Best Sickle for M Farmall

what would you guys reccomend as a good sickle mower for my m farmall ? i use the tractor very little, and would like to attach one to mow my pond banks, much easier than a weed eater, and the old girl would have aregular job,
and earn her keep !

New Holland, 1300 IHC, 82t AC, anything pull type, drop in a pin, hook up the pto and hyd hose and go,

Try to find a side mount, preferably a pitmanless IH with the proper brackets.
Other brands can be adapted, I have been running a Kosch on my Farm all C forever.

Pitmanless let's you mow at most any angle,including nearly straight up. Also it raises by power and you just have to lock it in the transport position, instead of muscleing it up and trying to hook it with your third hand.

Side mount is easier on the worn out bearings in your neck.

Side mount frees up the drawbar for other uses without taking the mower off. You can even use the PTO by removing the drive pulley.

Side mount cuts ahead of the rear wheel, so you can widen the wheels out to the max, without knocking down unmowed grass. This is very important if you are mowing steep ground.

That said, a rear mount IH pitman mower designed to bolt right up to the M will probably be much easier to find, and a lot cheaper. I don't know model numbers, but somebody is sure to post some. If your M has a three point hitch, mowers are everywhere.

One tip with any sickle mower, add an extra wheel weight on the left side to counterbalance the mower. It took me forty years of losing traction with the left wheel before I figured that out.

I would second the side mount. We had a Kosch all the years I was a kid on the farm and when Dad passed away, a money hungry auctioneer talked my Mom into selling everything 3 months after he passed. I wanted to wait but had the sale anyway. I to this day miss that side mower!!!! You could see everything, corners were a breeze and your neck never ached from looking back all the time. Also if you can like the other post said, get one without a pitman. You cannot mow banks easily with a pitman style.

If you do pick up a side mount mower, make sure you get everything to match your tractor. Dad bought a MT JD with a side mount mower. It came with the wrong drive pulley that slid over the PTO shaft. If you don't have the proper stuff, I guarantee you will be sick of it very soon. I was.

Ok, I have seen pics of the model that attaches to the draw bar, cylinder raises the blade, with crazy wheel on the back, has an "A" frame look about the mower. Was hoping to find one of those cheap, as in, no one ever uses them cheap ! LOL. Would love to have a fancy side mount, balanced head, but cant see me ever spending the money i know it will be. As much as I like a balanced head, they are expensive, and more complicated and expensive to maintain. A pitman mower is just so simple. A broken pittman rod can be fixed right on the farm, for $0. I rebuilt a balanced head once on a new holland, probably 25 years ago, and its several bearings, and can get pricey. If I were out to cut a hundred acres of hay, I would consider, but im talking mowing around a 1.5 acre pond and 300 ft of roadside, maybe 3 times a year. Thought maybe someone would have an old relic laying around, for cheap, or knew where to find one. For a good deal id go any route. Any suggestions ? Im striking out on anything near to local on Craigslist,

If you need to do close trimming around buildings and electric fences, I would go with one attached to the tractor: side mount; 3 point hitch, or semi-mounted to the drawbar. If you are only mowing in open fields, a trailer mower is easiest to hitch up. A pitman mower works well on flat surfaces, balance head mowers can tilt up and down much further for mowing road ditches, terrace banks, etc.

Condition and adjustment of the guards, ledger plates and knives makes a big difference on how well a mower cuts.

First question would be how much below straight out would that pond bank be? a Pitman cannot go much below level. Never around a balanced head but on here I understand they can go below level quite a ways. For that semi mount type it would be an IHC of 25 or 27, think there is a newer model but not sure or a Deere No. 5 or No. 8 mower. Used to be cheap but don't sound that way any more. Back when I was collecting things you could but a good mower for $50 that is now advertised for $350.

First off, the (bladde) is the sickle bar. The sickle moves inbetween the rock guards. The crazy wheel is called the tail wheel. You would likely not like a side mount once you mounted one unless you left it on.
As to finding one, You could come to OKLA the first Sat of the month, which was yesterday, 6 3 17 and around 35 miles E of Tulsa on Hwy 412 the amish have a huge sale and you can sometimes find one of those. They have other sickle mowers there usually every sale. Sickles are going out here in hay country, so they sell somewhat cheap. Don't ask me how cheap as ive never seen one sell.

I have one in NE Wyoming
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