Our History
American Lawn Mower Company was established in 1895. Our history goes back over 125 years. From the Victorian era to World War II to the second suburban boom of the 1970s, we’ve been around for nearly every industrial revolution in America. From day one, we built the business around providing a cleaner and greener option for maintaining America’s lawns.
02
In 1902 American Lawn Mower Company moved to a new home, and started manufacturing lawn mowers in Muncie, Indiana. Here, the business continued to manufacture a complete line of reel lawn mowers.
AN ARCHITECT’S DRAWING OF THE AMERICAN LAWN MOWER HEADQUARTERS IN MUNCIE, INDIANA, U.S.A.
36
American Lawn and Great States Unite
In 1936, American Lawn Mower Company acquired the Great States Corporation in Shelbyville, which also produced reel lawn mowers. The merging of these two companies continues to stand strong, and is one of the big reasons why American Lawn mower still exists today.
GREAT STATES CORPORATION BUILDING EARLY 1940S
50’s
Post War Boom Creates Reel Mower Bust
The reel mower business sustained nearly 60 manufacturers and boomed until the post war era. With increased industrialization, came power rotary mowers. For a short time prior to 1950. American /Great States produced power reel mowers to ride out the post war decline in the market and after that time continued to manufacture reel mowers. By 1953, power mower sales surpassed reel mower sales, and most reel mower manufacturers went out of business. American/Great States was able to survive largely because the family who owned the business also owned an iron foundry where they could get cast iron mower components inexpensively.
FACTORY WORKERS WORK ON BY NEW REELS IN THE WAREHOUSE
90’s
A New Market Begins to Emerge
Business continued to shrink, so the company introduced two limited lines of garden cultivators to expand their market. Production dwindled on these until they were discontinued in the early 1990’s. The company endured. A resurgence was waiting in the wings. Increased land costs, expansion of leisure opportunities and a desire to spend less time cutting grass led many Americans to build homes on small lots or to buy low-maintenance condominiums. Soon a new market became available.
AMERICAN LAWN MOWER MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENT FROM THE 1990’S.
American Lawn Mower Today
Throughout the years, American Lawn Mower Company has products, and expanded brands across several markets.
Today, the American Lawn Mower Company offers a comprehensive line of manual reel lawn mowers, corded, electric, and battery-operated outdoor power equipment. Our tools are offered under multiple brand names including American Lawn Mower, Great States, Radius Garden Tools, Root Assassin, and Earthwise. Our brands are carried in fine garden centers, nurseries, hardware stores, independent retailers, and catalogs throughout the world. We hold dozens of design and utility patents and have received many awards. In 2017, Radius Garden’s Root Slayer Shovel was awarded the Green Thumb Award for the Most Innovative Garden Tool. In early 2020 American Lawn Mower launched the Pronk! Pets brand. Pronk! Pets was created to instill excitement, joy, and happiness for your pet friends.
Since 1895, American Lawn Mower Company has strived to deliver the best performance and service in the industry. As tools continue to develop, we adapt to modernize our equipment while keeping America green.
The Best Lawn Mowers of 2023
Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed’s editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission. were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
Honda HRX217VKA
The Honda HRX217VKA is powerful, heavy and ideal for larger lawns. Read
Ego Power LM2135SP
This mower is powerful, comfortable, and a joy to use. It performed extremely well mulching and driving itself uphill. Read
Honda HRN216VKA
Honda has produced superior power equipment for many years and this mower, which operates with rear-wheel drive, is no exception. Read
Kobalt KM 5080-06
The electric Kobalt KM 5080-06 was flexible and easy to operate, and can run bagged or bagless. Read
Hart HLPM061US
The Hart HLPM061US performed well across terrains and has a simple to use speed control. Read
Cons
Until just a few short years ago, gas lawn mowers were king. As more consumers are seeking eco-friendly cars, homes, and, yes, power equipment, advanced battery technology answers the call.
Today, consumers can drive an electric car, thrive in a solar-powered home and maintain their property with battery-powered equipment. But are the new electric push lawn mowers as good as the old internal combustion mowers? We decided to find out.
We tested gasoline, electric-corded, and battery-powered lawn mowers from the leading brands. We were eager to see if the battery-powered mowers could handle a large yard as well as the tried-and-true gasoline models. We weren’t disappointed. The Honda HRX217VKA (available at Amazon) came out on top as Best Overall, edging out its predecessor and our previous winner, the Honda HRN216VKA.
For the non-gasoline mowers, the Ego Power LM2135SP (available at Walmart) is our choice for Best Electric Lawn Mower. This mower set-up was quick, and it handled our testing well. The Ego Power also includes features not found on similar electric models.
The Honda HRX217VKA was a pleasure to use.
- Power source: Gas
- Self-propelled: Yes
- Cutting options: Bag, Mulch, Rear discharge or shred leaves
- Drive: Rear-wheel
- Weight: 113 lbs
Quiet and powerful, the Honda HRX217VKA 21-inch NeXite lawn mower is the one to have for larger spaces. It is not designed for small yards, and you won’t be darting in and out of flower beds and shrubbery.
It is a pleasure to use. We had tested Honda mowers before and were familiar with their operation and overall product quality. The HRX217VKA did not disappoint. Easy to assemble and set up right out of the box, it started on the first pull of the cord.
Right away you can feel the heft of this mower with its innovative NeXite deck and powerful motor. It’s heavier than most mowers, but it feels planted on the lawn and tracks perfectly. It’s a mower for large lawns, and it makes the most difficult cuts a breeze.
With its 200cc motor and Select Drive Control, this mower easily cuts, bags and mulches the heaviest grass with ease. The Select Drive Control is almost intuitive as it lets you adjust the walking speed with a variety of settings.
The controls on the mower are large and easy to use. You can set the mower to bag or mulch or anywhere in between. Its user-friendly platform is clearly marked. You will use this lawn mower for years and years to come.
Cons
The Ego Power LM2135SP is the best electric lawn mower we’ve tested.
- Power source: Electric/battery
- Self-propelled: Yes
- Cutting options: Bag, Mulch, Side discharge
- Drive: Rear-wheel
- Weight: 88 lbs
Until a few years ago, those who preferred not to buy an internal combustion mower had little choice. But advanced battery technology has finally arrived and the benefits can readily be seen in the Ego Power LM2135SP, a 21-inch self-propelled electric mower. This cordless mower with a cutting width of 21 inches utilizes a 56-volt lithium ion battery to power through up to 60 minutes of lawn cutting.
The Ego Power is powerful, comfortable, and a joy to use. Even though the battery only lasted about an hour, the mower performed extremely well mulching and driving itself uphill. It has plenty of torque and is capable of doing anything a gasoline-powered mower can do. It is clean, easy to use, and efficient.
The set-up on this mower was the easiest of the bunch. The handle slides and folds across the mower with ease, making storage a snap. Adjusting it to a personal height takes seconds.
A quick 50-minute charge on the battery and you’re ready to go. The battery charger even has a cooling fan that improves charging times and keeps the battery cool.
Like some of our other mowers, the Ego Power has twin blades that improve mulching and keep the trips to empty the rear bag to a minimum. Cutting height is achieved with one easy-to-access lever.
Operation is straightforward, and the composite deck makes the mower light and easy to maneuver around yard obstacles. Simply depress the power button, pull the green handle and the blades begin to spin. Dual buttons on the handle make engaging the self-propel feature safe and comfortable.
The Ego Power comes with LED headlights for convenience, and it was the only mower we tested that could propel itself when the blades were not spinning. This was a nice feature that eliminated pushing the mower back to the garage.
Other Lawn Mowers We Tested
Previously our pick for best lawn mower, the Honda HRN216VKA is a 21-inch self-propelled gas mower that’s a great choice for any yard. Honda has produced superior power equipment for many years, and this mower, which operates with rear-wheel drive, is no exception. It can handle the toughest lawns with ease and won’t take up much room in the garage.
The set-up was easy and the mower started on the first pull. Its smooth engine is quieter than the other gasoline mowers, and it has more than enough power to cut and mulch the grass even while going uphill.
The Honda has a stacked and offset blade design that produces smaller clippings, which allows for better mulching and bagging. This means more efficient cutting and fewer stops to empty the grass bag. The bagging and mulching options can be easily and safely selected, once the mower is off, by using one lever on the mowing deck.
The innovative self-propel system is comfortable on the hands, provides adequate speed control, and can even be adjusted for those who are taller or shorter. Folding the handle for storage can be done quickly. This Honda lawn mower even has a gas shut-off valve for off-season storage.
Cons
- Power source: Electric/battery
- Self-propelled: No
- Cutting options: Bag, Mulch, Side discharge
- Drive: Rear-wheel
- Weight: 66 lbs
The Kobalt 80V 21-inch electric mower is a great choice for anyone that wants an affordable, flexible, compact mower that is easy to maneuver and doesn’t require extension cords or gas cans. The mower is strong enough to chop through thick grass, and offers a highly adjustable cutting height.
At 66 pounds it is very easy to operate, with the ability to go bagged or bagless, and you can fold up the push handle for compact storage.
The main draw here is the 80V battery system, which gives you an hour of runtime in our testing, enough to cut about 7,500 square feet on a full charge. It also works in a variety of other Kobalt tools, and spares will run you right around 150. Charging the battery takes around 45 minutes when it’s dead, and it just pops into the battery slot and the mower can turn on with a press of a button if the safety key is inserted—much easier than having to use a traditional pull start.
Overall if you need a nice, basic mower to get the job done and want to go cordless, this is an excellent choice. It cuts clean lines, it’s easy to use, it can handle most lawns with ease, and the light weight makes it much easier to move up and around slopes and hills.
Especially if you’re planning to invest in a range of electric tools, this is a good system to buy into.
Cons
- Power source: Electric/battery
- Self-propelled: Yes
- Cutting options: Bag, Mulch, Side discharge
- Drive: All-wheel
- Weight: 89.5 lbs
This Hart lawnmower was a pleasant surprise.
After removing it from the box and charging the batteries, we fired it up and took it out to the thick, lush grass.
It performed beautifully; its powerful electric motor cut through the lawn with ease and even increased its revolutions when we cut thicker grass. This mower easily handles a larger lawn.
The Hart mower moved with power and confidence through the lawn, and the simple-to-use speed control was right there at your fingertips. While our winning Honda gas mower has a sophisticated Select Drive System, the Hart’s simple slide bar works as well or better.
This excellent lawnmower has the power and convenience of mowers costing much more.
Cons
The Toro is a worthy competitor to the top-ranking mowers on this list.
This Toro lawn mower has the largest cutting area at 22 inches, and it is powerful and comfortable to use, thanks to its Personal Pace self-propel system.
To engage the self-propel, simply push the lever forward a bit and the mower begins to move forward, push it a little more and the mower moves faster. After a couple of rows of cutting, you will see how easy it is to regulate speed. This system is not as intuitive as some of the others, but it still works quite well.
Another great feature: The Toro has Briggs and Stratton’s check-don’t-change oil system that never requires an oil change.
Storage is also a snap as the handle folds down and the mower can be stored vertically.
Cons
- Power source: Electric/battery
- Self-propelled: No
- Cutting options: Bag, Mulch, Rear discharge
- Drive: Rear-wheel
- Weight: 58 lbs
At just 58 pounds, this mower makes cutting small lawns a lot of fun. The rear discharge chute allows you trim close to trees, beds, and shrubbery. I found myself zipping around obstacles using only one hand.
This is a simple machine with one battery in the center. Charging time is quick, and once the battery is in you’re on your way.
This is not a lawn mower for the back 40. With a 20-inch cut and a small electric motor, it is just not capable of handling larger lawns. But for most mid to small yards, this mower can clean up the area in no time.
Light and easy to store, this is the perfect mower to keep a lawn looking great.
Cons
- Power source: Electric/battery
- Self-propelled: Yes
- Cutting options: Bag, Mulch, Side discharge
- Drive: Rear-wheel
- Weight: 78 lbs
The 21-inch Ryobi RY401150 40-volt brushless mower set up quickly and easily right out of the box. It includes double blades and cuts clean and clear.
This mower comes with two batteries that can be installed in the top of the machine. One notable drawback is that only one battery powers the mower at a time—cut your grass for approximately 30 minutes and when the first battery is depleted, you stop and move a switch to engage the second battery. Ryobi says that the batteries will last for 70 minutes, but stopping to change batteries seems counterproductive.
Otherwise, the mower performed well and completed all of the tests. It has a one-lever height adjustment and is light enough to maneuver around obstacles. It has plenty of power and handled the hill with little strain.
While both the Ego Power and Ryobi were solid performers on the electric front, the Ryobi was let down by its self-propel controls. The controls are located under the bar, but the lever is vague and unresponsive. Because the lever is designed for thumbs only, you need to push the lever in an awkward manner to get the mower up to speed.
Cons
- Power source: Electric/corded
- Self-propelled: No
- Cutting options: Bag, Mulch, Side discharge
- Drive: Rear-wheel
- Weight: 65 lbs
For a corded mower, the Greenworks 25022 lawn mower performed quite well. The set-up was easy, and once it was plugged in, it started right up.
Of course, before you use the mower there is the time-consuming task of unearthing your extension cord, unraveling it, and finding a suitable outdoor plug. Once plugged in, the mower embraces its purpose with ease.
It has a powerful 12-amp electric motor that may not conquer larger lawns, but is perfect for smaller yards and trimming duties. Not to mention it offers clean and even mowing.
Not being self-propelled, it takes some effort to push the lawn mower and cord uphill and then navigate a path back so as to not cut your cord.
Its small size makes storage a breeze.
Cons
The 14-inch Sun Joe MJ401E lawn mower is the easiest to store. Its diminutive size makes it the perfect lawn mower for small yards and trimming duties. It’s light enough to pick up and move, and it comes with an easy-to-use bagging system.
Still, this is not a lawn mower for cutting the typical suburban lawn, as its lightweight, short wheel base and small wheels make it a little unstable over roots and ruts.
Of all of the lawnmowers tested, the Sun Joe provided the most difficulty when it came time to adjust the height of the blades. The mower utilizes solid axles, front and rear, and the axles are located in a three-notch system under the mower. To change the height of the cut, you need to pull the spring-loaded axles from their positions and move them up or down. It’s a challenging exercise.
The Sun Joe is corded, so cutting area is limited. To its credit, it’s powerful enough when running, but the limited scope means you will have a hard time tackling an entire yard.
Cons
The Craftsman M220 is one of the more cumbersome mowers we’ve tested. Set up was more involved—to adjust it to my height I had to first kneel on the floor and remove two fasteners from the bottom of the handle and then pull the handle out of the body. Another two fasteners at the base of the handle allowed me to set the handle angle. The better mowers have release buttons and adjusting levers that allow the operator to make these adjustments quickly and safely while standing.
The mower started on the first pull and seemed to have enough power to tackle any lawn. However, the two levers on top of the handle—one to start and one for speed of self-propulsion—are difficult to operate. Both are difficult to grab if your hands are small to medium, and the levers are too far from the handle for comfortable operation. They’re also not intuitively placed; you have to look each time you make a pass.
The biggest disadvantage of this mower is that it is equipped with front-wheel drive. When self-propelled mowers first came out many years ago, a front-drive system was easy for manufacturers to design and implement and the homeowner didn’t have to push dead weight. The design worked for many years because there was nothing else. But over the years rear-drive systems were developed and it produced a more balanced, more comfortable cutting experience.
When cutting a lawn, the operator naturally has some weight on the handle. Add to this the weight of the grass in the bag off the back of the mower and you have a very light front end. Because the weight of the mower is not over the wheels, the front wheels tend to spin and grasp through each pass. This results in uneven lines, a hard to control mower (especially on a bumpy terrain), premature wearing out of the plastic front wheels, and difficulty trying to trim around obstacles. This antiquated front drive system really lets this mower down.
Cons
- Controls are cumbersome
- Front Drive System limits control and comfort
- Not nimble around obstacles
How We Tested Lawn Mowers
The Testers
We spent the summer mowing a half-acre New England lawn, over and over again.
Kevin Kavanaugh is a retired public school teacher and a product tester for Reviewed. Kevin has been cutting lawns for just about 50 years. He has always been intrigued by all things mechanical, be it watches, power equipment, vintage bicycles, or classic cars.
Ray Lane is a retired supermarket store manager, avid golfer, and product tester for Reviewed. His lawn is the envy of Cumberland, Rhode Island, and he has used several push mowers over the years. At 83 years of age, his input on the mowers was critical, specifically when evaluating ease of starting, maneuverability, and safety.
The Tests
We tested lawn mowers on both flat land and hills to test maneuverability and power.
After ordering from retailers like Lowe’s and The Home Depot, we assembled each mower and took note of the ease of the set up and how quickly we could adjust the handle to our preference. We then added gasoline, a battery, or an electrical cord to get the mower ready. We evaluated at the ease of setting the cutting height, first testing a high cutting height and then a lower one.
We took each mower on a few passes of an uncut half-acre lawn, measuring approximately 22,000 square feet, noting how it cut at a high height and a lower height while we monitored both the bagging and mulching features. Then we took each mower up and down a grassy hill to see how they performed. Our final test was testing storage capability.
What You Should Know About Lawn Mowers
Self-propelled lawn mowers can take some of the effort out of walk-behind mowing.
There are two basic types of walk-behind mowers: push and self-propelled.
The push type of mower is usually smaller, lighter, and easier to store. They are used primarily for smaller, level lawns. They are perfect for cleaning up areas that larger riding lawn mowers may miss. They can be run by gasoline, cords, or battery.
Self-propelled lawn mowers usually have a larger cutting diameter and can move on their own through operator controls. These mowers can also be powered by gasoline, cords, or battery. Since they take the brunt of the pushing away, self-propelled mowers are perfect for larger lawns up to a half-acre, and they can easily handle hills and sloped lawns. These self-propelled mowers aren’t fully robotic lawn mowers so you still have to do some work guiding them around your yard.
What Is A Self-propelled Lawn Mower?
The first self-propelled lawn mowers started to appear in the late-1960s. As suburbia grew and lawns got larger, pushing a heavy steel mower around on a summer afternoon wasn’t what most people wanted to be doing.
The first self-propelled mowers had primitive front-wheel drive systems that worked well enough, but the mowers often moved along too slowly. Sure, you weren’t pushing but you were caught in a slow-moving lawn-cutting procession. Early mowers either moved too slowly or too fast to match a natural walking speed.
Today’s mowers offer a much better propulsion system. The Honda NeXite Variable Speed 4-in-1 Gas Walk Behind Self-propelled Mower with Select Drive Control, for example, allows a variety of walking speed settings. Owners can literally dial in their preferred walking speed so that they become one with the mower, not being pulled and not having to push.
How to start and stop the EGO Power 21″ Mowers
The Ego Power Select Cut 56-Volt Brushless 21-in Self-propelled Cordless Electric Lawn Mower even allows the operator to drive out to the lawn without the blades turning. That is a great feature.
Today’s self-propelled mowers reduce operator fatigue and make cutting the grass easier than years ago. Self-propelled mowers make cutting on hills safer and more efficient. And with modern speed options they make a summertime chore a little more enjoyable.
Gasoline, Corded Electric, or Battery—Which Lawn Mower is Right for You?
Battery-powered lawn mowers can be powerful and efficient.
Gasoline
Gasoline-powered lawnmowers have kept lawns manicured for decades. They are powerful, reliable, and affordable, and come with features such as self-propelled movement, mulching features, and self-cleaning availability. They are powerful enough for large lawn care jobs and can tackle any lawn from a quarter- to half-acre acre. Any lawn bigger than that would necessitate a riding mower.
But gas-powered mowers emit dangerous carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, require yearly maintenance, and require the storage of gasoline and oil. This may not be suitable for some consumers.
Corded Electric
Corded electric mowers have been around for years and were historically the choice of consumers who had smaller lawns and didn’t need the more powerful gasoline mower. While powerful enough to get most cutting or trimming jobs done, the one obvious drawback to a corded mower is the electrical cord.
For any yard worthy of mowing, a long electrical extension cord is required to power the mower. This can be a minor annoyance, such as having to keep the cord free from getting tangled in trees and bushes, to a major annoyance when you drive over it and cut it into small pieces.
However, corded electric mowers require no gas, oil, or maintenance and, other than a blade sharpening from time to time, can perform reliably for years.
Battery
Battery-powered cars, power equipment, and tools have been around for a long time. The electric motors were strong and reliable enough, but the battery was not. Just a few years ago, an electric car could expect to go only 100 miles on a charge, and power tools and equipment didn’t last long either. In the past few years, battery technology has improved by leaps and bounds.
Electric cars can expect hundreds of miles on a charge and power tools and equipment can last a full day. This lithium battery technology found its way to lawnmowers and it has created a viable option for those consumers who don’t want gas and don’t want a cord. These battery-powered mowers are powerful, efficient, lightweight, and green. Many now use brushless electric motors, which are more efficient, produce more torque, and are longer lasting than the older electric motors with brushes.
How often should I mow my lawn?
Cutting the lawn too often and only cutting it when it gets overgrown are both unhealthy for a lush, beautiful lawn. The rule of thumb in the lawn-care industry is to keep the grass between 3 inches and 3.5 inches in length. This allows the grass to be long enough to thrive in hot, summer weather.
When cutting grass, never take more than a third of the blade at once. In other words, never cut more than an inch or so. Not only does this cause clumping of grass on the lawn or in the mower bag, but it takes too many nutrients and moisture from the grass itself.
After the late winter fertilizer treatments and the often heavy rains, lawns start to come to life. You’ll find that the grass will need cutting every 4 to 5 days in order to remove just enough length. As the summer wanes on and the temperature rises, the grass will grow a bit slower and a once week cutting is adequate.
It is also important to keep the blades of your lawnmower good and sharp. Since the lawnmower blades are often made of steel, they will develop a dull edge after a season of cutting. A dull edge on a blade will tear the grass and not cut it. This may result in browning of the tips of the grass and put more stress on the mower as well.
While you are under the deck checking those blades—and always disconnect the spark plug wire before going under the mower—be sure there is no old clumped up grass clinging to the mower deck.
Meet the testers
Director, Content Development
TJ is the Director of Content Development at Reviewed. He is a Massachusetts native and has covered electronics, cameras, TVs, smartphones, parenting, and more for Reviewed. He is from the self-styled Cranberry Capitol of the World, which is, in fact, a real thing.
Kevin Kavanaugh is a retired public school teacher and a product tester for Reviewed. Kevin has been cutting lawns for just about 50 years. He has always been intrigued by all things mechanical, be it watches, power equipment, vintage bicycles, or classic cars.
Checking our work.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you’re confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we’ll compare notes.
The Best Reel Mower for Your (Small) Lawn
We’ve reviewed this guide, added competitors, eliminated older models, and reconfirmed our decisions on our picks.
Reel mowers aren’t for everyone. They’re designed for small, flat lawns, and they take some effort to push around. But they provide exceptional cut quality and a completely unplugged mowing experience, so they offer things no other mower can. We think the best one is the Scotts 2000-20 20-Inch Classic Push Reel Lawn Mower.
For the healthiest grass
The Scotts makes the cleanest cut, has the widest cutting path, and jams the least of any reel mower, and its unusually tall 3-inch max cutting height makes it more versatile for different grass types.
Buying Options
At the time of publishing, the price was 145.
During initial tests with a golf course grounds crew and in years of follow up use, the Scotts-branded mower has the best cut quality of any of the mowers we’ve tested, and its unusually tall maximum cutting height of 3 inches makes it a versatile choice for different types of lawns and grasses. It has a 20-inch cutting swath—the widest available—and at 34 pounds, it’s light and easy to maneuver. It was also the only mower in the group that didn’t jam during testing.
Good cut, less elegant
This mower cuts almost as well as our main pick and has a taller cutting height, but it’s bulkier (making it harder to turn around) and more expensive.
Buying Options
At the time of publishing, the price was 250.
If our main pick is sold out or otherwise unavailable, we also really like the Fiskars 18-Inch StaySharp Max Reel Mower. Its a solid mower with a 4-inch cutting height is higher than any other reel mower’s. In testing the Fiskars cut well, but it wasn’t on par with the Scotts and didn’t handle tall grass quite as well. It’s also heavier and bulkier, making it more of a chore to turn around, it also costs more than the Scotts.
For the healthiest grass
The Scotts makes the cleanest cut, has the widest cutting path, and jams the least of any reel mower, and its unusually tall 3-inch max cutting height makes it more versatile for different grass types.
Buying Options
At the time of publishing, the price was 145.
Good cut, less elegant
This mower cuts almost as well as our main pick and has a taller cutting height, but it’s bulkier (making it harder to turn around) and more expensive.
Buying Options
At the time of publishing, the price was 250.
Why you should trust us
We spoke with Jason Kruse, assistant professor of environmental horticulture and turfgrass specialist at the University of Florida. As his bio states, Kruse’s responsibilities include “managing the University of Florida turfgrass Envirotron teaching and research facility, planning and implementing turfgrass educational field days and leading the statewide turfgrass teaching design team.” The guy knows a lot about grass.
For testing, we enlisted the aid of the grounds crew of the Diamond Hawk Golf Course in Cheektowaga, New York, a bunch of people who are serious about mowing. While using the mowers, they picked up cut blades to carefully examine how cleanly the mowers cut; they also bent down to compare the color of the turf after each one made a pass, and pushed all the mowers around on various lengths of grass.
Here at Wirecutter, we’ve been covering lawn equipment since 2014. As for the specific topic of grass-cutting implements, we’ve written extensive guides to both lawn mowers and string trimmers in addition to reel mowers.
Since the first version of this guide, we’ve recommended the Scotts as well as the runner-up Fiskars, and we’ve continued to use both models in assorted locations, paying attention to their long-term performance and any ongoing maintenance needed.
Who should get a reel mower
Before getting a reel mower, you should be aware of their pros and cons. Simply put, a reel mower is not a direct replacement for a regular mower.
As one of our long-term testers said, “I love [my reel mower]. It makes mowing feel more like a pleasant way to spend time outside and less like something I need to grit my teeth and power through.” On the other hand, a second long-term tester stated that he regrets purchasing a reel mower and has “frequently considered selling it to get a cheap electric mower.”
Reel mowers are better for the lawn’s health. They snip the grass blades like scissors, while rotary mowers tend to shred grass blades. According to University of Florida assistant professor of environmental horticulture Jason Kruse, “The scissor-cutting action of the reel mowers results in less damage to the leaf tissue, which in turn puts the plants under less stress.” He continued, “They lose less water, are less susceptible to disease, and generally look better when cut with a reel mower.”
Reel mowers are also good for the operator’s health. Because you hand-push the mower and it isn’t motorized, it takes effort to use, especially if you have a large lawn. Keep in mind that the turning wheels are what rotate the blades, which adds to the resistance. So the task is not as simple as, say, pushing an empty furniture dolly, where you’re pushing the wheels and nothing else. According to a Livestrong.com article, (which in turn credits Harvard Medical School, among others) a person weighing 175 pounds would burn approximately 251 calories by pushing a reel mower—which the article refers to as a hand mower—for 30 minutes. This is 51 calories more than someone weighing 185 pounds pushing a mower with a powered blade for the same amount of time.
Reel mowers also require minimal maintenance and are much, much quieter than regular mowers. Aside from lubricating and sharpening the blades every few years, you don’t have a lot of upkeep to do on a reel mower. As for the noise, many users of reel mowers cite the gentle snipping sound the tool makes as a key benefit. Gas mowers, on the other hand, require gas, regular tune-ups, oil changes, and winterizing. They’re also noisy and smelly. As one of our long-term testers said, “I love [my reel mower]. It makes mowing feel more like a pleasant way to spend time outside and less like something I need to grit my teeth and power through.”
But for a reel mower to be practical, you need a fairly small lawn. Anyone with more than a quarter acre (roughly 10,000 square feet) will find weekly mowing with a reel mower exhausting. One long-term tester stated that he regrets purchasing a reel mower for the size of his lawn and has “frequently considered selling it to get a cheap electric mower.”. In contrast, another of our long-term testers has approximately 1,000 square feet of lawn, and mowing takes her about 20 minutes.
A reel mower works best with a strict adherence to a regular cutting schedule. If grass gets overgrown, a reel mower will merely push it down and roll right over it, so if you tend to go a while between mowings, you should stick with a regular push mower. One long term tester had to wait so long for the reel mower to arrive that once it got there, the grass had grown so high they needed to hire someone to cut their grass. And the necessary diligence goes beyond the schedule: Reel mowers can’t mow over twigs and leaves as gas mowers can, so additional attentiveness to pre-mow lawn cleanup is required, as well.
Reel mowers are troublesome on sloped or bumpy lawns. The torque that turns the blades comes from the wheels as you roll them along the ground. On an uneven surface, the wheels lose contact with the ground as they bounce or as the weight shifts on a slope. As one of our long-term testers put it, “Small dips can lead to grass getting missed, so I often end up mowing from two or three different angles to try and get it all.”
In fact, the results in general may not be what you expect. One of our long-term testers said that their mower “often totally misses taller strands of grass” and that they “have to go back and snip those with a pair of shears.” Also, on most reel mowers, the blades are inboard of the wheels, so you’ll have a wider gap of unmowed grass against a fence or a stone wall.
How we picked and tested
To figure out how to pick the best reel mower, we spoke to Scott Dunbar, superintendent of Diamond Hawk Golf Course in Cheektowaga, New York. He explained that reel mowers can cut much closer to the ground than rotary mowers. At the golf course, the crew uses reel mowers to cut greens and approaches but uses gas-powered rotary mowers for the rough. But the average homeowner isn’t cutting the lawn for use as a putting green—in fact, cutting your lawn too low is terrible for its health. Turf experts suggest never cutting off more than a third of your grass’s length; cutting too close to the ground can cause the grass to dry out and get scorched in the summer. This means that a mower’s minimum cutting height isn’t a useful measurement, since you’re unlikely to use that setting.
The maximum cutting height was a crucial detail. We used this spec as our primary factor in eliminating mowers from contention. Few reel mowers are able to get above 2½ inches, which may not be good for your lawn. “[Cutting height] is one of the primary complaints I have against the majority of reel mowers that are marketed for home use. Most residential grasses (both cool- and warm-season) have recommended heights of cut that are at the upper limit or even exceed the height of cut that is possible with some of the mowers,” said University of Florida turfgrass specialist Kruse. “While it would be possible to use the mower, the long-term health of the turf could suffer significantly,” he continued.
Other factors were also important:
- How easy is the mower to adjust?
- How hard is it to push?
- How wide is it?
- How much does it weigh?
- What have other reviewers said about it?
We took our final four mowers to a golf course. There the grounds crew helped us adjust the blades to the exact same standard they used on their mowers so that the blades could cleanly slice a piece of paper. Over the next three hours, we pushed all four mowers back and forth on different-height grasses. On hand were course superintendent Scott Dunbar, a member of the grounds crew, a mechanic who maintains the course equipment, and an equipment salesman who happened to be at the course that day. These guys are all turfgrass experts who deal with grass and mowing equipment every day. They really took to the task of comparing these mowers, examining every aspect closely and answering all our questions about turf and cut quality.
Our pick: Scotts 2000-20 20-Inch Classic Push Reel Lawn Mower
For the healthiest grass
The Scotts makes the cleanest cut, has the widest cutting path, and jams the least of any reel mower, and its unusually tall 3-inch max cutting height makes it more versatile for different grass types.
Buying Options
At the time of publishing, the price was 145.
The Scotts 2000-20 20-Inch Classic Push Reel Lawn Mower is the reel mower to get. Of the tested mowers, it offered the cleanest cut and the easiest adjustments, and it was the only one that didn’t jam. It also has a wide, 20-inch cutting swath—the widest we found—as well as height adjustments between 1 and 3 inches, which is a more versatile range than we saw on almost all of the other available reel mowers. At 34 pounds, it’s light and easy to turn around at the end of each mowing row, but it’s heavy enough that it doesn’t bounce around on slightly uneven turf.
The quality of the cut excelled against the competition. When our lawn experts were going back and forth with the mowers on a variety of grasses and lengths, they noticed that the Scotts model would leave a swath of totally trimmed grass with each blade snipped evenly across, no ragged edges to be seen. In contrast, the other mowers would leave a bunch of blades sticking up like chimneys after a house fire, requiring the testers to back up and go over the area again. The Scotts mower also never jammed up during testing, whereas all of the other mowers did.
The Scotts 2000-20 also snipped a wider path than most of the others. The Scotts is a 20-inch-wide mower, the widest size available (the measurement refers to the blade width, not the overall width). We tested another 20-inch model, the Lee Valley 20″ Mower, but that one was harder to push, and its cut quality was worse.
Our testers also gave the Scotts 2000-20 high marks for overall usability. At 34 pounds, it lands in the middle of our test group in weight but manages to hit the sweet spot between maneuverability and stability. The Fiskars StaySharp Max is heavier and harder to turn around at the end of a mowing row; by contrast, the lighter Lee Valley model bounced around on uneven ground and left a ragged cut as a result.
All of the adjustments on the Scotts mower are easy to make. For cutting height, it has two levers, one for each wheel. One other model we tested, the 16-inch Great States 415-16, required us to unbolt it each time we wanted to change the cutting height. Also, the height settings on the Scotts model are accurate; the 1-inch setting on the Fiskars, in contrast, actually cut much lower, practically scalping the lawn, before we readjusted it to a higher setting.
The Scotts 2000-20 has a cutting range of 1 to 3 inches. The vast majority of reel mowers top out around 2 inches, so we appreciated the ability to go taller, either for the health of the grass or for a less manicured look. A DIY Network article lists the ideal cutting heights for a variety of warm- and cool-weather grasses, and the capabilities of the Scotts land nicely in the strike zone for every grass mentioned. Our runner-up, the Fiskars StaySharp Max, has an even higher maximum cutting height at 4 inches, but it’s a much heavier mower with more difficult maneuvering, and it doesn’t cut as nicely.
The Scotts is easy to assemble, and doesn’t require any tools. The bolts that attach the handle have large plastic wing nuts, so tightening by hand is simple. If you ever need to take your mower apart—to fit it into a compact space like a car trunk or a small storage area—we found that the Scotts was easy enough to disassemble, too. You might need pliers to remove the small C-clips that attach the handle to the body of the mower, but otherwise it shouldn’t be a hassle.
Scotts stands behind their products. Erin Price, then Wirecutter’s Audience Development Manager, had a wheel fall off her Scotts push mower and the company replaced the entire mower for her. She told us, “I love my reel mower and perhaps love it even more now that the company was so helpful.”
It has performed well in long term testing. Two other Wirecutter staff members, who both happen to be women, also have Scotts Classics in their personal tool sheds, and they appreciate the mower’s simplicity and ease of use. Senior Photo Editor Rozette Rago had never used a reel mower before picking up the Scotts for her small, flat yard in LA, and found it quick to get used to. It was easy to figure out for two people who have never used it before. Wirecutter Producer Beth Niegelsky, who has used both the Fiskars and the Scotts, prefers the latter, “ I actually like the Scotts significantly more because it is SO much lighter.” She explained, “With the Fiskars, I basically couldn’t mow the hill of my front yard without feeling like I was doing something dangerous. It’s basically no problem with the Scotts.”
Senior Software Development Engineer Joshua Brewer had the Scotts for three years and recently replaced it for our lawn mower pick. Throughout his three years of usage, he highlighted that the Scott was “kinda fun to use.” He appreciated that it was easy to storetash, didn’t require fuel, and was quieter than a traditional lawn mower. However, the Scotts did squeak despite thorough maintenance, required multiple passes on his lawn, and his foam handle disintegrated after the first year. Overall, Brewer says The Scotts 2000-20 worked, but was much more laborious to use with a lush and dense lawn and worked a lot better when the lawn was more sparse. He’s much happier with the Ego LM2135SP now.
Supervising Editor Josh Lyon also has a Scotts and said there are bumpy parts of his lawn that he needs to go over one or two additional times, but that “the mower is so light and has such a smooth roll that even with the extra passes it takes half the time to do our entire lawn than with the gas-powered mower we used to have.” Overall, Lyon is very happy with the Scotts and says he’ll never go back to a gas mower.
Finally, even though it wasn’t a major factor in our decision, testers liked how the Scotts looked better than the other mowers (some found the Fiskars model’s oddball form to be off-putting). The Scotts 2000-20 is covered by a two-year warranty, and user reviews suggest that the manufacturer, American Lawn Mower, issues free replacement parts whenever a problem crops up.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
We analyzed the negative Комментарии и мнения владельцев at Amazon and found that most of the complaints center on the aluminum handle breaking, a plastic gear in the mechanism stripping out, or simply the realization that a reel mower is not the right choice for the owner’s particular lawn.
We investigated the plastic-gear complaint by removing the wheel of the Scotts mower and taking a look at the gear. As you can see in the photo above, it’s a pretty robust gear with deep teeth, and it interfaces with the teeth on the inside of the plastic wheel. The wheels turn as you push, and those teeth turn the plastic gear, which rotates the blades. Stripping it out is an issue to be aware of, but under proper use, the gear shouldn’t be a problem. And if it becomes one, replacing the gear is a 10-minute repair job. While it would be nice if both the wheel and the gear were made of metal, such a design would likely add money to the price tag and a significant amount of weight to the mower.
One of our long-term testers also noted that when the Scotts arrived, many of the screws holding the handle together were loose and fell out within a month. Once they were replaced, no further problems surfaced.
A close reading of the user complaints suggests that owners who were using the Scotts mower on tall or tough Southern grass had the most problems, but such difficulties are likely to be common among all push mowers and not just the Scotts.
The History of Lawn Mowers: A Look Back in Time
Ever wondered who invented the lawn mower? What did it look like? How was it called? How did it evolve to what it is today? These are just a few questions on lawn mower history that you may have.
Don’t worry, Tools Official takes you back in time when the first lawn mower was invented so you can appreciate that mower you’re using today.
Thanks to this ingenious invention that slashes grass cutting time in half, we now have a lot of lawn mower choices to choose from.
How long have lawn mowers been around?
As you go cut your grass, have you ever wondered what it was like when lawn mowers haven’t existed yet?
In 1700s France, maintaining wide portions of spruced-up lawns is hard work. Farm animals or yard keepers with shears and scythes were employed to cut grass and maintain its quality.
The same concept has been done to other parts of Europe for so many years. By the 1800s in England, homeowners with large lawns also relied heavily on animals. People rely on sheep to trim their grasses.
On some occasions, when the animal couldn’t perform the cutting, the homeowner would pass the time until the grass has grown long enough, wet it a bit for easier cutting, and trim it with a scythe.
It was that rigorous that people didn’t want to invite guests over and just let the grass grow during winter!
Still, after a few decades, homeowners and yard owners continued to rely on various mechanical processes in trimming their lawns until 1830, when the first lawn mower was invented. For so long, cutting grass has been a very exhausting task.
What inspired the lawn mower?
It was 1830 when Englishman engineer Edwin Beard Budding, while working in a cloth mill, observed that a device used in cutting carpet fabrics can be replicated and modified to make a machine that could cut grasses.
With the original device as his inspiration, Budding created a cutting cylinder mounted on a bench with a self-propelling mechanism and turned it upside down. And so, the world’s very first lawn mower was born.
What was the first lawn mower called?
Budding asked for a friend’s help, engineer John Ferrabee, on reproducing more of this cutting cylinder in a manufacturing plant in Stroud. Stroud was at the center of the Industrial Revolution, located in Gloucestershire, England. Stroud was also a bustling commerce center during that time.
The production of the first lawn mower became a success. It was called the cylinder mower because of its form. Despite it being heavy with its cast iron parts, the first mower was quite similar to the lawn mower we see today.
What did the first lawn mower look like?
The first lawn mower had a wooden handle, a big roller that contained the cutting cylinder in front, and cast iron gear wheels. Like the mechanism of today’s self-propelled lawn mowers, the wheels of the first mower transmitted power from the back roller to the cutting cylinder.
According to BBC, rumor has it that Budding tested his device prototype at night to stay away from the prying eyes of his neighbors!
Budding and Ferrabee patented their invention so that, people who would like to copy it should obtain a license from them prior to reproduction. This started the evolution of the push mower that we know today.
In 1832, J.R. A. Ransome from Ipswich, England managed to get a license to mass-produce the device. The first lawn mower was well-received by the public as it was reported that The Ransomes Co. manufactured around 70-80 machines per year.
In 1837 England, pleasure grounds or parks for outdoor activities became popular. These open spaces provided people hang-out spots or sports grounds for entertainment and relaxation.
With this, came the increased demand for lawn mowers, so much so that businesses even hired people to do the mowing.
But as large lawns increased in number, so did the demand for labor in mowing lawns. In 1841, Scottish engineer Alexander Shanks of Arbroath made a 27-inch reel lawn mower driven by horses. Shanks created a larger model a year after and this gave birth to the 42-inch mower.
The first reel-type mower with spiral blades appeared in the United States in 1868 when Amariah Hills, a manufacturer in Connecticut received its first license in America.
After two years, Indiana resident Elwood McGuire created a machine that made mowing easier – the lightweight sidewheel mower.
The sidewheel mower had cast iron wheels on the sides. This drives the cutting cylinder directly through ratchets located in the castings. Without a metal rear roller, sidewheel mowers were very light and cheap to manufacture.
The sidewheel mower’s light weight and affordability made it popular to the masses. By 1885, the United States was producing around 50,000 mowers of this type yearly.
First Start in 20 Years. MTD Riding Mower w/Briggs IC Engine
While the sidewheel mower became popular in the US, improvements on the lawn mower were further made in England, where grasses were too delicate to cut finely. In the US, grasses were coarser, making them easy to cut by sidewheel mowers.
Around 1895-1896, James Surner of Lancaster, England created a steam-powered lawn mower but it was just too heavy to be pulled by horses. The 40-inch machine weighed two tons, exhausting the animals pulling it. The impracticality of the idea didn’t allow the invention to last.
In 1896, J.E. Ransome conceptualized the first petrol engine. Designed by W.J. Stephenson-Peach, the invention was manufactured in 1902 and sold in the market until World War I.
Petrol-powered mowers arrived in the US in 1919 through Colonel Edwin George. But before World War II, these mowers went down in sales due to the severe economic downturn. Families prioritized purchases of food over garden tools.
In 1920, sidewheel mowers carried behind a horse, car, or tractor were widely used for maintaining grasses on horseracing tracks and other similar, big-sized lawns. The 1924 lawn mower version of Toro for golf courses was a 12-foot wide device, with 30-inch mowers carried at the back of a tractor. It was three times faster than a horse-drawn mower.
In 1937, Toro made a small version of the device for the landscape contractor market. The result: a 76-inch Professional that’s a combination of a small push mower and bigger machine units. It was easy to maneuver, thus, the company produced it until the 1970s.
The 76-inch Professional. Photo credit: The Toro Co. at
After World War II, lawn mower manufacturers worked double-time to keep up with the increasing demand. Companies were on the lookout for new markets that needed the peacetime product to maintain sprawling fields and small yards.
Who invented the power lawn mower?
The rotary lawn mower came to existence, thanks to buckhorn plants in Warrensburg, Missouri in 1935.
It all started with a problem. Leonard Goodall and his wife wanted to get rid of buckhorn plants that were rapidly increasing outside their coffee shop.
Goodall couldn’t chop off the plants with a reel-type mower because they grow faster than the grass. So he experimented with an electric motor, which he affixed to the top of a deck. Then, he attached sharp steel blades to the motor shaft.
To power up the machine, Goodall used a 7/8-horsepower, two-cycle gas engine from his wife’s washing machine. This inventiveness led to the first direct drive rotary mower that could cut Kentucky bluegrass and still leave 3 inches off it so it would keep growing nicely.
After 13 years, the Bunton Distributing Co. in Louisville, Kentucky decided to supply the Goodall mowers.
People loved the rotary mower because it’s easier to maintain compared with the reel-type mower. Just take off the blades, sharpen them, and you’re good to go. You can’t take out the blades from a reel-type mower and this could be a challenge for some homeowners.
The rotary mower grew very popular between 1953 and 1959, where it outsold the reel mower by a 9-to-1 ratio. For a time, reel-type mowers had low sales. People weren’t very much satisfied with the reel-type because the blades on a horizontal axis went around and cut grass like scissors. It couldn’t cut tall grasses very well and blades will get damaged from too many sticks and stones.
Who improved the lawn mower?
In 1964, Hustler Turf Equipment in Hesston, Kansas produced the first zero-turn radius riding mower that made mowing easier than before. Zero-turn means that the mower can be steered easily, making driving and turning more convenient.
The first zero-turn lawn mower had a belt drive and an independent drive-wheel steering. For many manufacturers, the birth of the zero-turn radius mower is the most fundamental invention in the history of lawn mowers.
In 1969, a company focused on producing only zero-turn mowers arrived: The Grasshopper Co. in Moundridge, Kansas. People loved the zero-turn mowers as it further reduced lawn mowing time.
Since then, various technologies were developed to improve zero-turn mowers. In 1970s, the hydraulic drive was incorporated in mower manufacturing and this advancement removed the need for belts and clutches.
In 1987, Ferris Industries in Munnsville, New York launched the single hydrostatic walk-behind mower with the catchphrase “No Belts.”
It wasn’t until 1990 when the first dual hydraulic zero-turn mower arrived when Joseph Berrios, a pensioned landscape contractor from Florida, created one after having difficulty in bringing his mower up a hill. The mower just had no reverse and it became a problem.
Berrios worked on improvements on his current mower. His first attempt was unsuccessful not because it didn’t work but because it had low marketability.
In his second attempt, Berrios employed the use of hydraulics, with the aid of someone from White Hydraulics, a company focusing on developing hydraulic motors, located in Indiana.
When Berrios was ready to present his version of the improved mower, he turned to Dane Scag, the President of Scag Power Equipment. Scag listened to his demonstration and got impressed by the new technology presented. A partnership was made and Berrios gave his non-exclusive rights to the company.
The 1980s saw a huge number of lawn mower manufacturers brought by the invention of zero-turn mower and hydraulics. Among these are the Ferris Industries in Munnsville, New York and Encore Manufacturing Co. in Beatrice, Nebraska.
Various companies gave birth to different versions of the lawn mowers. This made a fierce competition that only encouraged each player to step up the game.
Manufacturers of zero-turn lawn mowers continue to develop advancements on the machine. Among the elements they look into are better cutting capabilities and a more compact look.
Despite the rosy outlook on zero-turn mowers, their walk-behind counterparts may seem left behind. Although this may be true as sales of walk-in mowers became static, industry experts believe that they will still be here to stay. There are still buyers who are willing to purchase these types.
The future of lawn mowers
Today, lawn mowers of different types, sizes, specifications and features are available in the market.
Industry players are looking forward to futuristic creations such as computerized mowers, remote-controlled types, solar-powered machines, robot mowers, and even machines that use laser beams to cut grass.
However, these may not be cost-effective and the need for practical but simple ones prevail.
Ground levels are too difficult to be controlled via computers. This special technology may work but they may also put a hefty price that contractors won’t be able to buy.
Remote-controlled slope mowers are ideal for safe and productive upkeep of lawns on challenging terrains. This type of mowers are best for steep slopes like ground areas in Hawaii and can reduce a five-man crew to a two-man crew. This allows safer maintenance with less injuries happening onsite.
Solar-powered lawn mowers are also gaining recognition in the lawn mower industry. This type of mowers usually come in a form of an electric machine. It gets its main energy source from solar power.
They’re safer and cleaner for businesses and families. Solar-powered lawn mowers are also cost-efficient. With electricity bills cut in half, this variety ensures long-term power savings. They also help decrease global emission levels.
Some solar-powered lawn mowers are hybrid and others are 100% powered by sun energy.
One of the attempts to produce a more advanced mower, is the creation of the robot mower. Ideal for homeowners who want a fuss-free device to mow their yard, the robot mower first appeared in Britain in the 1990s. It was launched in 2000s in the US.
The robot mower cuts efficiently and can be controlled by apps on iOS and Android phones from a distance. Phone users can instruct their robot mowers when to start the work and they can also set a timer should they need to leave their house.
However, for some homeowners, using a robot mower have some disadvantages. This type of mower simply cannot make stripes on your lawn, which others consider aesthetically pleasing. The device is also prone to getting stuck on objects or in holes in the yard. over, a robot mower can only cut grass in a particular area. Lastly, it can only be used in small properties.
Today, contractors are also looking into plant growth retardants or growth inhibitors for lawn and landscape use to minimize leaf growth. This is done to reduce maintenance costs on larger lawns.
Coming up with a chemical retardant that can make grass appear uniformed in size and thickness can be more useful instead of the machines that use laser beams to cut grass.
Green Energy
As we continue to move forward, industry players are also paying attention to low carbon emissions of gas-powered lawn mowers. Thanks to modern technology, we now have enhanced mowers with environment-friendly features.
Noise pollution is also one of the factors being lessened, if not totally eliminated, in more advanced mowers.
People are also patronizing battery-powered mowers for its practicality and ease of use. With this type of mower, it’s easier to move around the lawn and get around some hard-to-reach areas of your garden.
Wrapping Up
Lawn mowers are one of the greatest tools ever invented. The machine’s evolution alone has helped a number of people from all walks of life, from grass cutters and contractors, to homeowners and leisure lovers who enjoy sports and picnic spots.
The lawn mower industry is so rich and diverse. There’s just a lot of demand to cover – from difficult terrains and grass types, to personal and business use – no wonder, key players and engineers keep on redesigning in search of the best lawn mower to be made.
For aspiring inventors and engineers, knowing lawn mower history is essential to keep them inspired to do better versions of the machine. For regular homeowners and businesses, learning a bit of history could help them beef up their preferences when picking the most suitable mower that fits their needs.
Today, as people continue to look for ways to improve what we currently have, the possibilities are endless. As long as technology continues to advance, expect to see further development and variations of this simple machine that will remain to be part of lives.