Found one!

[wristpin]

A while back on the old form there was a thread running about “what makes a mower rare?”
One machine that was the subject of debate was the original pale blue Qualcast Concorde circa 1970.
Well yesterday I got a call from a mower breaking friend “do you still want a blue Concorde? I’ve just taken one in with a load of other stuff.”
So now I’m the owner of said beastie, complete with grass box, straight and working!
Still has enough original paint to make it debatable whether to leave as is or give it the “Simar Kid” treatment. For the time being the cylinder and bottom blade will be sharpened and sprayed in the correct black.

[hillsider]

Is that the little mower about the size of a carpet sweeper? The cylinder was a two or three blade affair with a spring loaded bottom blade and a belt drive.
The name Concord was very apt for the one that lived next door to us, the old chap used to cut his grass every day taking several minutes over the each area of grass, the mower used to sound like Concorde preparing for take off!

[wristpin]

That’s the one, second cousin to the Bex Bissel!

[vhgmcbuddy]

I threw one away last year gave it to the scrap man Electric one I had a receipt for the original purchase too mine was 1974

Also threw out a Webb battery powered (Motor Bike Battery ) 12 inch cut may be 10 inch, Webb mower The only thing wrong was the nylon drive gear had Sheared .

[mickattwo]

I dont know about the original post but this mower to me is only rare because they made them by modern methods and were classed as throwaway when made. A friend of mine has a mower that I would call rare. it is a 1922 atco, in pieces at the moment. The machine was purchased and solely owned by a lady authoress.The machine is original and needs an expert to put it back together.I can find more details if anyone is interested. The ATCO brand was local to me Sheffield and in Eckington Derbyshire there is a road junction named as ATCO corner.I would like to know what th AT stands for?

[wristpin]

ATCO = Atlas Chain Company.
Re the Concorde, that was exactly the point I was making. Made in their thousands and thrown away in their thousands! Don’t confuse rare, ie not many around, with quality or of value. Machines from the 1900s have survived because they were made from durable materials such as cast iron at a time when such things were valued and even if discarded in the back of the coal shed survived to be restored and cherished.
The Concorde was a “cheap and nasty” mass produced machine built more to domestic appliance than horticultural standards and as such was readily discarded or reverted to iron oxide!. It wouldn’t surprise me if far more Ransomes Ajaxes have survived than Concordes. However, it is representative of an era in UK manufacturing and gardening and as such a decent one is worth preserving.

[charlie]

Rare, following definition from The Oxford English Dictionary:-
adjective (rarer, rarest)
(of an event, situation, or condition) not occurring very often:
a rare genetic disorder
[with infinitive]:
it’s rare to see a house so little altered
(of a thing) not found in large numbers and so of interest or value:
one of Britain’s rarest birds, the honey buzzard
unusually good or remarkable:
he plays with rare sensitivity
So there is no reason why the Concorde mower should not be classed as rare.

[Author]

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