Reel mower: what it does better than a rotary mower
Golf greens, football stadiums and English ornamental lawns are almost exclusively mown with reel mowers. The reason is the cutting principle: a reel mower cuts like scissors, a rotary mower tears the grass off. For a dense, even, deep green lawn this makes a visible difference. But a reel mower also asks more of you than a rotary mower. Here you can read about both.
In short
- A reel mower cuts the grass between the reel and the bedknife like scissors. The blades stay clean and do not fray.
- It cuts cleanly to well below 20 mm, which most rotary mowers cannot do.
- What decides the finish is the number of clips per metre. It must match the cutting height.
- A reel mower needs a level surface, regular mowing and a lawn free of twigs and sand.
Scissors instead of impact: the difference in the cut
On a rotary mower, a blade spins horizontally at high speed and strikes the grass off. Even with a sharp blade some of the fibres tear, and with a blunt blade the tips are literally shredded. A few days after mowing you can see this as a greyish-white haze over the lawn. Frayed blades lose more water and give fungi a larger point of attack.
On a reel mower, helically arranged blades rotate and guide the grass against a fixed bedknife. The grass is cut off cleanly as if with scissors. The cut surface is small, heals quickly, and the lawn stays evenly green.
| Rotary mower | Reel mower | |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting principle | Impact | Cutting like scissors |
| Finish | frayed blade tips | clean cut edges |
| Lowest sensible cutting height | usually 20 to 30 mm | down to 4 mm depending on the model |
| Long grass, leaves, twigs | no problem | unsuitable |
| Uneven ground | no problem | the cut becomes uneven |
| Mowing frequency | once or twice a week | often two or three times a week in season |
| Maintenance | sharpen the blade, service the engine | backlap the reel, grind it occasionally |
Why a low cut makes the lawn denser
Grasses respond to regular, low mowing by producing more side shoots: they tiller. The lawn becomes denser, and weeds and moss find fewer gaps. This only works if you mow regularly, though. The most important rule is the one-third rule: never remove more than a third of the blade length at once. If you mow at 20 mm, you have to mow again at 30 mm at the latest. In the main growing season in May and June, that means every two to three days.
Tip
If you come back from holiday to grass that is too long, bring it back down to your preferred height in several steps over one to two weeks. A drastic cut exposes the pale blade bases and the lawn turns brown.
Clips per metre: the number that decides the finish
Each blade of the reel makes one cut per revolution. How far the mower travels between two cuts is called the clip in greenkeeping. The rule of thumb: the clip should be about the same as the cutting height. If it is clearly larger, a wavy pattern forms across the direction of travel, known as marcelling.
| Mower | Clips per metre | Clip | Suitable cutting height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical DIY-store reel mower | approx. 38 | approx. 26 mm | from about 25 mm |
| Falkenstein Light, 7 blades | 67 | approx. 15 mm | possible from 15 mm, best results from 20 mm |
| Falkenstein Pro, 6 blades | 71 | approx. 14 mm | 15 to 25 mm |
| Falkenstein Pro, 8 blades | 95 | approx. 10.5 mm | 10 to 15 mm |
| Falkenstein Pro, 10 blades | 118 | approx. 8.5 mm | 5 to 10 mm |
| Falkenstein Pro, 12 blades | 143 | approx. 7 mm | 4 to 8 mm |
This shows why many simple manual reel mowers disappoint at low cutting heights: they have too few clips per metre, and the lawn does not come out even.
Falkenstein Light or Pro?
Both cut with the same technology and to the same quality: a handmade reel with relief grinding, a bedknife with tournament-cut geometry, a 40 cm cutting width and stepless height adjustment. The difference lies in the cutting height range.
| Falkenstein Light | Falkenstein Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting height | 15 to 35 mm, best results from 20 mm | 4 to 25 mm |
| Reel | 7 blades | 6, 8, 10 or 12 blades |
| Intended for | home lawns, ornamental and play lawns | very dense, closely mown lawns up to golf green level |
| Weight | approx. 30 kg | approx. 47 kg |
| Frame | weight-optimised steel | 5 mm steel, torsion-resistant |
If you usually keep your lawn at 20 mm or higher, the Falkenstein Light is the right choice. If you want to mow below 20 mm permanently, you need the Falkenstein Pro. All the differences in detail can be found in Falkenstein Pro and Light compared.
The limits: when a reel mower is not the right choice
Important
- Uneven ground: the reel follows the rollers. On bumps it cuts too low, in hollows too high. Unevenness can be levelled out with sand over the years, more on this in Top-dressing your lawn with sand.
- Long grass: the reel pushes over blades that are much longer than the cutting height instead of cutting them.
- Sand, leaves, twigs: after top-dressing with sand in spring and when leaves and twigs lie on the lawn in autumn, mow with a rotary mower for a few weeks. Otherwise sand and wood will damage the reel and bedknife.
- Little time: if you can only mow every ten days, a rotary mower will serve you better.
What else you gain
- Quiet: no engine noise, just the whirr of the reel. You can mow without disturbing the neighbours.
- No fuel, no exhaust: the Falkenstein runs on muscle power.
- Fine clippings: without a grass box, very short clippings are left behind and rot down quickly. When that makes sense is explained in Mulching the lawn.
- Long service life: the reel is not replaced but backlapped and reground when needed. Lawnpecker supplies all spare parts for its own machines.
Maintenance: backlapping and grinding
For the scissor cut to stay clean, the reel and bedknife must be precisely adjusted to each other and sharp. When backlapping, you run the reel backwards with grinding paste so that reel and bedknife sharpen each other. The crank and paste are included with the Falkenstein. Once the reel is more worn after a few years, it is reground, for example through our sharpening and maintenance service.
The paper test
Hold a strip of paper between the reel and the bedknife and turn the reel by hand. It must cut the paper cleanly across the whole width without folding or tearing it. If it does not cut at one point, adjust the bedknife or backlap.
Frequently asked questions about reel mowers
How often do I have to mow with a reel mower?
Often enough that you never remove more than a third of the blade length. At a cutting height of 20 mm, that is two to three times a week in the main season, less in late summer.
Which cutting height makes sense for a home lawn?
Most home lawns look best between 20 and 30 mm and cope well with it. Lower is possible with a dense lawn that is regularly top-dressed with sand and well cared for.
Can I mow a normal lawn with a reel mower?
Yes, if the surface is level and you mow regularly. You do not need a special ornamental lawn for it.
Why does my lawn turn yellow or brown after mowing?
Usually too much was cut off at once (one-third rule), or the reel is blunt and crushes the grass.
Do I still need a rotary mower?
Yes, for the weeks after top-dressing with sand, for leaves in autumn and for areas that have grown too long.
Our reel mowers
- Falkenstein Light: 7 blades, 15 to 35 mm, best results from 20 mm. For home lawns, ornamental and play lawns.
- Falkenstein Pro: 6, 8, 10 or 12 blades, 4 to 25 mm. For very dense, closely mown lawns.
- Sharpening and maintenance service: regrinding and adjustment when backlapping is no longer enough.
