MagKnife is a revolutionary new system for attaching the bottom blade to a greens or fairway cylinder mower and will inevitably change the face of mower maintenance in the future. Exclusively available from Ransomes Jacobsen, this new system uses powerful magnets with a force exceeding 19kgm (140 ftlbs) together with special locating dowels, to position the bottom blade firmly.

With no screws to remove, the time required to replace worn or damaged bottom blades is reduced from hours to minutes with this new patented technology.

Traditionally, the bottom blade is held in position by up to 18 retaining screws which, as any golf greenkeeper or maintenance technician will confirm, are notoriously difficult to remove, particularly on older machines. When a new bottom blade is fitted using the traditional system, tightening the screws distorts the blade, which then has to be ground true.

Using location dowels and a series of extremely powerful natural magnets MagKnife, the screwless bottom blade, is held firmly in position on the backing plate by a uniform pressure along its full length, eliminating the tedious and time consuming need to grind true using the ‘old’ system.

During extensive laboratory and field tests in the US, a surprising benefit of the new design was discovered. Fairly substantial objects such as broken tees, twigs, small pebbles, discarded spikes and even coins passed between the cutting cylinder blades and the bottom blade without damage to either during the extensive testing period.

The magnets, with their powerful field, provide enough strength to hold the bottom blade securely to the frame, but allow it to ‘give’ when an object is encountered, allowing it to pass through harmlessly before snapping back into place.

MagKnife was shown to a select group of British and European greenkeepers who were guests of Ransomes Jacobsen at The GCSAA Show in Atlanta last February. Although sceptical at first, when they witnessed the force required to remove the blade, there was genuine amazement. A typical remark was “When can we have it?” and one course manager went as far to say, “I don’t care how much it costs, I want it”.

A special patented removal tool is required to break the magnetic hold and, once done, the process of refitting can be achieved in seconds.

As an indication of the timesaving, a time study was carried out here in the UK by a Ransomes Jacobsen dealer technician using standard workshop equipment and a unit from a Jacobsen Greens King VI complete with Groomer.