Stick Edgers

[JHZR2]

I was walking at HD last night and saw they sell a weedwhacker variant that is sold as a stick edger.

My grandfather has an old Craftsman that I borrow from time to time, but it doesnt start well and it is bulky. This is a nice size.

Do they work well at all? Any brand to go after?

My grandfather's is belt-drive, these have the shaft inside the tube. Do those shafts tend to break?

Thanks!

 

[clarklawnscape]

you can find 2 versions of decent stick edgers, one will be a true straight shaft with a steele drive shaft running to a gear box (best), and secondly youll find a straight shaft model with a kink in the shaft nearing the blade this has a flex cable driving the blade and no gear box (cheaper design). pick your brand, but shindaiwa, kawasaki, or red max are my prefferd brands. echo makes a good edger as well, but honestly, this is something youll seldomly use. I have one, and once i have the edge dug out i just use the string trimmer held on its side to keep the edge cleaned out. however you might use this as an exscuse to buy a split boom trimmer and add other attachments.

 

[Donald]

I am trying to live my entire life without ever using a edger. Half way there.

 

[The motor guy]

stick edgers are only good if you have a nice line already. otherwise they aren't any faster

 

[JHZR2]

Im not looking for speed, Im looking for compactness and the ability to keep an edge (ours gets lost within a few months of cutting it) easily.

I already have a Husquvarna weedwhacker that runs great, but I cant keep a good straight line, and it really flings stuff. I think the purpose-made edger would do better on a blade, containment, etc. basis.

Plus id do it more like every 2 months, which is necessary in our yard along the sidewalks and driveway for a clean look. Im not keen on changing attachments all the time... so purpose made is OK by me, so long as it is compact, which is why I like the stick edger...

 

[clarklawnscape]

if youre a husqvarna guy id say check out the 327es, and it will do a better job than a string trimmer by all means.

 

[JHZR2]

I'm not partial to any brand.

Are some (Stihl perhaps) 4-stroke?

 

[The motor guy]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I'm not partial to any brand.

Are some (Stihl perhaps) 4-stroke?


the stihl have their 4mix kind which is a four stroke but still gets lubed off of the 2 stroke type oil that you mix into the gas.

 

[clarklawnscape]

ppl want to group lawn equipment into brands, meaning for example i love my stihl chainsaw so stihl trimmers must be great. and nothing could be further from the truth, for example i like kawasaki trimmers but kawasaki doesnt offer a chain saw, i like certain dolmar chainsaws yet i hate their trimmers. so with that said, a stick edger is just a string trimmer engine mounted on a different attachment. and im not a stihl (of todays) fan by anymeans, so that eliminates them for me, the 4mix is a joke. I have reserched this in a bit detail, and based on features, i would choose the husqvarna or redmax edger, with echo probably being close due to dealer availabilty and features.

 

[JHZR2]

Im not tied to any brand, but that helps. I saw echo at HD, but have no HD echo experience - my echo stuff (blower and chainsaw) has been great.

I know there is a close local dealer that sells stihl and redmax. Not sure of a local husquvarna dealer, though im sure there is one. Echo is everywhere, but Im curious what features you think an echo stick edger has over husquvarna or redmax.

 

[clarklawnscape]

the red max, husqvarna both offer the straight shaft, as does the echo pe266s, straight shaft meaning steele drive shaft w a gearbox driven blade

 

[DuckRyder]

Not all Stihl small engines are 4 mix.

The FC56CE and FC70CE are stratified 2 strokes.

You could also expand your search to "Kombi Motors" and I believe the 55 is an old school 2 stroke.

 

[clarklawnscape]

Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Not all Stihl small engines are 4 mix.

The FC56CE and FC70CE are stratified 2 strokes.

You could also expand your search to "Kombi Motors" and I believe the 55 is an old school 2 stroke.

i wasnt implying that all stihl are 4 mix, just saying their saws are "decent" but their trimmer/edger line well not so much

 

[JHZR2]

The redmax units are nice but $$$. Curious what benefit, if any, the stick edger has over, say, a McLane made in USA 4.75hp edger. Size comes to mind, but otherwise???