Fiskars 6201 Review

(Rated: 4.7 / 5) Review by Frank Lowery
Noise
Ease of Assembly
Maneuverability
Balance And Handling
Cut Quality
Check Price
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One of the advantages of owning a smaller lot that does not have a very big lawn to take care of is the fact that you can save a considerable amount of money on cutting the grass. One of the best ways to do this is by purchasing a manual reel mower. These mowers, which still work using the basic design of the original cylinder mowers, deliver clean cuts to the lawn without using gas or electricity. Once you buy one, you will not need to spend another dime on cutting the grass ever again!

Reel mowers also have the advantage that they run virtually silently, which means you can enjoy cutting your lawn at any time of day without having to worry about whether you are disturbing your neighbors. They also require very little maintenance other than periodically sharpening their cutting blades, and they are compact enough that they are very easy to store in your garage or tool shed. While a reel mower is not always ideal for every kind of lawn, as some of them struggle with thicker grasses or uneven terrain, if you have a small, flat lawn with Zoysia or Kentucky bluegrass, a manual reel mower like the Fiskars 6201 could be perfect for your needs.

Review Summary

The Fiskars 6201 Stay Sharp Max push reel mower has an eighteen inch wide cutting deck, which makes it one of the bigger reel mowers out there today. It is designed to be 60% easier to push than other mowers because of its innovative Inertia Drive, and the reel delivers twice as much power as other reel mowers so that it can get through tough spots without getting jammed. There are a number of other great specifications, such as its ergonomic handle, contact free cutting system that is designed to keep blades sharper longer, mess free grass discharge and optional collection bag.

There are also a few drawbacks associated with the Fiskars 6201, however. At 52 pounds, the mower is a lot heavier than reel mowers that are similarly sized, which can make it difficult to push for some users. It has trouble with thicker stalks, and it does not cut taller grass very well. It is difficult to maneuver the mower in anything but a mostly straight line, and it does not handle well on uneven terrain. I will discuss both the pros and cons of the Fiskars 6201 in more detail below. I’ll also provide a handy comparison table that details how this mower stacks up against similar models. Overall, this is a solid push reel mower at a fairly competitive price.

Specifications

The Fiskars 6201 push reel mower has a Stay Sharp design that makes the cutting system contact free, which keeps the blades sharper longer and helps to consistently deliver a great looking cut to your lawn. It has an 18 inch wide cutting deck, which makes it one of the wider reel mowers available today. The handle is designed ergonomically so that you are always comfortable when using it. It is compact enough that it is easy to store in your garage or tool shed.

The cutting cylinder has five cutting blades that deliver twice as much cutting power so that it can blast through tougher patches of grass without slowing down or losing performance. The cutting height can be adjusted from one inch up to four inches. The mower discharges clippings out the front of the machine so that you are not subjected to a spray of grass while you are using it, and there is an optional grass catcher attachment. The mower weighs 52 pounds. It comes with a 3 year consumer warranty.

Description

The Fiskars 6201 Stay Sharp Max is a walk behind push reel mower with an eighteen inch wide cutting deck. It is one of the wider reel mowers available on the market today, and it is comparably sized to most gas or electric lawn mowers. It has five cutting blades that has an exclusive Stay Sharp Cutting System designed to cut grass without the blades touching so that you can continually get high performance without having to sharpen blades as often. This technology virtually eliminates the one remaining cost associated with owning a manual reel mower. And because you will not have to spend a penny on gas or electric to power this mower, that makes operating and maintaining it essentially free.

The mower has a unique inset wheel design that helps you get closer to edges and obstacles without touching them. That means that you will not have to do as much edging and trimming of your lawn after you are done cutting the grass. There is also a grass discharge chute that throws grass clippings forward cleanly, away from your feet, so you do not have to worry about keeping your shoes clean while you are mowing the lawn. And you have the option to purchase a grass catcher that will collect clippings for later disposal or composting.

The Fiskars 6201 has several height adjustment settings between one and four inches. The cutting height is easily adjusted with a single side lever next to the cutting deck. You will not only be able to adjust the height of the blades so that you can be sure you are giving your lawn the best possible cut to keep it healthy and looking great. You can also easily adjust the blade height in the middle of a job if you find the grass is too tall for the mower to handle.

The mower weighs 52 pounds, which makes it a bit heavy compared to comparably sized manual reel mowers. Some users may find that this makes the mower rather difficult to maneuver in spite of the innovative Inertia Drive system that is designed to make it 60% easier to push than other reel mowers. The mower is also difficult to maneuver in a curved line or on uneven terrain. And it will not handle thick stalks of grass or taller grass very easily.

All in all, this is a solid walk behind reel mower at a relatively competitive price. It falls more or less on the mid range of prices for comparably sized manual reel mowers.

Pros

The Fiskars 6201 Stay Sharp Max has a number of great features that other manual reel mowers just do not offer. It is designed to provide an efficient, clean cut so that it will require as little maintenance as possible and allow you to finish cutting your grass more quickly so that you can get back to enjoying your weekend with your family. In addition to its super wide cutting deck, the Fiskars 6201 is designed to be much easier to push than other reel mowers. The blades stay sharp longer and have twice the cutting power of comparable machines. And the grass discharge is mess free.

1. Super wide 18 inch cutting deck for quicker cuts : Eighteen inches is rather wide for a manual reel mower, and it’s actually comparable to the kinds of cutting decks available on many gas or electric lawn mowers. A wider cutting deck translates to cutting your lawn in fewer passes and less time. In addition, the wheels are inset on the cutting deck, which means you will be able to get closer side edging around obstacles, so you will not have to spend as much time trimming and edging your lawn after you are finished mowing it.
2. The mower is 60% easier to push : The Fiskars 6201 has an original Inertia Drive that is designed to make pushing the mower a lot easier. The Inertia Drive reduces the effort required to maneuver this mower around the lawn by as much as 40%. That means using this reel mower on even tough jobs will be a lot more convenient. And along with the ergonomic design of the handle, the Inertia Drive ensures that you will be less sore or tired after you are finished cutting your lawn with this mower.
3. It has a mess free grass discharge : Unlike a lot of other walk behind manual reel mowers, which discharge grass clippings out the back, the Fiskars 6201 directs grass clippings out the front with a convenient discharge chute. This keeps your shoes and pants clean while you are cutting the lawn. There is also an optional grass catcher that you can attach to the mower, which will allow you to collect grass clippings for later disposal or composting.
4. The cutting blades stay sharp longer : Because the Fiskars 6201 has a unique Stay Sharp cutting system that allows the blades to cut the grass without touching one another, you can count on long lasting performance that delivers clean cuts to the lawn without needing to be sharpened as often. Since sharpening the cutting blades is basically the only maintenance cost associated with owning a manual reel mower, this is a lawn mower that is essentially free to operate.
5. The cutting deck has twice as much cutting power : The Fiskars 6201 has an innovative large diameter Inertia Drive reel and thick blades made of durable steel that together deliver twice the cutting power of similarly sized manual reel mowers. That allows this mower to slice through dense patches of grass without getting jammed or slowing down. You will be able to finish the job faster and without having to go back over areas that you have already cut more than once.

Each one of these pros, on its own, is an excellent feature to have on a manual reel mower. Together, they make the Fiskars 6201 one of the better ones on the market today. Not only is the mower’s cutting deck much wider than many other reel mowers, and comparable to what is offered on power mowers, the mower is also much easier to operate. It is 60% easier to push, and the cutting deck has more power than other models. It also requires less maintenance like sharpening the cutting blades, and it has a convenient mess free grass discharge.

Cons

The Fiskars 6201 is not exactly perfect, however. There are a number of aspects about this mower that make it less than ideal for certain lawns and difficult for some users to operate. It weighs 52 pounds, which makes it one of the heavier manual reel mowers out there today. And it has difficulty cutting thicker stalks of grass on the first pass, and will not cut very tall grass well. It can also be difficult to maneuver in tight corners, as it does not turn easily. And the mower does not work well on lawns that are on uneven or rough terrain.

1. The mower weighs 52 pounds : As manual reel mowers go, that is rather heavy; as you will see in the “Product Comparison” section, other reel mowers with comparably sized cutting decks do not even come close in terms of weight. While the Fiskars 6201 has an Inertia Drive system designed to make it easier to push, some users may find that a 52 pound manual mower is still a bit too heavy to operate. If you have a slight build or if you are a senior citizen, you may want to look for a lighter mower.
2. It may not cut thicker stalks well on the first pass : Even though it has durable blades and a large Inertia Drive wheel, it does not cut cleanly through thicker stalks of grass. If your yard has tougher varieties of grass like St. Augustine or Bermuda grass, you may find that you have to make more than one pass to get a clean cut, as the mower has a tendency to simply push thicker stalks down to the ground rather than cut cleanly through them.
3. It may not cut tall grass well : The mower tends to run over this grass without cutting it cleanly. And the wheels are so heavy that they will crush taller grass to the ground, where it will remain uncut, so that a day or two later your lawn may look somewhat ragged. To avoid this, you have to be sure you are cutting your grass before it is six inches tall or higher, which is not always possible. Otherwise you may have to make several passes with the cutting deck set to different heights.
4. It might be difficult to maneuver in a curved line : This is not altogether uncommon for manual reel mowers, which necessarily do not have the kind of differential drive that allows for easy turning. The problem is made a bit worse on the Fiskars 6201 because it is so heavy. If you have tight corners, you may find this mower lacks the kind of maneuverability to negotiate them easily. But if you have a fairly rectangular lawn without too many obstacles, this shouldn’t be much of a problem.
5. The mower might not work well on uneven terrain : In fact, when the Fiskars 6201 is moving over uneven ground, it tends to shake – a lot. That means that it will not only be more difficult to operate on uneven ground, it will also wind up delivering a messy, uneven cut to the lawn. If your lawn is relatively flat, with short, fine grass, this is a great manual reel mower. But if you have a yard with uneven ground, you may want to look at other mowers instead.

Generally speaking, I do not think that any of these cons are serious enough to give the Fiskars 6201 a bad overall rating. But I also think that if your lawn sounds like any of the ones described above, you may want to look for another reel mower. This one will not handle tougher varieties of grass well, and it can’t cut tall grass easily. It also can be a bit difficult to maneuver, and it is heavy. Finally, if you have uneven terrain in your yard, this is probably not the right reel mower for you.

Product Comparison

As I mentioned earlier, I like to provide my readers with convenient product comparison tables so that they can see how any one lawn mower stacks up against similar models made by its competitors. This allows you to not only get a clear picture of what one model or another offers, but also a better overall understanding of the whole market for a given product. This table compares the Fiskars 6201 to the American Lawn Mower 1204-14 and the Scotts 2000-20.

	Fiskars 6201	American Lawn Mower 1204-14	Scotts 2000-20
Cutting Width	18-inch	14-inch	20-inch
Mower Type	Manual Push	Manual Push	Manual Push
Handle	Ergonomic Handle	T-handle	Cushion Grip
Cutting System	Contact-free	Standard (contact)	Standard (contact)
Blades	5 blades	3-spider 1-blade	5 blades
Cutting Height	1- to 4-inch	1/2- to 1-1/2-inch	1- to 3-inch
Weight	52 pounds	19 pounds	34 pounds
Grass Catcher	Optional	Optional	Optional
Warranty	3 years	90 days	1 year

As you can see, the Fiskars 6201 is the only one of the three mowers with a contact free cutting system, which means its blades will last longer without needing sharpening. The Scotts mower has the widest cutting deck, at 20 inches, while the Fiskars is 18 inches and the American Lawn Mower is 14 inches wide. Both the Fiskars and the Scotts have 5 cutting blades. The Fiskars is the heaviest; the other two mowers weigh 19 and 34 pounds, respectively. The Fiskars has the longest warranty, at three years.

Conclusion

When you take all of the pros and cons of the Fiskars 6201 into consideration, and take a look at how it compares to the American Lawn Mower and Scotts models, what you can see is that overall this is a pretty solid mower. It has a wide cutting deck that is designed to keep the blades running well without needing regular sharpening. But it also has some drawbacks, especially considering what kind of lawn it is best used on. Let’s review both the pros and cons again before we finish the review.

Conclusion Pros

1. Super wide 18 inch cutting deck for quicker cuts.
2. The mower is 60% easier to push.
3. It has a mess free grass discharge.
4. The cutting blades stay sharp longer.
5. The cutting deck has twice as much cutting power.

The size of the mower’s cutting deck is a great advantage. At eighteen inches, it’s one of the wider cutting decks available on manual push mowers these days, and it’s even comparable with the size of many power mowers. The mower is also designed to be easier to push once you get it going. It has a convenient grass discharge that keeps your shoes clean. The cutting deck is designed to need less maintenance while staying sharp, and the Inertia Drive reel, along with the mower’s durable blades, deliver twice as much cutting power as other manual reel mowers can.

Conclusion Cons

1. The mower weighs 52 pounds.
2. It may not cut thicker stalks well on the first pass.
3. It may not cut tall grass well.
4. It might be difficult to maneuver in a curved line.
5. The mower might not work well on uneven terrain.

There are no two ways around the fact that this is a rather heavy manual reel mower. It’s a lot heavier than comparably sized mowers, and while the Inertia Drive makes it 60% easier to push once you get it going, many users will find it difficult to maneuver before the drive kicks in. The mower does not handle thicker varieties or tall grass very well, and tends to simply push them over rather than cutting through them. It is not easy to maneuver in a curved line, which can be difficult in tighter corners. And the mower does not cut evenly on rough terrain.

Final Word

A manual reel mower is a great investment if you have a smaller yard and do not want to have to deal with the noise and fumes associated with owning a gas powered mower or the hassle of charging batteries or using bulky power cords that electric mowers require. Reel mowers run silently and are manually powered, so you can use them virtually for free and at any time of day. The only cost associated with reel mower maintenance is sharpening the blades – and the Fiskars 6201 has an innovated Stay Sharp design that virtually eliminates the need for that as well.

There are plenty of other great features offered by the Fiskars 6201. It has a super wide 18 inch cutting deck that allows you to finish the job more quickly. It is much easier to push once you have gotten it started. It has convenient grass discharge that shoots clippings out the front of the mower. And the cutting deck has durable blades and twice as much cutting power as other models.

Best Price

The Fiskars 6201 is competitively priced for a manual reel mower of its size. It is not as inexpensive as many smaller reel mowers with more basic designs, but it also offers a number of extra features. Its Inertia Drive system makes it much easier to push once you have got it going, and it offers a lot more cutting power than cheaper reel mowers can. Its blades also need to be sharpened far less often than other reel mowers, which makes it virtually free to own once you have purchased it. If you have the kind of lawn that this mower is able to handle, spending the extra money on it is not a bad investment at all.