I was amazed to recently find out that one of my neighbours is an avid collector of vintage push mowers.
Whilst walking my dogs around the neighbourhood I am always on the lookout for some interesting photos. Generally I look for weeds, pests and diseases, or for plants and trees that would make a good photograph for TurfPro. I also look out for any good landscaping features and the state of some lawns.
It is surprising how different people’s front lawns can be in terms of presentation and quality, especially at different times of the year.
These lawns can vary from exceptionally well kept and presented, to decidedly unkempt. For me being a turf professional I have, of course, always been drawn to a well-kept lawn.
A well stripped and presented lawn stands out, often providing the garden with a focal point to admire.
There is one local lawn that always catches my eye. A small, simple rectangle, it is always tidy and well-kept and I have in the past taken photos of it. The other day I managed to speak to the homeowner who had just finished mowing the lawn, commenting to him how good his lawns is.
We got chatting and I discovered why he was so driven to have a quality lawn.
It all started when Rob Bain, the homeowner, was looking to buy a new small, electric small to cut his lawn. After reading a few reviews, he noticed that one reviewer was not impressed with a particular new mower and wished he still had kept his old Ransomes Ajax 5 push mower.
Intrigued by that statement, Rob decided to investigate finding out more about these mowers and ended up buying one off eBay. Being a bit of a hands-on repair enthusiast, he soon got it up and running and uses it to maintain his lawn.
He mows the lawn as often as the weather allows. Mowing every day is not unusual, weather permitting.
He prefers to have his grass a little longer, maybe an inch in height but not all of his mowers are able to leave a cutting height of an inch or just above so he will set those mowers to their maximum height of cut.
Since the purchase of the Ajax 5 mower, Rob has caught the collecting bug and now has ten hand push mowers.
He says, there are a few more mowers that he would like to get, but the storage space he has is limited, so for now he will have to be content with his current collection.
He meets up with fellow collectors, being a member of The Old Lawnmower Club which has an annual meeting in Milton Keynes. There are other events also where the club has a presence to exhibit old lawnmowers.
His mowers have mainly been acquired from online sales sites, auction houses (including a great Qualcast Super Panther from an auction house in Blyth, Northumberland) and The Old Lawnmower Club has an auction at their annual meeting in Milton Keynes so that can be a good source of old mowers. Members also advertise mowers they are happy to sell in the club magazine Grassbox or on the club's website sales/wants area.
Prices for these old mowers can vary. He once picked up a Webb Witch for 99p. It all depends on how rare the machine is; how much you want the mower; does it have a grassbox?; does it need a lot of work to get it in a usable condition? Apart from one, all of his mowers they have cost between £20 and £70. The exception being the Qualcast Super Panther which was in excellent used condition, came in its original box along with the original paperwork and spanner and cost him £95.
Rob keeps the mowers well maintained and will call on specialist repairers for more complex issues.
I was particularly interested in the JP Maxees MK 111 mower, a 1971 model that is essentially a cassette mower, with the ability to change cutting sets - definitely the forerunner of the popular Dennis FT cassette mowers we use today. It was certainly an eye opener listening to Rob talk about the mowers he owns and what it means to him in terms of being able to keep his lawn looking so immaculate.
He does get a lot if of interest when local people see him mowing the lawn with any one of his eleven pre 1970s mowers.
