Any advice on hand-push lawnmowers?

Hi, 

I need to buy a new lawn-mower and as I only have a small lawn thought about an old-fashioned hand-push one as I have always enjoyed using my dad's. Does anyone have any advice on which brand to go for?

Thanks.

Hi Cetti.

Like yourself I yearned for the clicking and romance of a hand-push lawnmower and bought a Bosch push along from B&Q for my smallish lawn in West Yorkshire. I think that it was about £50 pounds but has been a great investment. Its very light and I can cut the grass in half the time. My Flymo used to blow grass into the borders and all over the patio even though it was meant to collect it all. It also saves time getting  the power lead, extension cable, circuit breaker out from under the detritus in the garage. I actually look forward to cutting the grass these days and can easily manage 2 or 3 cuts a week as a result!  I'm converted!! For second hand ones look on e-bay, your local Freecycle group, car boot sales etc, but like I say I'm really happy with the one from B&Q. Hope it helps.

Thanks Beltane.

I'm also looking forward to a flymo-free existence. No more pesky noise, cables or dratted grass all over the place...

Cetti

Hi Cetti,

You may have got one by now, but since Qualcast seem to have stopped making their old rear roller style hand push mower, I too had the search for the a decent one. I managed to find one called 'Handy'. I actually got mine from The Garden Centre Group, for just under £60, but you can get them for an extra tenner, through Amazon (link) http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Handy-Hand-Roller-Mower/dp/B002AOYLNG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1335636793&sr=8-2

But have a scout around, as even my local garden machinery suppliers, said they could order a single one in for me!

I got a Qualcast Panther 380 for £14.50 on ebay for use on the allotment, and though I've only used it a couple of times as yet I am impressed. 

I love my Qualcast Panther.  Don't they make them anymore?  It is so much lighter and easier to use that a flymo.  You don't have to worry about where the cable is and you can still hear the birds whilst mowing the lawn.

Cetti wrote (see)

..I thought about an old-fashioned hand-push one as I have always enjoyed using my dad's...

Today's push mowers are not actually like the 'old-fashioned' mowers. Today's push mowers are light-weight and are much easier to push.

I would not consider using anything but a push mower. They are easier to use than petrol or electric mowers. There is no fuss, no mess, and no running cost.

The Qualcast Panthers are still in production. The 30 and 38 model numbers refer to the blade width in cms. The 38cm one is better for people who have a medium to large size lawn.

The very same mower is marketed under a number of other brand names too. The Bosch Panther (mentioned in message 2) is exactly the same mower. The Qualcast and Bosch Panthers are made at the same factory in China.

Also worth mentioning is the Webb 12" push mower. This is a new model, introduced in March this year. It's a bit more expensive than the Panthers. The Webb has a rear roller (message 4) to give stripes, and it has a more substantial grass box.

There is also a high-tech push mower made by Brill. The Brill RazorCut is made in Germany and is 'Vorsprung Durch Technik' (Progress Through Technology). This is the future of grass-cutting. The Brill is not available at garden centres but is available through Amazon. The Brill is considerably more expensive than the others, but worth it, for those who like to stay a few steps ahead of Jeremy Clarkson.

But if you just want the grass cut, then you can't do better than a Qualcast (or Bosch) Panther.

That's good news then.  I think a lot of people would find it far easier to use a Panther than to mess about with an electric mower.

I have had an old qualcast panther for about 7 years now. It has no grass box so I have to rake the grass up afterwards, but I love cutting my little lawn and have always found it very peratheutic. It just needs plenty of WD40 at the beginning of the season and occasional sharpen of the blades with my little Dremel sharpening tool, and bobs your uncle!! No stress every season of having to get the engine started after being stowed away all winter and no servicing bills. 

I have a Handy Lawn Mower and wouldn't have anything else - works really well and is also quite light and compact for me (only 5ft tall - that's me by the way, not the mower!) and only cost £45 from Greenfingers.com.

We have a little push mower at our allotment. I love it. With all the bad weather we've had the grass had got very long so OH & I took turns in chopping it down with long handled sheers & then mowing. The path is now nice & short. It's about 112' x 6'  so I should think that's the size of a small lawn. We got it from Argos about £30. I'd love it for home too.

flora_etc wrote (see)

Hi Cetti,

You may have got one by now, but since Qualcast seem to have stopped making their old rear roller style hand push mower, I too had the search for the a decent one. I managed to find one called 'Handy'. I actually got mine from The Garden Centre Group, for just under £60, but you can get them for an extra tenner, through Amazon (link) http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Handy-Hand-Roller-Mower/dp/B002AOYLNG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1335636793&sr=8-2

But have a scout around, as even my local garden machinery suppliers, said they could order a single one in for me!

Thanks for the link, it looks good.

http://www.blueboxbatteries.co.uk/search.asp?types=Consumer+Batteries+%3E+Lawnmower

I have old push lawn mower and it cuts the best,its costs nothing to run and just a bit of oil in spring .It gives that plesent sound to mowing not that high whine of electric.Green as anything for the enviroment cause it out live you.