OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Model Histories AUSTRALIAN Power Reel Models LAWNSHAVER - Electric Reel Mower - c1949

Hello ODK history lovers
This record discusses a 14” electric reel lawnmower
sold here from about 1949.

Branded as a ‘Lawnshaver’, this mower is little known, nor understood.

My best guess is that this was an Australian built machine
using an imported Hoover electric engine.

The motor directly powered the reel via a handle-mounted
on-off switch. Interestingly, the landroll had its own friction clutch
mounted behind the motor, controlled by a handle trigger lever.

The Lawnshaver was a very odd design. Notice the large space
between the motor and reel assembly! I can’t say that makes any
sense to me, and would have been a design recipe for scalping
over uneven lawn.



TO BE CONTINUED …

PART TWO – Advertising
There is scant evidence of the Lawnshaver’s existence.
Just a handful of small classified newsprint advertisements
from Sydney and Adelaide. All are dated 1949, and none are illustrated!



Do you have information?

TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART THREE – Auction Images
I have a set of images and description from a 2013 auction.
The description says that the Lawnshaver was made in Scotland
in about 1937.

I doubt that. No research has linked that time and place.

The Lawnshaver is an oddity and clearly a rare machine.
Any thoughts or information most welcome.