Brill RazorCut Premium 38 Cylinder Push Lawn Mower

After a good experience with purchasing this product through amazon (quick delivery etc) i thought i would compare this Brill RazorCut with other similar grass cutters. I am disappointed with the RazorCut as it is no more precise or better than the cheapie from B&Q- the Bosch/Qualcast Panther 380 at about £48.
As an experienced user of lawnmowers I am going to compare three cylinder type handpush mowers in this review: "Brill RazorCut" 380mm, the "Bosch" 380mm and a "Ransomes Certes" 16" cutting width (1950's!).
The RazorCut should be re-named as it doesnt cut like a razor at all. It leaves 'tramlines' on the grass off its wheels as does the Bosch mower but the Ransomes mower doesnt (as it has 1 large roller at the rear as its wheel). So for me these were unsightly lines on the lawn. i do have shrubs and trees around the perimeter of the garden and the slightest twig was jamming in the cylinder of the RazorCut as does the Bosch from B&Q. This is due to it only having 5 blades but more importantly their angle. The Ransomes Certes has ten blades at an all together different angle and it has never jammed due to garden debris on the lawn.
The Brill lawnmower suggests that it has been set-up in the factory and illustrates that it cuts paper. It wasnt a very good factory setting. No matter how precise and accurate adjustments you make to this mower, it WILL NOT cut paper when CONTACTLESS! This technology, to me, is a gimmick. When contactless there is no precise/clean cut. Reading from the manual it is to be contactless as if contact is made between the cylinder blades and the bottom blade then they will become blunt. When this lawnmower is blunt you cannot sharpen it unlike the B&Q bosch mower and you need to buy a new Brill Razorcut. Now, i like to keep my lawnmowers in tip top condition but you cannot maintain the sharpness of the Razorcut! The B&Q mower has very soft steel blades and they become blunt very quickly but by a backlapping method of sharpening (with oil and a lapping compound) they can be sharpened very quickly within minutes. (made in China- rubbish). You can get the Bosch handpush mower to cut paper after sharpening and this is what you need on this particular lawnmower in order for the grass to be a lush green rather than be torn and be yellow and brown coloured. So this was another big let down from the Razorcut. It is like having a pair of scissors and their cutting edges arent in contact with one-another.
The Razorcut and the Bosch mowers are lightweight unlike the Ransomes Certes that is around 20 kilos in weight.
Inside the Razorcut again is a letdown as its moving parts are manufactured from engineered plastic. I have bought three Bosch mowers in three years from B&Q and on each occasion it has been the engineered plastic that has worn and cannot be fixed. i am going to assume that this will be the case with the RazorCut. Inside the Ransomes Certes all of its moving parts are metal. Although the Certes mower is no longer manufactured i managed to buy one from nottingham off ebay for £87. May sound a lot for a used mower but it has a better cut than the RazorCut and bear in mind this mower was manufacured in the 1950's and has many years left in it still. I have had 3 mowers from B&Q in three years and the Certes is over 60 years old.
On a leaving note the Brill RazorCut is dissapointing and is an expensive alternative to a £48 comparison from a DIY store. It cannot be maintained/sharpened (so it says by its user manual). They are no quality lawnmowers from what i can find that are manufatured today so I shall leave it for you to decide whether to track down a quality vintage lawnmower or buy the 'disposable' mower that are filled in the shops today. The combined price for the RazorCut with its flimsey grass catcher was £142 (09/03/2012). not at all good value or a good product. Hope this helps in your search for a decent mower. Until a lawnmower manufacturer comes up with quality moving parts and steel that is of a good quality (hardened cutting edges) you are purchasing basically the same lawnmower with different price tags. any questions i may answer for you: nbelectrical@yahoo.co.uk

Sometimes in life change is not for the better and using this lawn mower is a point in case.
I am by no means a lawn mower expert but I have gone through a variety of electric mowers and some have performed better than others.
The speed, ease and cut finish with his mower is far superior to any electric mower ive used.
Chaging cutting length was as simple as, loosen two bolts flick lever tighten bolts job done.
It is an extremely light mower and easily manouverable.
A job that takes me approx 25-30 mins to do took only 10 mins.
If you have a small to medium sized garden I can without issue recommend this mower.
Well done Brill.

What a superb thing. Quiet, easy, light and apparently chops through anything. And nor should this be confined to smaller gardens. Ours is not huge, but far bigger than the suggested 250 sq. m. maximum and cutting it is far, far easier and quicker with the Razorcut than the lunking petrol things I have used in the past. They are now on the way to the dump.

And why is it labour-saving? Because my 8 year-old son is doing the lawn instead of me. And not because I'm some evil slave-driver, but because he just fought me off the thing to get at it. In fact as I write he's run out of grass and seems to be tackling the huge bed of nettles and cow parsley at the bottom of the garden all of which is rapidly disappearing. Happy as Larry....