mowing itself, rather than a differentiation between this mower and competitors.First thing I’ll say is that this thing is astonishingly compact, weighs very little compared to a gas mower, and is very easy to put together. No problems so far, construction seems to be pretty solid.The deck is 14” which is tiny for a lawnmower. I mowed a 60x60 area in about 45 minutes with this thing, and a gas mower would have done it in a third of the time. I’ll say if you have more than 1/4 acre of grass to mow, I wouldn’t recommend it, unless you’re into it and don’t mind. There is something to be said about the experience though, it hums right along kicking up that grass… it’s all push powered so you’ll arms will get a bit of work too. If you like the experience it can make up for the extra time (which I do)The most important thing I think in determining if this mower type is right for you is your grass type you’ll be dealing with. If your grass Is any combination of sparse, thin, clovery, or fast drying after a rain (looking at you, Florida!), then it should do just fine. If your grass Is thick, broad, lush, and wet then you will be stopping occasionally to backtrack. If a gas mower has trouble with it wet then this will have trouble with it dry. When that wheel stops moving in its regular Rhythm that’s when grass spots get missed and you have to back it up and do it over. It’s doable with those thick grasses but you have to have patience and not have enough of it to ruin your patience and enjoyment.Sticks will jam the thing sometimes, even small ones.I would highly recommend policing your lawn first for that stuff before you start mowing, it keeps you in the rhythm.You will NOT have a fun time on rooty and bumpy ground. This mower is made for flat surfaces (it can do hills and slopes, I’m just talking flat along the width of the mower and sudden elevation changes.That’s about all I can think of. I enjoy my time with this mower and it’s certainly not a flawed or defective product, I just think people should know what kind of lawn these really are meant for