John Deere Sabre

The John Deere Sabre line of lawn mowers very often causes confusion and consternation among both lawnmower enthusiasts and among John Deere fans who don’t like the Sabre range of mowers manufactured and produced by JD. Not only were these mowers confusingly painted with a shade of green that is not quite the same as the regular green of John Deere, they were also called Sabre, which is not something that you would expect from JD. There are actually a surprising number of different Sabre models available. There are five walk behind mowers, the 14PS, 14SS, M10, M21 andM23, all of which have now ceased production.

But there are far more sit on lawnmower models in the John Deere Sabre range. They are the 1338GS, 15.538GS, 15.538HS, 1538GS, 1538HS, 1546G, 1638HS, 1642HS, 1646GS, 1646HS, 17.542HS, 1742GS, 1842GV, 1842HV,1846HMS, 1846HV, 1846GV, 1848GV, 1848HV, 1948HV, 1948GV, 2046HV, 2048HV, 2148HV, 2254HV, 2354HV and the 2554HV. Like the walk behind mowers, these too have all ceased production.

These models were never that popular with consumers as most were confused as to exactly who made these tractors. They were hearing John Deere, but when they looked at the actual logo, it said “Sabre by John Deere”. The problem was that “Sabre” was in a very large size font, but “by John Deere” was much smaller. Consumers didn’t know what to think. Many actually thought that they were cheap (and sometimes even illegal) knock offs of real John Deere tractors, when in actual fact all John Deere Sabres were manufactured by John Deere. The whole idea behind making them was that John Deere thought they would compete with the cheaper tractors being sold by their competitors. They obviously didn’t want to sell ‘true’ John Deere tractors at a lower price than the premium people usually pay, so they made a ‘semi-new’ brand. Unfortunately though, the only thing the JD Sabre brand of tractors did was confuse people. Luckily for John Deere diehards, who don’t want to see the brand of John Deere diluted, the Sabre range has been discontinued, much like the Scotts range of lawn mowers that John Deere produced briefly.

Return to John Deere Lawn Mowers from John Deere Sabre

Return to John Deere from John Deere Sabre


Have Your Say! Leave A Review Do you love or hate this tractor? You can have your say below by leaving review.


6 Reviews of the “John Deere Sabre”

  1. Tom Taylor says:

    I have had this tractor since 1996 and have never had a problem. I have it serviced every year. It runs as good today as the day I purchased it. I use it to mow my 1 acre lawn, usually once a week starting in April and finishing in late Sept.

    Year of Manufacture: 1996
    Pros: cheap tractor
    Cons: cheap tractor

    • gavin rodgers says:

      Head gasket new belts , new battery , oil change .
      She still lives

      Year of Manufacture: 1996
      Pros: Immortal
      Cons: Immortal
      Attachments: Tow hitch
      Modifications: None

  2. Ron says:

    Good except for transmutation issues.

    Pros: Like the mower but having transmutation issues it seems like it’s getting harder to go Forward to back without going forward first again and againi

  3. Nathan Wetzig says:

    It has been a pretty good tractor for the 15 years I’ve owned it.

    Year of Manufacture: 2000
    Pros: My Sabre 2254 has been a great tractor for the price. My only regret is not buying the Tiller at the same time. I purchased mine Brand new for about $7000.00 The john deere’s were going for $14,000.00. The only major fault I have with it was the Brigs&Stratten motor. mine picked up a rock with the blower and broke a piston rod. I replaced it with a 25hp Kohler and have had no problems since. The 54″ mower makes short work of our 2 Acres of lawn. I’ve heard of several friends with John Deere who aren’t very satisfied.
    Cons: Briggs&Stratten motor not very reliable in my experience.
    Attachments: 54″ mower standard equipment
    48″ Snow blower
    Modifications: 25hp Kohler motor

  4. berni king says:

    My 14.5 gear never broke in 16 years and still is going strong. Only changed the battery twice, last time was 2 yars ago. One of them lasted 11 years! Never changed a belt either. Always starts on first try and still does a great job mowing. I use the mulching setup which gives very good results. Done so for the last 12 years. Just do the required maintenance. Lately, it started to leak oïl. I suspect the oïl filler tube or the oïl drain pipe, which are in about the same location. My local dealer still carries all the needed parts for it. Good machine for me!

    Year of Manufacture: 1999
    Pros: Reliable and does a good job mowing/mulching.
    Cons: It is getting old and I can’t find an affordable comparable replacement of 38 inches by john deere.

  5. Jerry Seitz says:

    Good tractor but support by dealers is next to nothing. Apparently parts are no longer available. Too bad but I believe that parts should be available even for a lawn tractoe that is 10 years old. Shame JD, sahme, shame!!

    Year of Manufacture: 0
    Pros: I have had a 1842HV SabreGarden Tractor for over 10 years. It has done well by me.
    Cons: The wire from the gas solenoid broke off and Jonh Deere says that this part is obsolete. What do I do now? The replacement part does not look like the original.

Leave a Reply to Nathan Wetzig

How to use this form

Please fill out your name and email first (website optional). Then give your ratings for this model and year of production. Afterwards, please fill out the 5 fields to give a full review on this model before hitting the "Submit Review" button.

Click stars below to rate.
Performance
Reliability
Safety
Overall Satisfaction
 




Your General Experience Using This Model