I've had the Toro (not the blade stop one) and now have that very Honda. Cuttingwise, they are pretty equivalent in my book. My wife seems to think the Honda does a better job, however. I've never had to pull more than once to start the Honda-because of that, I don't think the blade stop is that important. Besides you should pick up stuff before you start to mow.

I think the personal pace of the Toro is a little more comfortable, but I am getting used to the "paddles" of the Honda. The Honda is a bit faster, but the Toro has a 1" larger cutting deck so the cutting time is pretty equivalent.

Overall, I don't think you can go wrong with either mower.

I've had the same Craftsman for 8 years and it still works awesome.
I've only maintenance it one time (last season) with a carb clean, new filter, and new blade.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...&storeId=10051

This is what we bought last summer...starts right up still to this day...best mower I have had yet

http://www.rexwallpapers.com/images/...ep/sheep_1.jpg

Oh, go full trailer park, slather some of this stuff on, and don't ever have to mow!

http://www.ecosmart.com/wp-content/t...4-oz-large.jpg
http://daisyfae.files.wordpress.com/...-christmas.jpg

Honda, no doubt about it. My mom had one of those personal pace mowers and I could never get used to it. It was fine in open areas, but whenever I tried to maneuver around tight areas the thing was hard to control. With that said, I only used it occasionally at her place, maybe if I used it on a constant basis I would adjust to it.

That's what I'm probably getting next. I have a Troy Bilt 22in with a Honda engine. I bought the thing because I thought "hey a honda engine...it must be good"...dumbass me. Engine's great...the rest is junk.

I had to put a new $165 trans-axle in it the very first season I had it, and it's already starting to do the same thing again after less than a season of having the thing fixed.

I got one that won't start that I'll sell to you for 400 bucks. Damn good mower it just won't start and we don't need it anymore, so I never got it fixed. John Deere L-130