which hedge cutter?

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Re the Echo; I get comments about how the finish was very neat so regards cut quality, it is in my experience (been hedge cutting for nearly 20 years) very good, provided it is kept sharp and sharpened correctly - many garden machinery shops seem clueless about this. Angles should be in the manual. Tanaka was a light machine but didn't last long; Stihls lasted better but cut quality was average. I think Stihl now offer two versions of their 40" single sided machine; one with a higher speed and number of fine teeth for trimming and one with a slower speed and larger teeth for cutting...

[Steve Bullman]

i used to do a lot of roadside work, part of that included dealiing with brush, particularly small blackthorn regrowth, i found the best way to deal with this was trashing it down with hedgecutters. i dont normally buy used gear, but i saw a second hand komatsu hedge cutter at a car boot sale one day for £70, which looked in particularly good order so i bought it just for this work. that hedgecutter took a world of abuse and just kept on going and going. they have changed the design now, but that is certainly a hedgecutter i would have a serious look at if i were to buy now.

[Mesterh]

When you talk a bout the quality of cut is this because you do topiary?

[Steve Bullman]

nope, im just fussy about my hedging

[Pro Gard]

I have owned and used both the double sided and single sided stihls and Husqys, new and old all had issues with either the gearbox, quality of cut or build.

 

I now use an Echo HC341ES, This is the best hedge trimmer I have owned in terms of build, vibrations and quality of cut when it breaks I will happily buy another. BTW agree with the comments ie double siders.... awkward and heavy.

 

For the tops of wide hedges I also use a stihl HL75, a good bombproof machine if heavy.

[peter_t]

thanks guys!

i have decided to go with the Echo HC341ES

 

pete