American Lawn Mower Company SK-1 Reel Lawn Mower, Compound Sharpening Kit

I bought an old time hand push mower about 3 years ago. Though I have definitely found it to be inferior to a power mower in its ability to pass over many a tall blade of grass or weed, its superiority in its ease of use and dependability has sold me on them for life. I would never use a power mower again. (Not with my size lawn anyway). The rotary blades on the hand mower do not sharpen, nor do they cut the same way as the single blade design of a power mower. While power mowers can be easily sharpened at an angle with just a file if necessary, the rotary blades of the hand mower are sharpened flat across the face of the blade. Something very difficult to do by hand even if you had the mower completely disassembled. This very simple three piece system consists of a brush, a crank handle, and a small container of grinding compound. The instructions that come with the kit are pretty simple without a lot of detail, but describe it well enough for you to get the job done. Personally, I found the hardest part of the whole job at the very beginning. Removing the small "C" clamp that holds the wheel on. Though the instructions simply stated that one should pry off the C ring by merely "sticking a regular slotted screw driver into the opening" of it, for me there was nothing at all "merely" about it. No amount of prying, twisting, pushing or swearing allowed me to get a grip on the C clamp with just a screwdriver, or even two of them. All I ended up doing for 15 minutes was chase it around the axle. I finally got it off by concluding that I would sacrifice it by ruining it with needle nose pliers, and then putting on a new one. (As it turned out, I easily reshaped the original clamp and reinstalled it). After removing the clamp the wheel slips right off and you have to remove the gear wheel that assures the forward action of the blades when it motion. It is not attached in any way and just lifts off. But one word of warning here. Neither the directions or any other reviewer at the time of this writing mentions that the gear wheel directs its forward motion by the wheel slipping over a little "key" or steel sliver that slides into a slot on the gear shaft. The key is loose after removal of the gear wheel and can easily fall out and be lost while moving the mower around during the sharpening process. Make sure you either keep an eye on it in the shaft, or remove it to a safe place. The actual sharpening process is quite easy, just time consuming. You spread the compound onto the blades with the little brush supplied and then turn the mower back wards with the crank provided. You will get tired, but you can rest and restart. Give it a good ten minutes. The more you crank the better the sharpening job. Oh and the crank does not slip over the entire shaft, it is snug and has to be wiggled on. You may want to tap it with a light hammer or screwdriver so you don't have to keep stopping and pushing it back on during the spinning process. When you're done, the reassembly is very easy, (don't forget the little key if you removed it), and after cleaning up the excess compound, your mower will cut like its a brand new model. It really did make quite a difference for me and I highly recommend this simple kit that will perform the job easily. Push mower blades stay sharp a lot longer than power blades so a sharpening job every other season, or even every three should be enough. Under that schedule, this kit should last you through many years of your mowers use. Highly recommended....

Pardon the length of this review, but I wanted to give an honest review of this product that will be helpful when deciding to purchase. This sharpening kit will revive your old reel mower! I purchased a used Great Lakes Reel Mower and noticed the blades to be dull and rusted. I purchased this kit on Amazon last summer and followed the instructions as directed. After finishing the sharpening process, the reel and cutter blade where shiny gray and sharp and ready to start mowing. I noticed a definite difference in the ease of mowing once I was using sharp blades. I sharpened the mower again this spring (second time using the kit) and it is again sharp as can be. There is probably enough compound to last me ten seasons of annual sharpening, so well worth the money. All of this being said, it is manual labor to sharpen your reel mower with this kit. Don't expect it to be easy, as you will be the power behind the sharpening process. As you crank the reel around for 5 - 10 minutes, you'll want to often change arms as your arm will get tired. Nonetheless, in the end, you get a excellent result that cost only $15 for the kit and will last 10 sharpenings (so $1.50 per time) compared to spending $60+ for a professional sharpening each time! I'm in my young 30's (male) and had no trouble with the manual labor part of the sharpening, but I could see this being a problem for some people. If this is the case - find a son, neighbor, or anyone willing to spend 5-10 minutes to sharpen your mower - it's well worth it. In addition to sharpening the mower, the instruction manual provides detailed instructions on how to adjust the blades of your mower (which is arguably more important). A sharp blade won't cut well if it is not aligned properly. Therefore, this kit is the perfect package in teaching you how to sharpen the blade and then how to align it properly. If you follow all these instructions, you will have a reel mower that easily powers through your lawn with little effort. The people that complain that a reel mower is either too hard to push or doesn't cut well do not have a sharp blade and do not have the reel aligned properly. My wife can easily mow our yard with our 25 pound reel mower easier than a gas mower. Not only that, it is fun to mow! I hope this provides some help in deciding whether or not to buy this product. I have been very happy with it. I will continue to use it every spring to make sure my mower is in the best shape for the coming mowing season.

My earth wise mower needed sharpening. I tried buying everything to do this like valve lapping compound and a giant deep well socket and of course I forgot to get an adapter so I could chuck it to the drill. Even without the adapter and with a cheap socket set I'm in for 2 to 3 times the price of the kit. So I just ordered the kit and it seems to work relatively well. I guess the most annoying part is the cleanup and bed knife adjustment. Neither of those things are going to be better with the other system.

Great Kit – Brought My Son’s Mower Back to Life! This sharpening kit worked perfectly on my son’s reel mower! It was easy to use with clear instructions, and after applying the compound and using the hand crank, the mower cuts so much better—like new again. The kit has plenty of compound for future uses too. Highly recommend if you want to improve cutting performance without paying for professional sharpening.

I used this to sharpen a used Scotts reel mower I use to the grass at campsites depending where we are at. This product works great! Recommendation to save time: 1. Remove one wheel - pull off the gear and slide out the pawl and lay them on the table the way they came off. 2. Remove the other wheel and do the same as #1 3. Place the pawl and gear FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE and reinstall wheel. 4. Do the same for the other side as #3. This makes the reel turn in reverse when pushing which is what it needs to do when the compound is on to sharpen it. You the adjust the cutter bar a little tighter - apply compound - push up and down the driveway or around the garage. Re-apply compound and adjust bar again if needed. This save A LOT OF TIME and/or manual cranking forever with the supplied handle. Some use a drill adapter, but I like this better because the reel flies and and you can make the cutter bar a little tighter. Sharper and quicker in my opinion. Guess it depends on you patience. Plus I didn't want to risk screwing with something on the end of the shaft. There is enough compound included to sharpen the mower for years . . . you'll probably never need it again unless it dries out. Personally, I wish they offered it for the $4.00 it's worth without the handle and just include my instructions above . . .

Only problem I had was the handle is too small to go over the wheel stub to turn it. Figured out if you take the cap off and use the other end, it has a hole you can fit a small screw in. This will screw in the hole in the wheel stub where the tiny metal shim goes (Don't lose that shim!!!!) Worked nicely.

Our push mower was starting to require too many passes to cut our small lawn nicely. It also had developed a habit of not being able to cut some of the more stringy shoots of grass. We put up with it because we weren't quite sure what to do - no place nearby to take it to for sharpening. I learned of this kit via a video I saw online. As has become habit, I immediately went to amazon.com to see if they had it and how much it would cost me. The price seemed fair, so I figured, "what the heck?" I followed the instructions and took the wheel off, coated the blades with the lapping paste, and cranked for about 8 1/2 minutes. I cleaned up the blades, attached the wheel, and tested the mower. There was a slight improvement, but not enough, so I decided to take the extra step and adjust the blade position according to the instructions. By making this adjustment, the blades made slightly more contact with the cutting base. So, I removed the wheel again, applied lapping paste, and cranked for 8 1/2 minutes again. That adjustment and extra lapping session did the trick. The mower cut through the grass on the lawn easily - slicing through dandelions, stringy sprouts of grass, etc. Both my son and I agreed that there was a distinct improvement. I recommend this kit to anyone who owns a reel mower that seems to have lost its cutting ability. It is a low-cost potential solution that will likely get the job done. Very happy!

I had to give up using my Scotts classic reel mower last summer when I could no longer push it through my thick zoysia. I figured it needed sharpening but I didn't get around to it and just went back to using my old rotary. I considered just going to the auto parts store and buying the valve lapping compound that many have recommended, but not being terribly mechanically inclined and not having a manual for my reel mower which I bought used, I finally decided to just buy this kit from Amazon based on the many goood reviews. First, I tried cutting a piece of newspaper at different places along the reel. It would only cut it in the middle, so my mower was out of adjustment. I adjusted the screws according to the directions and it cut the paper cleanly all along the reel. I went ahead and sharpened the blades and following the directions everything went smoothly. It now has nice shiny cutting blades and operates smoother. The real test will be this summer. I am still not totally certain a manual reel mower can handle a vigorous Zenith zoysia lawn in the peak of the growing season but I am anxious to find out. Whether or not I am able to make it through the summer with my reel mower I feel like the sharpening kit did a good job and the instructions were clear. I would guess I could sharpen the blades 12-20 times with the amount of product included.