Knives vs Hammers on a Flail Mower

[bdhsfz6]

Yeah, this topic has been done to death here, but I have a question for those who have used both:

I went to the dealer this week to get replacement knives for my flail. The guy behind the counter said I should switch to hammers because they last longer and cut just as well. Has anyone found this to be true?

I've used both, and never got as good a cut with hammers as I did with knives. Even brand new, the hammers seem to beat the vegetation into submission rather than cut it cleanly.

The only advantage I've found with hammers is they are more durable and better for rough rocky ground. They are also quicker and easier to sharpen.

Maybe it's just my mower but what has been your experience?

 

[Lucky_Ducky]

Tag for more info. I have hammers currently for clearing 10+ years of neglect but am wondering if knives will be worth it once it is initially cleared

 

[John0829]

My opinion of hammers vs knives mirrors yours.

 

[scootr]

Knives cut grass cleaner than hammers. Hammers excel in brush and branches. Hammers do get damaged by rocks which greatly reduces their cutting ability.

 

[Tinhack]

My old flail mower will cut weeds and grass as good as a finish mower. It uses the folded cup fails. But it will choke on really tall weeds and twigs thicker than 1". My new flail mower will cut stems and branches up to 2+" as good as my brush hog. It uses the "duck-feet" hammers. I got the new flail to do banks, ditches and under Mesquite trees where I can't get the brush hog. It extends to the side as well as tilts. It will go vertical too. I plan to use it a lot on my east and west fence lines and front ditches and banks. It's a poor-man's shredder.

I just can't see how anyone can have just one mower. I need them all and I still have a ZTR to fill in the gaps and do the "lawn".

 

[scootr]

Agree more than one mower. I have 3
Hammer flail
SS Brush Hog
3pt Brush Hog converted to chain blades

 

[Fixastuff]

Agree more than one mower. I have 3
Hammer flail
SS Brush Hog
3pt Brush Hog converted to chain blades

How ya liking the chain mower?

 

[BackRoad]

My old flail mower will cut weeds and grass as good as a finish mower. It uses the folded cup fails. But it will choke on really tall weeds and twigs thicker than 1". My new flail mower will cut stems and branches up to 2+" as good as my brush hog. It uses the "duck-feet" hammers. I got the new flail to do banks, ditches and under Mesquite trees where I can't get the brush hog. It extends to the side as well as tilts. It will go vertical too. I plan to use it a lot on my east and west fence lines and front ditches and banks. It's a poor-man's shredder.

I just can't see how anyone can have just one mower. I need them all and I still have a ZTR to fill in the gaps and do the "lawn".

Mr. Tin hack, can I kindly ask what kind of flail you own?

Also, what's it cut width?

 

[Torvy]

I like the hammers. I am rural, not suburban. I don't have lawn.

Knives should be better if you want a more lawn-like finish.

My hammers are big and heavy. I can run over branches up to 3" like a forestry mulcher. But it still cuts grasses well, too.

 

[scootr]

How ya liking the chain mower?

I like the chain mower where I'm rough mowing an overgrown field or where I'm mowing an unknown field where I don't want to find rocks and debris with blades. I did a little thread on it. It started with an old free mower and an inspiration from reading TBN posts from abroad.

Brush Hog mods

In the skid steer mowing thread the topic of rotary chain mowers came up. I got to looking around and found a couple of videos from guys who had cut their blades back and added chains. Found an old model 12 BH 5 ft and went at this mod. Nothing pictured here is pretty. We just wanted to...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[Tinhack]

Mr. Tin hack, can I kindly ask what kind of flail you own?

Also, what's it cut width?

I'm not sure what you mean by kind. I have two. One uses folded knives the other uses duck foot hammers. The folded knife mower is an old Caldwell Barracuda at 65" cut. The new one is a Nova Tractor BCRM155 61" cut and uses the duck foot hammers.

Folded Knife:

Duck Foot Hammer:

 

[gmgm]

Mine are hammers, and seem to do everything well enough, from lawn to small shrubs along tracks. Unless I was mowing the grass for Wimbledon I'd just use hammers and move on.

 

[avachava]

I like the hammers. I am rural, not suburban. I don't have lawn.

Knives should be better if you want a more lawn-like finish.

My hammers are big and heavy. I can run over branches up to 3" like a forestry mulcher. But it still cuts grasses well, too.

Totally agree. Plus we used to have to collect deadfall from our pecan trees and haul to a burn pile. Now we just toss them all over the fence in a pile and grind them into mulch with the flail hammers!

Does a much better job on roadside or pasture weeds than a rotary, although not exactly like a finish mower.

One factor to consider: If you have a flail that offsets, it cuts better because you’re not running over the grass first with the tractor tires. That could explain why some people don’t get as good results with hammers.

Also, the up-tilt ability of my flail allows untangling wire and twine from the occasional counter on a friends pasture.

 

[BackRoad]

Thanks for the detail Mr. Tin hack! The BCRM mower on their website looks very interesting.

 

[Lucky_Ducky]

Thanks for the detail Mr. Tin hack! The BCRM mower on their website looks very interesting.

I bought a BCRM 175 earlier in the summer. I have abused that mower and it has taken it like a champ.

Highly recommend!

 

[bdhsfz6]

I have the Maschio Giraffa offset ditch & bank flail:

https://www.maschiogaspardo.com/en/web/international/giraffa-l

Like the BCRM, the cutter head articulates, making it easy to clear debris and sharpen the hammers.

 

[AaronD81]

I had knives like on the right in the picture below and they cut OK, but there was always a stripe where the tractor tire pushed down the grass that the flail didn't cut. Switched to the style on the left and cut is much better. I think the new blades create suction or airflow like a finish mower blade that lifts the grass from under the tire. My pastures are clean so I'm not concerned about rocks and stumps though.