Update for future searches about manual reel mowers:

My question was whether a new Fiskars StaySharp Max would do a better job on our thick grass (with twigs from our large trees) than my old American reel mower, which needed sharpening that would have cost half the value of a new one -- in other words, if it was worth purchasing new vs repairing old. I already knew that I liked using a reel mower. I did end up buying a new Fiskars and the answer is yes, it did handle the twigs much better than my old reel mower; no jamming at all. It did a very pretty job on thick wet grass on a quiet morning (quiet being one of the reasons I like reel mowers so much). My old mower went to the Habitat Restore.

This post was edited by northcarolina on Sun, Apr 14, 13 at 10:41