Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuzz
I'm not sure those plastic tines would hold up, or do nearly as good a job as the ones with the springs.
But yes, it does work, and yes, it can mangle your lawn if you set it to low. The thing is, I always run it early spring and even if I hit a high spot in the lawn and get a bit deep by the time things turn green it will all have fixed itself. I've never done any long lasting damage, and my yard is pretty rough. If you have a smooth surface it wouldn't be an issue at all.
Oh, a couple other things. The blade is smaller, so you have to do closer passes than normal mowing. It also won't direct the raked up grass into the bag so you still have to either given a manual rake after, or I usually put my normal blade on and "vacuum" up the lawn after, so you need to do 2 passes. You also want to get out early while it is dry. I don't think it works well on a green lawn.
I do think doing this yearly though has really improved the lawn.
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I'll second this. I've been using the one with springs for years now and am very happy with the results. It does take a little time and effort (smaller blade, and you have to go over your lawn again with a regular blade to pick up the dethatched grass) but it's well worth it. And if your kids are old enough all you have to do is supervise while they do all the work.