OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Personal Histories ROY KNIGHT and the Scott Bonnar Company

PART SIX-B � Patent 60545 � Mower
BACKSTORY:
Rear catcher reel lawnmowers had been around for over a century when
Roy Knight patented a new take on the idea. All reel mowers (in manual
and powered variants) naturally throw grass to the rear. In reel-roller
machines the seeming insurmountable obstacle was the large diameter
rear roller. It is for this reason that, from the earliest days, a deflector
plate was used to direct clippings towards a front-mounted catcher.

Reel mowers � without rear rollers � had an advantage here.
The advent of the side-wheels (from the late 19th Century onwards)
enabled clippings to take their natural course and be thrown into a rear
catcher. We see this in the first recorded side-wheel, the UK�s Follows
and Bate Climax of c1869.

However, this did not prevent side-wheels from using front catchers.
In fact, post WWII Australian designs favoured use of deflector-plates
to deliver grass frontwards!

In the meantime, �
The rotary revolution of the 1950s changed everything!
Rotaries could cut grass forward or backward � and catchers could be
mounted front, side, or at the back. Within just a couple of decades,
the reels were pushed or propelled towards a niche market � but not
without a fight.

Roy Knight�s patent represents the fightback. If domestic reel mowers
could be simplified (and made cheaper) and look like rotaries then
they stood a chance to compete with rotaries in the modern world.

[Commercial reels were never in the same position. It goes un-disputed
that reel mowers produce a finer cut for aesthetic and sporting purposes.]

Roy Knight�s patent took the obstacles onboard. A deflector system could
be used to throw grass over the rear roller and into a rear catcher. The
mower�s balance could be improved, with the rear catcher making the
machine more compact for maneuverability.

� More maneuverable and more compact
� Improve balance � catcher rear mounted
� Rear roller acts as fulcrum



Yes, more work to be done over the next few years before the Diplomats
would be released in c1976. I present the patent (with amendments) as a
download below.