Hi Kerly,
Congrats on buying what is a great piece of machinery once restored will perform well.
Unfortunately in my experience your problem is not with the mower but with your lawn. Sir Walter is just not a lawn that gains too much from a reel mower (in my opinion). You can use it but you will have issues. Raising the cut height will help with lawn health, but will also largely negate the benefits of using this type of mower in the first place. There is a reason these mowers only cut to a certain height and that is because they become less effective at higher cuts.
I have a yard of Aussie Blue (similar to Queensland Blue) surrounded by seas of Sir Walter in my street in Brisbane. When I cut my lawn I also do a section of sir Walter on my neighbors footpath. Frankly, there is little real difference between the section I cut with a reel mower and the sections he does with a rotary. At best you could say the leaf cut is sharper with the reel mower, but as the Sir Walter is fairly broad leafed and woody comparatively it does not make much of a visual difference.
If you had not stated that your lawn is new, I would have suggested you change your lawn rather than your mower, but that may not be a palatable option, although don't write it off without consideration. I have a few neighbors who are now actively planning to remove their Sir Walter.
Last edited by Paradox; 29/10/16 03:26 AM.
