[tundraman]

Now my neighbor really rides green. Thanks for distinguishing pros from us amateurs.

 

[Freaky Fido]

There are exceptions of course, but generally speaking, the cut quality standards of a professional are higher than that of a property owner. I'm sure there's some overlap between meticulous homeowners and sloppy contractors.

With that said, I appreciate the OPs posts no matter who's grass he's cutting.

Personally I'll pull those blades sooner. I don't like running disintegrating air foils on my blades.

 

[JLH52]

There are exceptions of course, but generally speaking, the cut quality standards of a professional are higher than that of a property owner. I'm sure there's some overlap between meticulous homeowners and sloppy contractors.

With that said, I appreciate the OPs posts no matter who's grass he's cutting.

Personally I'll pull those blades sooner. I don't like running disintegrating air foils on my blades.

I cut all property on my farm that no one ever sees but me as if I were cutting grass on a prestigious golf course. Regardless of conditions or how long it takes I never leave clippings piled across grass.

 

[Freaky Fido]

I cut all property on my farm that no one ever sees but me as if I were cutting grass on a prestigious golf course. Regardless of conditions or how long it takes I never leave clippings piled across grass.

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Thanks for illustrating my point. There's a handful of leaves on the lawn in the second photo. I would never, ever have left those there!

 

[Derwood]

I am the one who started this rant. I learned in this particular thread that JL does not cut professionally. But there have been plenty of other threads where he was sharing what one should and should not do in terms of lawn care and purchasing lawn care equipment. He is sharing that on a professional lawn care site and leaving the impression that he understands what the professionals should do. Nobody said he was incapable of doing his own work. But he really should not be explaining what the (guy who cuts for a living - because “professional” hurts peoples feelings evidently) should be doing because he really doesn’t have the first clue - kinda like I wouldn’t tell him or puppy how to run a farm. He says he never tells anybody what to do but if you read his threads/posts he repeatedly refutes other people who disagree with his point.

my disagreements are strictly from that of a lawn care guy who cuts to provide.

 

[Mike_LS]

let's stick to the discussion and not make it a personal attack...also, if the OP is not in the industry then they can let me know and I will move this to the Homeowner forum

 

[Cross Creek Lawn Care]

I am the one who started this rant. I learned in this particular thread that JL does not cut professionally. But there have been plenty of other threads where he was sharing what one should and should not do in terms of lawn care and purchasing lawn care equipment. He is sharing that on a professional lawn care site and leaving the impression that he understands what the professionals should do. Nobody said he was incapable of doing his own work. But he really should not be explaining what the (guy who cuts for a living - because "professional" hurts peoples feelings evidently) should be doing because he really doesn't have the first clue - kinda like I wouldn't tell him or puppy how to run a farm. He says he never tells anybody what to do but if you read his threads/posts he repeatedly refutes other people who disagree with his point.

Who cares if he is telling people what to do, they don't have to listen? I've found @JLH52 to be an extremely pleasant member who has given me and other a lot of great advice. Who cares if he is not a professional. If it's taken you this long to realize that he isn't he's obviously knowledgeable. I trust what he says and his reviews of certain products are much better than any I've seen from anyone else on here.

 

[Derwood]

He’s wrong a lot

 

[Cross Creek Lawn Care]

He's wrong a lot

Nobody is right about everything.

 

[Derwood]

I’m right about this. He’s wrong. And so are you.

 

[Mike_LS]

let's get back on point, no need for the off topic rants and raves about who's right, who's wrong, I'm better than someone else, etc

 

[JLH52]

Thanks for illustrating my point. There's a handful of leaves on the lawn in the second photo. I would never, ever have left those there!

I didn't leave any leaves, the wind blew those off trees at a later time. These pics were taken a few days after cutting.

 

[rippinryno]

I'm very glad that you are able to use a blade that doesn't ever require sharpening, fantastic for you and less work overall!

That being said, no way do the edges of those blades, even if they are razor sharp, cut anything that I want to leave for my customers to see.

The edges aren't straight and the corners aren't corners. This has a huge impact on how the blade cuts the grass. A straight blade is going to do a much better job, but again, that's going to require more work from you. Since you like not having to sharpen your blades when you mow your property, you have found the best blade for you.

Honestly, with soybeans in the photo and plenty of good growth I would question how sandy that even is? I mean when i hear sandy i'm thinking florida and georgia and way south with legit sand and the grasses that grow in sand. And you're not even mowing sandy stuff daily.

Looks like you're cutting fescue.

 

[Crazy 4 grass]

The weaknesses pointed out by some of you, may in fact be his strengths. As was said, pros tend to find something that works and stick with it. It's too risky to risk ones livelihood trying out a bunch of new things.
The OP on the other hand is able to experiment with more things as a homeowner, as he is exposed to less risk.

Take for example his thread on the grass buster. He tried it, he liked it, he wrote a review on it on here. Then many pros on here, went out and bought it and liked it.

Same goes for this thread.

I appreciate experience and knowledge regardless of where it comes from.

 

[rippinryno]

Yeah i disagree with that claim.

I've tried out more stuff as a professional than I ever did as homeowner. I mean my mower parts collection has quadrupled since I started the business.

The grass buster thread is hilarious. It did start a buying frenzy, and really it's a good product, but the way the guy put it out there as just so far better than any other tool, has me laughing. I have a grass buster, i bought one as a result of that thread. It will get used, it's not overly expensive, so I'm happy with the purchase. I won't claim it to be the best scraper for my deck though, i still go for my extended handle 2"

 

[JLH52]

Yeah i disagree with that claim.

I've tried out more stuff as a professional than I ever did as homeowner. I mean my mower parts collection has quadrupled since I started the business.

The grass buster thread is hilarious. It did start a buying frenzy, and really it's a good product, but the way the guy put it out there as just so far better than any other tool, has me laughing. I have a grass buster, i bought one as a result of that thread. It will get used, it's not overly expensive, so I'm happy with the purchase. I won't claim it to be the best scraper for my deck though, i still go for my extended handle 2"

I seems to me that people are categorized as either a Homeowner or a Professional. A Homeowner being one who maintains their own personal property. A Professional (LCO) as one who maintains the property of others as a means of income.

Just because someone pulls a trailer with multiple pieces of lawn care equipment does not make them a Professional LCO, that has superior advanced intelligence about everything pertaining lawn care and lawn care equipment.

Also, just because one is categorized as a homeowner doesn't mean they are an untrained, unskilled, unprofessional, rookie amateur.

There's another category never mentioned (Farm Owner). Is it possible that a farm owner could know as much and sometimes more than many so called (Professional LCO's)?

The biggest fool is the one who thinks he knows it all. A wise man never knows all, only fools know everything.

 

[Derwood]

This has been very interesting, indeed. All I know is this: the second I didn't agree with everything J52 posted, he got bucky with me. I tried to explain why I disagreed and he kept telling me why I was wrong. When I finally learned (I guess I'm a slow learner) that he was not a LCO, a lot of things "clicked" and I understood why he wasn't seeing my pov. That was a point of contention too. Yes, things have since deteriorate. I supposed I'm guilty there, too. But they started on high ground and worked their way down based on the verbiage. Question him on anything and I'm the bad guy who thinks I know everything. Then he gets a couple of backhanded digs on LCO's and closes his statement with a condescending comment.

I just don't agree with everything based on my experiences. Why is that so hard? My opinion on what works for me, based on trial and sometimes error, is not wrong. And yes, there's plenty you do not know about running a company. That doesn't mean you need to hand over your man card, dude. Here's a difference (for example): You said you never cut when it's raining or wet. You said it takes 4 hours to cut half your lawn so you do it over 2 days. That could never happen in my world. I cut in the wet/rain ALL THE TIME because I have no choice if I want to succeed. I don't have the luxury of waiting until it's dry. You divide it into two 4 hour days. 4 hour day for me are almost the same as a day off. I'd cut your whole place in one day, and then go get more accounts done... again, just an example of how different our operations are.

 

[Freaky Fido]

Meanwhile we have middle school aged teens on the forums posting as professionals...

 

[tundraman]

I talked with Fischer Barton rep at the GIE today and he gave me info on the laser edge blades for my Gravely. I think they are a good choice for me. He said they wear evenly so will stay in balance.

 

[Cross Creek Lawn Care]

Meanwhile we have middle school aged teens on the forums posting as professionals...

Yep… I would trust @JLH52 opinion over mine any day :laugh: