After a very dry summer, we've finally had some rain.......................which teamed with the warm early Autumn weather, well the grass is growing again.

The Victa 18 won't be used for cutting my customers lawns, mainly because of a lack of safety and the 1950's reliability. Nor did I want to end up with a restored museum piece that collects dust in the garage because I'd be afraid of scratching the paint. Never say never, I may end up buying another to restore and have the best of both worlds. But for now, the little Victa gets fired up occasionally to mow the front lawns.

As per the above-mentioned rain, the Kikuyu is having a field day at the moment. This Victa cuts through it effortlessly and actually finishes down remarkably well.

[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]

I do wonder if the thinness of the blades helps cut the grass cleaner and finer. The blades shown below are all 18-inch blades, the one of the left is for the Victa 18, the middle one is for a standard 18-inch cut & catch model, and the one on the right is for a MasterCut utility.

It was hard getting an image that clearly shows what I'm talking about here. A rough measurement has the Victa 18 blade at just above 1mm, the other two are just under 3mm. Might not sound a lot, but it's very noticeable in your hands.

[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]

[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]

Now, having said that, Victa offered three different blades for these mowers, Fine (22 gauge / 0.759mm), Medium (20 gauge / 0.911mm) and Extra Heavy (18 gauge / 1.214mm). Going off that, I have the Extra Heavy set fitted. Frankly, even these thicker blades are pretty dicey, no wonder they would slice people up.

When I bought this mower, it came with a collection of period owner's manual and supplements. The following is from the small paper slip that held a set of complimentary "MEDIUM" blades, all in 1950's speak........................

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Dear Victa Owner,

Your Victa Mower is at present fitted with Victa "FINE" blades (22 gauge). Continuous research has proved that these "FINE" blades give fine lawns that velvet finish.

For your particular purpose, you may find greater satisfaction and obtain longer blade life by using the Victa "MEDIUM" blades (20 gauge) as enclosed and which we ask you to accept with our compliments.

"EXTRA HEAVY" blades (18 gauge) are also available from all Victa Agents for use on your Victa when clearing very heavy undergrowth.

Genuine Victa Blades, which are made from specially rolled crinoline spring steel, sell at the one standard price, irrespective of thickness.


Ask your Victa agent for the blades you prefer:

"FINE" - "MEDIUM" - "EXTRA HEAVY"

BUY ONLY GENUINE VICTA SPARES


VICTA MOWERS PTY. LTD.
a division of

VICTA CONSOLIDATED INDUSTRIES PTY. LTD. MILPERRA, NSW.


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