Hand Tool to Cut Tall Grass | Sickle, Whip & Reel Mower Options

For cutting tall grass over 3 inches, the most effective manual hand tools are a sickle used with a companion stick or a manual grass whip with a serrated blade.

Standard reel mowers can only handle grass under 3 inches, and attempting to push one through a thick, overgrown patch usually ends with a jammed reel and frustration. If you have a neglected lawn edge, a patch of tall weeds, or an area a mower cannot reach, the right hand tool saves time and keeps your back from aching. Here is what actually works.

Why Reel Mowers Fail on Tall Grass

Reel mowers cut grass with a spinning reel that pinches each blade against a stationary bedknife. That scissor action works well on regularly mowed turf at heights of 1 to 3 inches. Once the grass grows taller, the blades bend over instead of standing upright for the cut, and thick stalks jam the reel entirely.

The Scotts 2000 20-Inch Classic Push Reel Lawn Mower is the best reel mower for tall grass because it maxes out at a 3-inch cut height, which is higher than most models that top out at 2 inches. Even then, you often have to cut in two passes—raising the height for the first pass and lowering it for the second. For anything taller, you need a different tool.

Sickle with Companion Stick: The Time-Tested Method

For overgrown grass, hay, or tough weeds, a sickle is the oldest and most reliable manual tool. A standard sickle is not enough on its own—the trick is to pair it with a companion stick that holds the grass upright and keeps your hand away from the blade.

The companion stick is cut from a sapling branch, leaving about 3 to 4 inches of a smaller branch sticking out to form a hook. You use that hook to gather the tall grass, hold it steady, and then pull the sickle toward you in a gentle shearing motion. The stick also moves loose cut grass out of the way so you never need to bring your hand close to the edge.

Sickle blades require frequent sharpening — roughly every few minutes of steady work. A long, oblong honing stone with a pointed end works best for this; you swipe one side of the blade, then the other, along the full length.

Manual Grass Whip: The Long-Handled Serrated Option

A manual grass whip functions like a sickle on a long handle. It has a 30-inch steel handle with a serrated, double-sharp blade at the end. You swing it through the stalks in a pulling motion, and the serrations grab and cut through thick, overgrown grass more easily than a straight blade.

This tool works best when you have a larger area of tall grass where kneeling or bending with a sickle would be too slow. The trade-off is precision — a grass whip is harder to control than a sickle for targeted cuts near fences or garden beds. If you need a complete roundup of the best tools to cut tall grass, our tested guide breaks down every option.

Can You Use Any Reel Mower for Tall Grass at All?

Yes, but only with the right model and the right technique. The Scotts 2000 is the only standard reel mower that can cut at a 3-inch height, which is just enough to tackle grass that was let go for a week or two. For grass taller than 3 inches, reel mowers fail.

The Fiskars StaySharp 18-Inch Max Reel Mower is a heavy-duty 5-blade model that costs about $100–$130, but its cut height range is still limited. If the grass is already 6 inches or more, skip the reel mower entirely and start with a sickle or grass whip, then maintain the shorter length with the reel mower on future cuts.

Grass Types and Tool Compatibility

• Turf grass (Bermuda, fescue, Kentucky bluegrass): Best suited for reel mowers when kept at 1–3 inches. A sickle works for spot-trimming edges.
• Hay, grain, or pasture grass: Sickle with companion stick is the standard manual tool. A grass whip also works for lighter hay.
• Weeds and thick-stemmed growth: Grass whip or hedge trimmer. Reel mowers jam on thick stalks.

It is a good maintenance tool once the grass has been brought back down to a manageable height with a sickle or whip.

First Steps for Cutting Tall Grass by Hand

1. Assess the height: If grass is 3 inches or under, a reel mower like the Scotts 2000 works. If it is over 3 inches, start with a sickle or grass whip.
2. Cut in two passes: For grass at the upper limit of a reel mower, set the cut height high on the first pass, then lower it on the second pass. A clear sign of success is seeing a clean line of cut grass behind the reel rather than bent-over stalks that the wheel just rolled over.
3. Prepare the sickle companion stick: Find a sapling branch and trim it so a 3–4 inch side hook remains. Use the hook to gather the grass before each cut.
4. Sharpen often: Hone the sickle blade every few minutes. The success state is a clean shear cut on the grass rather than a ragged tear.
5. Use the grass whip for larger patches: Stand upright, hold the 30-inch handle, and swing in a controlled pulling arc through the thickest stalks.

When Hand Tools Are Not Enough

If the grass is genuinely super tall — waist-high or more — manual hand tools lose effectiveness because the stalks are too thick and too numerous. In that case, a powered hedge trimmer is the only realistic method short of renting a bush hog. You can find video demonstrations of this approach on Bob Vila’s channel. The hedge trimmer cuts through the thickest material cleanly, though it runs on electricity or battery rather than arm power.