Is this a leaf rake?

[gardeningnovice5]

Can I use it on the lawn to rake leaves? I wasn’t sure as it feels like it’s quite harsh on the grass (pulling at it quite hard).

Soz, here’s a pic!

Yes it is. You need to pull across, not push down. It looks like your lawn has quite a lot of thatch (a layer of dead grass, roots, and debris) which the rake is getting stuck in. If you want a perfect grass-only lawn you should rake that out.

But considering you already have daisies and dandelions, I'd leave it, but expect it to get patchy over time, and put in a wildflower seed mix.

I would only use that for raking the thatch out, it’s going to be hard work raking leaves with because its tines are pointy and will dig in to the ground.
for leaves your best bet is a plastic rake. Lighter weight and wider tines. If you have a lot of leaves you can buy scooper things as well, that you hold in each hand, to pick up the leaves once you’ve raked them into piles.

Thank you!

@Agapornis why does having daisies and dandelions mean you’d leave it if you don’t mind me asking? Also, do you mean grow some wildflowers in the lawn? That would lovely but obviously we then wouldn’t be able to mow those bits without decapitating the flowers!

Well, if you were a 100% 'tidy' grass-only lawn nutter person you'd be removing the thatch regularly, and would long have removed those daisies and dandelions 😅 So I presumed you're not that fussed about the odd patch that isn't grass.

I only mow a path, the rest is long with a mix of grass and wildflowers. But do what suits you best!

Assuming you are in the northern hemisphere. Now is the wrong time to be raking your lawn and bringing up thatch. It needs that cover to retain moisture, so wait until September before raking it properly. In the meantime, go over it with the lawnmower if you want to pick up leaves.