Earthwise 1816-18EW 18-Inch 5-Blade Push Reel Lawn Mower, Grey

I am a seventy two year old man with a 2000 sq. ft. yard(not yet a lawn) that I am transitioning to bermuda grass. Previous owner sometime in past had installed bermuda, but lawn had not been maintained and yard consisted of various weeds and a few sprigs of bermuda here and there last year when we moved in. My goal is to have a carpet-like lawn so I am creating the best environment I can for bermuda which includes, among other things, keeping it at about one inch and mowing at least twice a week. After much research I decided on the Earthwise seven blade mower due to reviews stating the seven blade mowers are best for bermuda and provided the smoothest cut. If I was intending to cut a larger area with taller grass of other varieties I would probably have opted for the Fiskars Stay Sharp, but I felt the Earthwise was a better choice for my needs and it cost about $115 as opposed to $200 for the Fiskars. I used it for the first time yesterday and am very pleased. Having not used a mower of this type in about sixty years I was a little apprehensive. Also, I had read several negative comments such as hard to push, flimsy handle that flexes, handles not wide enough, foam cushions on handles not being sturdy enough, hard to maneuver, doesn’t cut close enough to edges, blades and rollers locking up, noisy, and being hard to adjust mowing height. I found the mower to be as easy to push as a non-self propelled power mower. The handle is sturdy with no flex. The handle grips are plenty wide enough as the mower is easy to turn and maneuver. the foam grips seem as sturdy as any other foam grip I have used. I’ve never had a mower that didn’t require edging with a weed eater and this one is no different. I mowed my yard twice yesterday, first at the factory setting and next at a lower setting and had no lockups of any kind. The noise is not offensive and what I expected – sort of a combination of metallic clicking of blades touching the cutting bar and ‘whooshing’ of spinning blades. As far as adjusting cutting height, it is not as easy as some mowers which only require moving a lever as the bolts on either side of the rollers must be removed and re-tightened. However, no tools are required as the nuts that have to be loosened are large plastic wing nuts that I could easily manipulate even though I have some arthritis in my hands. This is not an issue for me anyway as I will likely leave it at the same setting most the time. Sorry about the long review, but I want to be specific as to what I am using it for and why it works for me. Also, I bought a sharpening kit with the mower, but after reading the manual it said with normal use and maintenance the blade will not need to be sharpened for several years. At my age needing to sharpen might not be an issue.

Easy to assemble ( only the handle) Pushes easily and blades are sharp to cut even tall grass.

I bought this mower because I wanted a reel mower for my weed free, flat, Bermuda front yard without spending $3k for a powered reel mower. Also the 7 blades were a selling point. This has proved to be a great purchase for what I use it for and I’ll list out some pros and cons below.Cons:-Adjusting the height is a pain. It’s not hard to do, but it’s cumbersome and irritating to do by yourself. So set it once and don’t ever touch it again.-The grass clippings shoot back to your feet, I knew this before buying, but other brands have a guard to shoot them forward in front of the machine. Something to keep in mind.-It’s got a small footprint, expect to make several more passes in your yard then you would have with a gas mower.Pros:-it just works. No gas to mess with, no oil changes or yearly carb cleanings. Sharpening is recommended, but If you keep a clean yard you won’t have to sharpen as often. I will admit sharpening a rotary blade was easier, reel blades are also easy but it can get messy.-Surprisingly easy to push, again though, I have a weed free, flat lawn and never mow more then .5 inches at a time, typically mowing 3 times a week during the peak growing seasoning.-My allergies love this thing. It doesn’t kick up dust or grass like my rotary mower does.-It mows under a trampoline with ease.This mower isn’t replacing my rotary mower, I still need rotary suction to clean up fall leaves, and even use the rotary for my larger back yard. The front yard though is solely done by this reel mower. It gives a significantly better cut then my rotary mower and is able to cut down to near golf course 2nd cut fairway levels.

I love this mower. This is what I used as a kid, but this newbie is so much easier. (I'm a 70 year old gal) I'm glad I got the 7 blade rather than the 5...it cuts beautifully. I don't have a smooth even yard and have as many weeds as grass, but it still does a great job. It will however NOT cut narrow leaf plantain. That's okay because when I'm finsihed they are all sticking up, easy to see and I go back with a knee pad and pop them out with my hori-hori. Then they'll be gone forever. This mower is well built and has a great video in You Tube. I swear it's as easy to push as my power mower. I pop it up on my workbench after each mow, wipe the blades with a shop cloth and spray them with W-D40 to keep it in tip top shape.

I mow my lawn twice per week with this mower. The reason is to make sure I'm only mowing the top 1/3 length of the grass as when it gets longer I don't feel it does as well. This is just a consequence of all push-mowers I've used not this one specifically. My first mow, the grass was long and I did mow twice initially to get my lawn to the level I wanted. I mow on Tuesdays and Saturdays and the lawn looks great. My neighbor commented on how good my lawn looked. The mower is easy to assemble, just attach the handle and get started. It is relatively light when compared to a gas or electric mower, but a little heavier than my 5-blade push mower. The manual recommends to put WD-40 or similar lubricant on the blades after use, I would emphasize that recommendation. In my experience, the wheels are tight initially and the mower makes a loud screeching sound for a few seconds when starting initially. This seems to be alleviated by spraying WD-40 on the blades after mowing. Cutting crab grass is a challenge as the length of that grass can be tall enough to not get caught in the turning blades, other than that, beautiful cut, easy to push, easy cleanup - works great on my bermuda and fescue. Only complaint: I wish the handles were wider.