Most of these kinds of mowers I encountered when I lived in England had
rollers on the rear and also had the "reel" type cutting blades - 4
blades arranged in a horizontally-oriented pseudo-helical formation and
a fixed straight cutting edge against which they would cut as they
rotated. When properly adjusted (damn near impossible to keep that way
except on an already nearly perfect lawn) they are indeed the ultimate
mowing machine (with credit to BMW for the slogan).

I love the look of a lawn cut with these kinds of mowers and they don't
have to be so heavy as to torture and compact the underlying soil,
especially with proper care and feeding.

Jon

In article EqAPc.80289$eM2.70132@attbi_s51,
says...
GFRfan wrote:

GFRfan wrote:

Jon Maurer wrote:

In article ,
says...

Jon Maurer wrote:

Can anybody point me in the direction of a store (pref in New
England) or web site where I could get an English-style lawn mower
- I.e. one with a heavy roller on the back instead of wheels? Push
or powered is OK



Rollers are no longer recommended, unless you're maintaining a
croquet court or some such. Too much soil compaction.



How about if I promise to core aerate TWICE a year ? :-)

Jon




So you're going to torture your lawn by crushing it every time you mow
and then you're going to torture it by tearing it up twice a year?


And correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the roller type mowers designed
for clover lawns?
Is a "roller" mower what I used to know as a "reel" mower? Reel mowers
used to give superb cuts when properly adjusted.