groundskeeper rake review

[frashdog]

Throw year limp wristed floppy metal, plastic, fold up or even bamboo rakes away.

The groundskeeper rake changes the way clean ups should be done. Do yer self a favor (if not already) and step up.
You can't out rake a big backpack blower, period.
Let the back pack do it's job. Finish site clean up.

The Groundskeeper fills the role prior to the blower, the "hasty rake" operation. Reach, grab and flick the "shmutz" at the chipper or tarp. Blow the rest. Limp wristed hands down....the site is cleaned much quicker and looks better then just raking it with a limp wristed floppy leaf rake prone to crumbling into shards when any real work starts to get done.

I used to brake rakes like it was my job. Tried them all. Lifetime warranties and all. At first it was kinda funny returning them constantly but it soon became an angering waste of my time.

I have heard of people trying the groundskeeper and "hating it". I have seen my own crew struggle with the introduction of the groundskeeper. It is not a finish rake! Once a person comprehends that, and what the big back pack blower is capable of moving they will leave it. With out a big backpack the grounds keeper is not the ticket, neither are your clean ups. Step up.

 

[familytree]

Because of you're incredible exuberance about this rake I decided to buy another one at the tcia show and give it another go.

If I hate it still, I'm putting my displeasure with the rake solely on your shoulders.

If I love it. I'll be sure to tell everyone that I always loved the rake and anyone who doesn't like it are stupid.

 

[TreeCo]

I ordered two from Sherrill but they arrived with the molding where the handle joins the rake head cracked. I'm working on returning them but it looks like fees are going to be involved.

 

[Fernhorn]

I got one and it's great on bark, mulch, gravel, and wood chips. A minor annoyance is how the outer tines become displaced when really working it. I'm going to try de-thatching some zoysia grass in the early spring with it.
It is not a leaf rake.

 

[deevo]

I bought one at the show, never used one before. Will test it out tomorrow. Looks and feels like it'll be a good cleanup tool.

 

[Jesse]

Great for stump grindings, other than that I don't like like it.

 

[rfwoodvt]

One has to experiment with this rake to get it to perform as you want it to. I will admit it pretty much sucks all around on autumn leaves but aside from that it does all we ask from it.

When you have a thick, thatch infested lawn you don't have to worry about spending hours raking through the thatch as some suggest is a problem with the GkII rake. Just lower the angle of the handle more parallell to the ground and use longer strokes with less pressure. Still grabs the twigs, leaves and stuff just fine.

On the other hand if you are cleaning up the fines then move the handle to a more vertical position and use shorter strokes in a pull and lift fashion. We've often found it helpful to angle the head a little bit like a snow plow in relation to the direction of pull. This helps especially when pulling fines onto a shovel.

And did I mention they last forever? We are still happily using the first one we bought several years ago and haven't had to replace a single one yet. All we carry on the truck is the grounds keeper now.