Lawnmower with projections for lifting grass and method of cutting grass

A lawnmower comprising:

• a body forming a downwardly opening enclosure, said body defining a front edge, a back edge and two side edges which circumscribe said enclosure;
• a power unit mounted on said body;
• a cutting blade operably coupled to said engine, said cutting blade disposed within said enclosure and adapted to cut grass;
• a plurality of wheels mounted on said body and supporting said lawnmower, two of said plurality of wheels being located proximate each side edge of said body;
• a handle mounted to said body and defining a forward direction of movement;
• a plurality of flexible projections extending downwardly from said body, said plurality of flexible projections being disposed proximate said front edge and forward of said cutting blades said plurality of flexible projections including first and second pluralities of flexible projections mounted along said front edge inboard of said side edges, said first and second pluralities of flexible projections each being located proximate an opposite one of said side edges and defining a central opening along said front edge between said first and second pluralities of flexible projections;
• and
• wherein each of said first and second pluralities of flexible projections are a plurality of bristles, each of said plurality of bristles arranged to define a lateral width and a longitudinal depth, each of said depths being greater than a single row of bristles, each of said widths being greater than each of said respective depths.

A method of cutting grass, said method comprising:

• providing a lawn cutting instrument, the lawn cutting instrument having at least one wheel;
• mounting a first plurality of flexible projections extending downwardly from the lawn cutting instrument proximate a first side edge of the lawn cutting instrument and mounting a second plurality of flexible projections extending downwardly from the lawn cutting instrument proximate a second side edge of the lawn cutting instrument wherein a gap is defined between said first and second pluralities of flexible projections;
• cutting a first swath of grass with the lawn cutting instrument;
• bending a strip of uncut grass toward the ground proximate the first swath of grass with the at least one wheel while cutting the first swath of grass;
• cutting a second swath of grass that includes the bent strip of uncut grass;
• and
• aligning one of the first and second pluralities of flexible projections with the bent strip of uncut grass and at least partially lifting the bent strip of uncut grass with the aligned one of the first and second pluralities of flexible projections immediately prior to cutting that portion of the second swath of grass.