Having a mowed lawn and the edges trimmed can make any lawn look beautiful, but doing so can be a tedious task. Sometimes you’re done mowing the lawn, but the only imperfection left is the grass growing on the edges of your driveway. Cutting those grasses can feel like a tedious task.
Whether it’s a lawn or a garden you maintain, to make it picture-perfect, just mowing isn’t enough. Cutting those grasses growing on the side will make your lawn look sharp and beautiful. With the proper tools, you can easily make your lawn or garden look picture perfect in no time.
Defining the edges of your garden can feel like a tedious and time-consuming task if you’re doing it manually, especially if you’re suffering from back pain. But with a lawn edger, this task can be performed rather easily and efficiently.
Lawn edgers are really helpful if you want to keep your lawn or garden looking sharp. With the help of these machines, you can trim the edges perfectly and reduce any damage caused by grass spreading to those locations. You can easily blow the excess away or into a bag.
If you really want to step your trimming game, it’s time you invest in an electric lawn trimmer & edger.
1. BLACK+DECKER LSTE523 Li-On String Trimmer & Edger
Product Description: If you’re looking for the best electric lawn edger, then the Black+Decker LSTE523 is for you.
Product Design and Quality: The LSTE523 is a convertible lawn edger making it extremely versatile. Using this, you can get both trimming and edge cleaning work done. This lawn edger has better power transmission, giving you better control when trimming.
Product Features:
- Speed control
- Convertible
- Easy cleaning process
2. BLACK+DECKER 3-in-1 Lawn Mower, String Trimmer and Edger
Product Description: If you’re looking for a premium lawn edger with versatility, then the Black+Decker MTC220 is the best way to go.
Product Design and Quality: Black+Decker are known for their power tools, and this one is different. The MTC220 is an amazing lawn edger that can also mow your lawn. Just by snapping out the lawn edger, you’re ready to do trimming. Also, the inclusion of the four wheels makes it more stable and sturdier.
Product Features:
- Speed control
- Versatile
- Lightweight
- Easy cleaning process
3. Sun Joe SB602E Electric Stringless Lawn Trimmer
Product Description: The Sun Joe SB601E is another great trimmer and edger duo.
Product Design and Quality: If you’re looking for a truly premium purchase, then Sun Joe SB601E is for you. One of the reasons behind the expensive price tag is its patented blade. Besides being a great lawn edger, it’s also a great lawn trimmer.
Product Features:
- Extremely lightweight
- Multiple power options
- Built-in safety switch
4. Toro 51480 Corded 14-Inch Electric Trimmer/Edger
Product Description: If you’re looking for a lawn edger for light tasks, then the Toro 51480 is the electric lawn edger for you.
Product Design and Quality: If you want to do some light work, then the Toro 51480 is the electric lawn edger for you. This is a corded lawn edger that comes with a dual cutting line. Also, 51480 is a relatively inexpensive purchase.
Product Features:
- Versatile
- Built-in shield for bump guard
- Fourteen-inch dual cutting line.
5. Greenworks 12 Amp Corded Electric Edger 27032
Product Description: The Greenworks 27032 electric lawn edger offers four years of warranty service.
Product Design and Quality: If you’re looking for a reliable lawn edger that offers affordable spare parts, then the Greenworks 27032 is the product for you. With this corded electric edger, you’re getting a 12 Amo motor and 7.5-inch double-edged blades. The blades also have adjustable heights. The only issue with this edger is its handle; it’s a single-handled construction.
Product Features:
- 12 Amp Motor
- Adjustable blades
- Integrated cord lock feature.
Product Description: If you’re looking for a lightweight and easy to control electric lawn edger, then the Ryobi ONE Cordless Edger in the one for you.
Product Design and Quality: The Ryobi ONE comes with an 18-volt Li-ion battery, which is sufficient if you’re using it on a small lawn. But for a larger lawn, you will need to charge the battery completely. Also, this electric lawn edger comes with a battery that is compatible with its entire manufacturing line. The electric edger is extremely lightweight, perfect for anyone who hasn’t or doesn’t like to work with heavier machines.
Product Features:
- 18v battery
- 9-inch serrated blade
- 4 position depth control
- Includes battery and charger.
7. WORX WG170 GT Revolution 20V 12″ Grass Trimmer/Edger
Product Description: If you’re looking for a powerful lawn edger for beginners, the WORX WG170 is a great option.
Product Design and Quality: The WORX WG170 is a powerful electric lawn edger with many useful features, and it’s comfortable to use. Besides being comfortable to use, it’s also extremely lightweight and easy to control. The lawn edger uses a 7600 revolution/min motor and has wheels for ease of use.
Product Features:
- 20V MaxLithium Battery,
- (3) Trimmer Spools
- Support Wheels, Safety Guard, Flower Guard, Spool Holder
Why Use A Lawn Edger?
Trimming the grasses growing on the sideways might be more important to homeowners than the tenants living there because homeowners are usually responsible for the repair and maintenance of their property.
Letting grass grow on the edge of your driveway or sidewalk is bad, as it can damage the path. The damage depends on the type of grass. There are turf or high-traffic grasses that can damage your sidewalk and driveway.
This kind of grass spreads quickly, and these will grow beyond the bed and come out on the path. You will need a lawn edger to stop it from spreading on the other hand, which is low traffic. But these low-traffic grasses spread seeds.
To keep the spreading of the seeds in check, you will need a lawn edger. To sum it up, keeping the grasses in check and making your lawn look perfect is hard without a lawn edger. If you want to cut deep, you will need a better lawn edger than a string trimmer.
How Does a Lawn Edger Work?
Lawn edgers are the best tool to add the finishing touches to your newly mowed lawn. It’s a very efficient tool, and it’s very easy to use. Using a lawn edger, you can effortlessly make your lawn look picture-perfect; all you have to do is push it in the way you want to trim.
Lawn edgers come with a single blade with multiple cutting edges on it. There are different blades for each purpose. When you push the lawn edger, it trims the grass growing on the side and better defines your lawn or garden.
When it comes to blade choices, there are three options. Firstly, there are blades that have flat rectangular and have plain edges. The type of blades is found on most of the lawn edgers. For any basic trimming work, this blade will get the job done.
Then there are the blades with scoop-cut edges. These are also rectangular, but these blades are required for more delicate works. These blades will ensure the delicate trimming your flower beds need and won’t rough it up with debris. Besides that, these blades are ideal for a hard and uneven surface.
Lastly, there is the star-shaped blade. These kinds of blades are useful for trimming alongside walls and fences. The best part about these blades is that you can easily swap them out to suit the task at hand.
How to Use a Lawn Edger?
Using a lawn edger is extremely easy; if you’ve used a lawnmower before, then using a lawn edger should be a piece of cake. To use a lawn edger, all you need to do is push it in the direction you need trimming; that’s all!
While you use a lawnmower to mow the entire lawn, a lawn edger only focuses on the edges of the said lawn. If you’re still thinking it’s hard, then there are lawn edgers that come with a tri-wheel setup with the blade in the front. Using these will make trimming those grasses extremely easy.
Another amazing feature some of these lawn edgers come with is a built-in bin. The last thing you want to leave a trail of mess in the name of perfection. Using these types of lawn edgers will ensure that the grass is being picked up while you’re trimming away.
So, no matter you’re specifications, there’s a lawn edger for you.
How to Sharpen a Lawn Edger’s Blade?
A lawn edger is a cutting tool, and like any other cutting tool, it will get dull after many uses. To keep it functioning at peak efficiency, you need to change or replace the blade.
If you want to sharpen the blade, there are two ways to do it. The first way is to take it out of the machine and use an angle grinder to sharpen it. On the other hand, some machines let you access the cutting blade from the outside. You can choose to use a grinding stone to refine those cutting edges.
Besides sharpening, you would want to clean the blades as well. When doing so, you must take precautions and wear safety gear. You must use a protective glove to keep yourself away from harm’s way. Also, when using an angle grinder to sharpen the blades, make sure it’s fitted and sits in a place.
To replace the blade, you can simply take it out of the machine and replace it with a new one. For the best results, sharpen the lawn edgers blade after every couple of times.
Kinds of Lawn Edgers
There are three kinds of lawn edgers you can purchase, electric, gas, and manual.
Electric Edgers
When it comes to electric lawn edgers, you’re getting two options, corded and battery-driven. If you’re using an electric lawn edger on a relatively small lawn, it’s the perfect purchase.
Corded lawn edgers are cheap, lightweight, and easy to control. A huge benefit to using an electric lawn edger is that you don’t have to worry about gas and fumes, making these environmentally friendly as well.
The way corded electric lawn edgers work is by using the electrical power from a power outlet. It’s easy to start, and your only limitation is the power cord. That’s why the best scenario to use these are in urban areas with small lawns.
These lawn edgers are also quieter than gas-powered ones. So, if you want to make lawn edging easy, go for an electric lawn edger.
The other option is a battery-powered electric lawn edger. If you have a medium-sized lawn, then a battery-powered or cordless electric edger is the right purchase for you.
With the cordless style, nothing is limiting you, and these are environmentally friendly too. These edgers don’t need any fuel to function, and you don’t have to worry about tripping over a wire.
However, there’s a small issue, and it’s the battery. Since it’s drive through the batteries’ power, you need to charge the battery. Also, how much work you can get done with this machine depends on the size of your lawn.
Besides that, these edgers are portable, make less sound when using, and there’s no operational cost.
Gas Edgers
If you have a bigger lawn and need more power, gas-powered lawn edgers are for you. These edgers are more powerful than electric edgers and can provide a more clean and precise trim than electric edgers.
Powering the gas lawn edgers is either a two or a four-cycle engine. The four-cycle engine is for you if you’re looking to do some serious trimming, and these lawn edgers are better for the environment too. But, these types of lawn edgers are heavier too.
The cons of using a gas-powered lawn edger are that these are expensive and can be used within California.
Manual Edgers
If you’re going to use an edger on a relatively smaller lawn, then the manual lawn edger isn’t a bad option at all. One of the main reasons why some people prefer manual edger is because it doesn’t require any gas or power and easy maintenance.
For maintenance, you will occasionally need to sharpen the blade, clean the dirt from it, and to increase its longevity, use oil, but that’s about it for maintenance. The best part is that if you store these edgers in a dry place, it will serve you and your future generation.
Also, a manual lawn edger is extremely easy to control and can be used in odd shapes. You can use these edgers without worrying about damaging the pavement. But a manual edger also has its drawbacks.
When using the manual edger, the power source is you; you will use it and control it. So, if you’re unable to move or you’re injured, then the manual edger isn’t for you. Also, it is more time-consuming to use a manual edger instead of an electric or gas-powered one.
Are Manual Lawn Edgers Any Good?
Manual edgers are both good and bad. First, let’s talk about the good part. A manual edger is easy to use and has no operational cost at all. Maintaining a manual lawn edger is inexpensive; with basic maintenance, you can use the manual edger in the future too. To truly increase its lifespan, all you need is to keep it in a dry place.
Now the bar part is that it will take manual labor to use a manual edger; you’re the source of the part. As a result, its time consuming too. As mentioned before, if you’re injured or unable to move, then the manual ledger isn’t for you.
So, if a manual edger is good or not, it entirely depends on the person using it.
Safety Measures
Lawn edgers are cutting tools, and when misused, they can be dangerous. That’s why when using a lawn edger, it’s important to take precautions and wear the proper gear.
The first step of the safety measures is understanding which part needs work and removing any debris or pebbles from the theme. You should also remove any large vegetation along those lines.
The reason why it’s important to remove those pebbles and debris is because of the moving blade under the lawn edger. When the pebble and debris come in contact with the debris, the debris then turns into shrapnel, damaging everything in its path.
The body part that’s most exposed to the blades of an edger is your feet, so it’s a must to wear the right footwear for the job. You should be wearing shoes that offer thick and layered protection.
Also, you should wear protective eyewear when operating a lawn edger. Debris might come flying towards your eyes and has the chance of causing agonizing pain.
Bottom Line
In conclusion, electric lawn edgers are a favorite tool for most people. These tools are efficient, easy to use, lightweight, and environmentally friendly too. With the battery-powered electric lawn edgers, you don’t have to worry about power out, and hence the distance you can take the edger; all of these make the electric lawn edger on of the most like lawn edgers.
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