Best Push Reel Mower
Brill Razorcut 38 vs Scotts Classic Lawn Mower Comparison

When buying a push reel mower the biggest and most common mistake is to compare mowers without taking into account where they are to be used. Probably the best way to illustrate this point is to compare two top rated push lawn mowers and see how they differ. They are both excellent, but designed to tackle entirely different types of lawn. When factors such as terrain, type of grass and size of lawn are taken into account it becomes a lot easier to identify the best lawn mower.

Your Lawn - Taking Stock

If you are weighing up the pros and cons of buying one or the other of the two best push reel mowers: a Scotts Classic or a Brill Razorcut 38, it's essential that you first answer the following questions:

• How big is your lawn: small, medium or large i.e. half an acre or more.?
• What kind of grass: zoysia, Bermuda ... or a fine bladed blue grass, fescue or similar?
• Is your lawn smooth and level or undulating and hilly?
• Preferred cutting height - more or less than two inches?
• How often do you mow your lawn?
• Are there any twigs or sticks in the grass?

Once you have answered these questions and reviewed the lawn mower comparisons below, you should have a firm view on which push reel mower is best to meet your requirements.

Lawn Mower Comparison

Scotts Classic

Of all Scotts lawn mowers the Classic is the most popular. The Classic's 20" cutting real makes it the ideal push reel mower for maintaining lawns up to a third of an acre in size. However, if you enjoy the exercise, there is no reason why you shouldn't use it to mow a half acre or more.

The Classic's 20" reel is almost twenty five percent wider than that on the Brill. It's also wider than the cutting path of many self propelled lawn mowers. The obvious benefit to anyone with a large lawn is that they don't need to make as many passes to get the job done.

The Classic can handle both smooth and undulating terrains because of it's large front wheels and significant weight. At 35 lbs it's not a light weight mower, but it's also unlikely to lose contact with the ground even when riding over bumps and dips.

Depending on the type of grass the ideal cutting height is either between 1" and 2" or 2" and 3." The Classic has a wide range of cutting heights and can be adjusted to cut between 1" and 3," while the Brill has a maximum cutting height of 1.8."

Brill Razorcut 38

The Brill reel mower is compact and light. It's perfect for use on small level areas of fine grass. It's not suitable for use on crawling varieties of grass: Bermuda, zoysia ... The Brill's narrow cutting reel makes it highly maneuverable and perfect for navigating around obstacles such as raised garden beds and shrubs. On the other hand anyone with medium to large lawn will be unimpressed by how many times they need to pace up and down to get the job done.

The Brill's maximum cutting height of just 1.8" means that it's designed to maintain finely manicured lawns. It also means that owners should be prepared to mow their lawns frequently, maybe once or even twice a week.

Compared with other options push reel lawn mowers require hardly any maintenance. It comes down to cleaning, lubricating and sharpening blades. In the case of the Brill there is no need to even sharpen the blades as there is no contact between the reel and cutting bar. Brill lawn mowers can go without sharpening for many years.

At a Glance

Summary

After several decades of relegation the push lawn mower has been rediscovered by a generation that has had no previous experience in using them. Unfortunately one consequence is that they are often disappointed with the experience. They have been sold or selected the wrong product, because no one asked them about their lawn. Hopefully this article will help you to select the best lawn mower to meet your requirements.