Cordless Weed Wackers

Several people posted that they are happy with Black and Decker. It is probably a matter of timing. In the late 1970's I was given a Black and Decker saber saw. It just broke last year. For homeowner grade equipment I'll rate that tool as excellent.

About 3 years ago my wife made a buying decision and we got a Black and Decker weed wacker. It lasted about 2 hours of run time (small yard, about 4 mowings). I called to complain and eventually I received a retrofit kit to replace some of the plastic parts with other plastic parts. The weed wacker lasted about another hour (2 or 3 mowings). I gave up on it as a bad buying choice.

About 2 years ago my wife again made a buying decision. Somehow I lost the logic argument. Since it was a more expensive Black and Decker it had to be better. And being newer they have learned from their mistakes and the design is now good. How did that turn out, not so good. I got about 3 hours of run time (6-8 mowings) before it died.

No more Black and Decker for me.

The retrofit kit for the first weed wacker also annoyed me. The bag had a big "MADE IN USA" sticker on it. The paperwork had "MADE IN USA" on it. Everything inside the bag had "MADE IN CHINA" on it. I guess if you take three or four plastic parts from China and drop them in a plastic bag in the US you now have a "MADE IN USA" retrofit kit. I assume what they did was legal, maybe even proper by today's standards. I did notice that my pre and post impressions of quality moved in a similar direction to my pre and post impressions of the retrofit kits origin.

You didn't understand. It was the plastic bag that was made in the USA, not the contents.

I've used several Craftsman 19.2V tools for over a decade with only one drill having failed. A few years back I upgraded to the Tank 3000mnh battery and found it runs tools far longer than expected and has a built in meter. Overall I'm extremely satisfied with everything.

Doesn't require recharge - run time measured in years - no harmful chemicals, but watch where you step.

I am with you. Everything gone up to goat height. uh'

They are edible too.

And milkable.

...and edible. Try that with a Stihl weed wacker, and you'll need a dentist quick.

I've had good luck with my Neuton electric battery powered mower. It's lasted for over 4 years now. I bought a back up battery, so I can have one charging while the is being used. It has a 36-Volt, 10-amp hour, sealed lead/acid battery, with carrying handle. It also has a weed wacker attachment for the front of the mower.

Well that solves 2 problems, the weight is on wheels, and the battery should last long enough for weed whacking this expansive area.....the only question is how easily the cord extends, and it does seem a little awkward...is it self-propelled?

http://www.familyhandyman.com/landscaping/lawn-care/best-cordless-lawn-mower/view-all

It is not self-propelled, but it is very light and easy to push. I like it because I can take the battery out and then flip it over and clean the mower deck easily. Also, there is no need to get involved with oil changes and storing gasoline.

All my yard care machines are cordless electric, and the batteries last a long time when treated correctly.

I store and charge the batteries in the basement, where it is consistently cool, and never leave the batteries in the garage, where it can exceed 110 degreesF on a mere 80 degree day. The batteries are left to rest, and charged the day before the planned use, and after use, they are left to rest until the next use.

The string trimmer battery looks like it might need replacing soon, but the leaf blower battery fits the string trimmer, so we still have a backup.

At this stage of the game with battery technology, I'd recommend getting a 'spare' battery after you've had the machine for five years; the spare should be newer tech, so it will have a longer lifespan than the original. Plus, be being 'younger' it's also free from the 'old age' wear you've gotten used to with the old battery.

One last thing, how you use the machines affect the battery life as well. Semi-weekly light trims with the mower are less of a strain on the machine than monthly 'cut the jungle into a putting green in one pass' mowings.

As an update, The string trimmer battery finally failed, and the leaf blower battery was failing, and I could not locate replacement batteries. The two batteries were also only 'semi-compatable,' as the blower battery would fit the trimmer, but the trimmer battery would not fit the blower.

So I replaced the trimmer and blower with newer tech that has both machines use the same battery type, See post #136, below, for details.

Just saw USB Port post #13. I too didn't catch the multi-acre requirement. That will test a battery to go that far (long). My Wife and I just replaced the battery powered weed wacker she bought to do our 1 acre. We have one house and one garage and one shed, plus three gardens with borders. She had a good brand 18V and it would need re-charged 3 times to do our lawn. I found a 4 cycle gas 30cc model, that actually did not aggravate my arthritic shoulder to start it, and bought that to do everything at one time. First time I ran it, for about 75 minutes, my right arm would not raise above parallel to the ground and at that level, shook rather violently. This did not go away for more than 5 hours. Do take care what you use for that much trimming.

this is off topic, but, I had to stop at Lowes this afternoon, pick some things up for my girlfriend, I always gravitate to the tool, I see that porter cable has a cordless nailers.

Hey Ron, Fear not my friend. Consider how many of these tools get sold every year. Then consider that the most "vocal" reviewer will be the ones with a negative experience. Also know that the battery will always be the weak point as it is only as good as the weakest cell in the pack. I would imagine that manufacturers are still trying to slip weak or sub standard cells into a packs hoping that the end user is not a heavy user. We used to see this back when everything was 7.2/1500 powered. Then you only had 6 sub c cells so it was hard to hide a bad cell even in light duty use. Didn't stop them from trying though. Next, consider that with a gas tool you may fill your gas tank more than once during the yard work. This is no different from having multiple battery packs charged and at the ready. Ever get almost done and then have to run to the store to get more gas and oil?

THe guy around the corner has about 1/2 and acre and he runs a miniature pony. We are on 1-1/2 and thinking along those lines. Pity the dog won't eat enough grass. After loosing a partner with a brain cancer, I am wary of poisons. Not saying that is what caused his illness. It could have been a number of things. Lead fuel exhaust. Sports injury. the list goes on. Life. We also value our bird life here. Good luck. I am enjoying the conversation, as I use power tools with batteries too.

Some clown went through and voted many responses OT.

Another clown just negated them.

Clowns, huh?....dam politicians.

LOL!!

I'm a dinosaur. All gas lawn mower, chain saws, hedge trimmer, weed eater with changeable heads to make a blower.

I bought a corded string trimmer and blower for the wife.

A Wife,... Where'd you get that Home Depot?

Your wife has to be cord whipped?

If you end up using a gas powered unit, pay attention to the EPA durability rating. It directly reflects the expected life of the engine.

The normal cheap consumer level product is rated for 25 hours, which is normal 1 year use for a normal consumer. There is a 50 hour prosumer rating, a 125 hour professional rating and a 300+ professional rating.

Horrible Fright trimmer/brushcutters are 25 hour rated and honestly will quit running at 25 hours. My wife's father used to use one of these on his 3-1/2 acres. In most cases it would not start on the fourth full day of use and he would take it back for a new one under warranty. I gave him a Shindaiwa T260 and it lasted him for the rest of his life, which was 12 years and then went to his youngest son. The T260 was rated 300+ hours.

On the test stand I ran a T270 engine for 4500 hours with no overhaul or parts replacement and in the field, I once worked with a landscaper that had a Shindaiwa unit that dated back over 10 years and he was using it 8 hours a day, five days a week. Absolutely ugly looking trimmer, but it worked.

The current production Stihls and Echos are usually 125 hour rated. The professional landscaping companies will run these until the warranty is up and then dump the whole fleet on ebay.

If EPA rating is not given, what do you have to go on when making a choice. What assumptions do you make about engine life then?.

But my earlier post #82 " my hedge trimmer 2-stroke engine is useless. Anything less than a full tank of petrol and anything less than perfectly level - the engine cuts out "

....and it is nearly new - apart from 2 hours of use - which could already be 8% worn out based on your 'cheap' consumer level.

Sounds like a fuel line issue. Where the fuel line comes into the tank, there is usually a hose barb on the inside of the tank and a flexible line that goes down to a weighted fuel filter. The other common option is to run a flexible hose through a grommet that is plugged into a hole in the top of the tank. You might have a hole in the hose, the flexible line may be disconnected at the fitting in the tank or the fuel line and pickup are missing. There are usually two tubes goung through. One is the fuel line and one is the fuel return. There may be a third line connected to a tank vent. It's possible the fuel line and tank return lines got switched at the tank or at the carburetor.

There is a sticker that is required to be stuck onto the engine case that gives the EPA information. The durability rating should be on the sticker. There also should be a printed EPA durability warranty in the manual or on a separate piece of paper. That statement also likely has the rating. Cost is also a primary indicator. less than $100, definitely 25 hour, up to $200, most likely 50 or 125. over $300, could be 125 or 300+. There are very few 300+ units sold any more. As a last resort, ask the salesman and see if you can get a straight answer. At a landscaping supply, they will know or can find out quickly. At a big box, not so much so.

If God meant for man to have eyebrows, he wouldn't have invented gasoline.

Also, if air cannot get in as fuel is used from the tank, a vacuum may form in the tank, stopping further fuel reaching the engine.........

Thanks jpfalt. That makes sense but I can't check it out. I gave it to my grandson - he likes fiddling with mechanical things.

But I seem to remember there was a short piece of hose poking into the petrol tank. It had a filter on it but it did not move much under gravity - perhas there should have been a weight on it - but it was missing - or perhaps the filter was heavy enough but the plastic 'hardened' and did not sag as much as it should.

For the time being I have gone for a 230v electric trimmer and chain saw - and a long lead.

That sounds like dirt, debris in carburetor, and/or breakage or blockage of the fuel withdrawal line from the tank.

Here in Texas the EPA sticker (and mattress tags) are the first items to hit the dumpster.

This discussion got off topic, but by the few on topic responses, I think I will stay with a gas powered wacker. Li-ion batteries are just too expensive to take a chance on them. I kinda thought about the Dewalt trimmer, but it is a bit too expensive.

Gas is cordless.

I finally bought a weed wacker 2 weeks ago. It is a 56V EGO. I've used it only 3 times so far, but it has worked better than I expected. It uses .095 line, so it doesn't break so easily. I was able to go through weeds 1" diameter and 3 feet tall with no problem. It is light weight,but the nice thing about a cordless tool is; when the battery needs charging, I can go inside and rest for an hour before going back to the weed wacking. My house is reached via a1000 foot driveway. The weed wacker does the job of keeping the sides of the driveway clear along with trimming around the many trees I have. Now as soon as it stops raining, I can get back to weeding. Being a property owner is a never ending job. When I retired, I thought I could just take it easy, but how wrong I was. I'm working harder now than before (physically).

Sounds like you bade the best choice for you, congrads.

I personally use a 40V LiIO system from Black + Decker; weed wacker, leaf blower/vacuum, hedge trimmer, all using the same battery packs. If the batteries for the cordless Craftsman mower give out and I can't get replacements, I'll be getting the B+D mower that completes the set.

(Love that Craftsman mower, BTW, dual blades, so it chews through even tall grass like nothing, and the LiIO batteries for it are so light I could juggle them. Assuming I could juggle, of course.)

Hire a teenager (and refuse to make them have a business license). Teens have enough problems without navigating local codes and bylaws. Help them a hand up, and if they want to turn their yard work into a business, then edumacate them on getting the business license (as required or not by local authority).

I'm getting closer to the point where I need to do that too, and I'd be glad to hire a teenager (or even somewhat pre-teen; I did yard work for pay starting when I was somewhere around 11yo). I generally believe that, outside industry, and perhaps even in industry, child labor laws are more of a disservice than a service to young people.

One of my neighbors has been doing that for years, but has had considerable difficulty finding teenagers willing to do it! The fellow who has been doing it the last couple of years is about to go off to college...

It's been 22 years since I retired from teaching, and the last person I knew at the local HS retired a year ago, so I no longer have any contacts there.

Raised on a farm... Things are so much difference. I wanted to hire my next door neighbor kids...

Once when I asked them to retrieve a small bolt I dropped when working on the car. They were playing on the street, I spend 45 minutes to an hour trying.

Their hands/arms were smaller, I asked them if they had a minute to make a quick $5.00, and a minute is all it took, for me it was well spent, But they expected that from then on.

I'm building a garden shed, where all I needed was an extra pair of hands, hold a level, pound some nails. Depends on the kids aptitude maybe even teach them with some power tools, they were 16-17 years old..

Even though these kids father had a lawn care business, they were not very mechanically inclined, nor did they help him,... much.

For me, it was too risky, this is something their father needs to teach them.

.

"and perhaps even in industry, child labor laws are more of a disservice than a service to young people."

Perhaps, but when you add in the propensity for companies to not have proper on-the-job training programs, it is highly irresponsible to have a 10-year old run a metal lathe or a forklift, or to send them into a confined space to clean the soot out of a tank.

Back when companies were run by people, there was considerable pressure to over-work, under-pay, and under-protect the employees in order to get the work done 'under budget and ahead of schedule.' Now that companies are run by Soulless Corporate Boards, they will do whatever it takes for Maximum Profit, completely ignoring Morality or Ethics, and only grudgingly obeying the Laws. Even if the 'paper route' job is no longer viable due to the death of the newspaper industry, the 'black market' for child labor in babysitting, pet sitting, lawn mowing, pool skimming, and house sitting still remains.

Well, who's left to do the training? The trade schools seem to have all been shut down or converted into college prep schools.

Unfortunately true. ...and not just the trade schools; I understand that most middle and high school shops of all kinds have been eliminated

As Phoenix said, that training really ought to have come mostly from parents (as ours did) or other relatives, but now, many (perhaps most) parents don't have those skills themselves, so they can't possibly pass them on.

We had no children of our own, but I definitely did teach more than a few skills to other people's children, both in and out of school.

I was fortunate enough to have been raised on a farm.

Our schools industrial arts program at the time had better equipment than the local Tech College. It was eliminated about a few years after I graduated high school, but about 12-15 years ago, they tried to get it going again.

In 7th grade, the schools instructor had us copy the safety rules out of the book on each power tool we were to use. Router, Planer, Jointer, Hand Planer Skill saw, Lathe, Drill Press etc...

I don't believe many really read the safety rules and just copied them. While users were intimidated of using the power tools, I jumped in... ended up showing others how to use it... and ended up doing everyone work.

Here's a little story of an incident.

Our Woodworker instructor, Who was very good, wrote a number of how-to books for Craftsman and Sears.

Pat (my instructor) and myself had a n usual falling out, so our relationship was somewhat already strained.

Anyways, on the farm, we had logged out a 42 Diameter Elm tree that previous winter, pretty solid, and it was just prior to the Dutch Elm Disease outbreak. And as I, a high school freshman, I was going to make a coffee table out of it, I cut it at a slant with the chainsaw at home, so it was about 42" x 60" by 8" thick so I could bring it to school.

I was friends with his son, we were the same age and in the same class, and I had the power hand plane and was planing the top smooth.

Pat (the instructor), came over and took the tool out of my hands and scolded me quite aggressively that I did not have my safety rules written up for the power hand plane as he was shaking the hand planer in my face how dangerous these tools are.

Well, he should have unplugged the power hand planer because when he was through verbally ripping me a new one, he lowered his arm holding the hand planer and accidently pressed the on switch, whereas the planer proceeded to reached out and grabbed his shop coat, chewed it up as it wound it up in the hand planner... Pat wasn’t hurt, but was very embarrassed.

On top of that, His son who was standing next to me was horrified when I started laughing and asked Pat if he could demonstrate that over, because I didn’t read in the safety rules where wrapping up your shop coat safely in the hand planer was.

Of course his son started laughing like someone farted in church. Even his dad had a smirk on his face, but I don’t think it had anything to do with my attempt at comedy.

Btw, what was the smirk about? You may ask,… well, I the very first person to get a (D-) in shop class.

I wasn't raised on a farm, but I certainly worked on several, starting at age 13 or earlier. I learned carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and gardening at home.

I still have a tiny cedar chest and a set of shelves that I made in middle school wood shop. I was too busy preparing for college to take any shop during HS (I think the only shop in my high school was auto shop, and I had no hope of having my own car), but fortunately my college (Cal Poly SLO) required all engineering majors, including Electronic Engineers, to take metalworking. I ended up taking every metalworking class they offered, except a couple of welding classes. That was one of the wisest decisions I ever made!

During my teaching career, I taught wood shop, electronics, and small appliance repair, among other things, along with my primary Physics.

You being a teacher, I feel I have to speak for all the little bastards who think ther're comedians and apologize

As I was learning, and still am... accidents happen... fortunate for me, they were minor ones and it amounted to just learning experiences. But I have the scars on my hand to remind me.

And what was mentioned earlier,... this has changed to a sanitary harmless society. Anything else is dealt in a courtroom.

Oh,... And I also still have all my fingers too.

"...and apologize "

Thanks! Fortunately, I remember virtually nothing of those kids. On the other hand, every once in a while, someone I don't recognize at all will tap me on the shoulder and say "Didn't you teach at EDHS back in ..." They invariably have positive comments. This is even true for at least a couple of people who didn't like me when I was their teacher; after maturing, they realized how I was trying to help them.

But of course the real rewards are those very few who seek me out to express their gratitude, and those other few who have kept in contact over many years.

Just this year, I got an email from a 1979 foreign exchange student. I quote: "To say I remember you is a gross understatement. If there ever was one single person who defined the rest of my life, it was you!"

I can't imagine a better compliment! ...and that more than compensates for a few on the other end of the scale.

Either a compliment or a curse, but we suspect that indeed it was a compliment!

"I was fortunate enough to have been raised on a farm."

And unfortunately, due to the spread of Big Ag and 'Factory Farms,' it is becoming rare to find a family farm where the father has the 'hands-on' skills to teach his children.

That was why I made my suggestion, to create an entity somewhere between 'casual labor' and 'licensed business' where there was an opportunity to teach the skills the kids need to grow up. With falling memberships, groups like the 4H clubs, the JayCees, Campfire Boys/Girls and even Scouting are losing the ability to reach out and help. We NEED to teach our children how to make this country truly great. (Hint, it takes more than wearing a red baseball cap and giving MORE tax breaks to the uber-rich) If we don't have the skills to pass on, we need to look to neighbors. If we have no kids of our own, we volunteer to teach the neighborhood kids. If centralized life training is failing we need to go to decentralized training, hopefully with some ad-hoc communication between the training cells so skills don't end up with massive regional variations that will lead to confusion down the line.

the are still there... the problem is finding people who will risk everything, Health, Financial as well as Personnel well being to farm.

And personal growth can be had in the city... instead of looking at everything as a consumable. make it last,

• Fix that lawn mower instead of trading it off,
• Change oil in that car your self instead of having it done for you.
• Lift that dam hood up on you car first and try to find and fix the problem yourself before taking to the mechanic.

The list is long for this to happen in an urban area. The problem is, even though you could afford to have someone else doing it, you have to look at it as though you don't have the money to hire it done.

I was in my shop class in the RN about 1967, the chief PO who was showing us how to use a huge Milwaukee (?) miller, had already lost the top of a finger clearing metal swarf with a running miller machine.

I asked him how he had done it.

He demonstrated.....

.....and lost another finger tip off the same hand....

Turned to me, grabbed a handy towel to staunch the blood and said "thats what happened the other time!!"

Please tell me he was removed from the position of Safety Instructor after that...

...after all, he could only teach that lesson 2-6 more times, depending on whether he could use his thumb and/or his other hand.

But, in all honesty, that incident where he lost the second fingertip should have earned him a lifetime ban from touching power tools; it's for his own safety as well as the safety of others.

yes, after 8 more demonstrations. You have to look at the time frame this occurred.

No, you must note the year, health and safety came much later.....

A lesson without scars... at least for you.

The scars were mental.......invisible!!

Maybe not physical scars, but as a kid, if you can watch someone chop off the tip of their own finger and not get some emotional scars from it, that you're one of those kids that, to use the Texan phrase, "Ain't exactly right."

Seeing someone injure themselves so easily could lead the kid to have a 'skittishness' around power tools, and that skittishness would lead to not holding the tool or workpiece firmly, since the kid is working while preparing to run away, and a loose grip will lead to the tool or workpiece moving out of control and injuring the kid or someone else nearby.

After an instructor injures themselves, the kids who witnessed it need to be counseled/debriefed, to insure they don't lose confidence in their own abilities after watching someone 'better than them' get hurt so easily.

The three most important tools in any work shop are Confidence, a Firm Grip, a Watchful Eye, and Clamps. You can never have too many clamps. And don't forget eye and hearing protection; Watchful Eyes aren't that useful if all they can see is the inside of an eyepatch.

Then there is the most famous Texan famous last words: "Hold my beer, and watch this!"

Well, as a farm kid,

I saw our Austrian Sheppard round up a heifer that escaped and bring her back in, only for the heifer to take a short corner and tried to jump over the loader on our tractor and got speared with the 18" tines on the the bucket on our loader. The heifer hanging up, bellowering and kicking, I had to pull the 800 lb. kicking heifer off the tines, so it wouldn't do more damage while holding my hand against the wound because it punctured the stomach and kept the contents from Oozing out, I gave it 30 Cc of penicillium. Vet couldn't do anything I already done, except he said keep an eye on her.

or while the local Farmers Coopertive deliver a load of feed, as it finished unloading and lowering the dump, he didn't notice a heifer stuck her head in and was crushed to a point that me and my brother had to not only put her down, but also butcher her before milking.

or deal with other health issues such as calving problems, breach, double breach, uterus twisted... or how about treating gangrene mastitis. I myself never heard of it... but I'll never forget it, but the cow was treated and we had to keep her alive until the antibiotics was out of her system by cleaning out the affected area by hand.

Experiences too numerous too count.

on a human scale, our nieghbor had a heart attack in the woods, and their family was so upset and at 14 years old me and my sister were the only ones that had CPR training giving him Mouth to mouth resistation for 35 minutes until the a balance came.

me and ,y sister knew he was gone, but just to comfort the family we performed it until the ambulance came, we thought it's best to,keep,the family calm with just the hope there's a chance.

or at 17 running to an accident on a curve on our farm because the driver was going 85 miles an hour and the curve was posted at 45 MPH. He was DOA.

Or losing one of your best friends due to an accident or in one case a health defect.

or... putting down you best horse because he broke his leg.... these are just a few.

no, we didn't have counselors, it may seem a good idea now only because kids are raised in a sanitary environment and have no idea that shit actually happens to people and there is no redo because its no game or movie.

That's the point, rural kids are exposed to the fact that life is dangerous almost constantly, and that builds up a tolerance, a 'thick skin' over one's sensibilities; almost an inoculation, like catching cow pox from the dairy work and being immune to a later outbreak of smallpox because of it⁽¹⁾. Most city kids don't even know where food comes from, and they have no idea that permanent maimings are so easy.

Also, there's a difference between animals injuring/killing themselves because they aren't aware of the hazards, people dying from health conditions and accidents. Instructors being injured during a safety briefing is a whole level above all that, because it is an 'authority figure.' The kids are already operating in a specific 'worldview,' believing that:

• This person knows what they are doing.
• This person will protect them and keep them safe while they are under his supervision.
• This person is sensible enough to avoid exposing the kids to something too dangerous for them to handle.

The injury during the safety briefing, which is a repeat of a previous injury just being talked about, shatters the worldview of the kids, showing them that:

• This person has NO IDEA what they are doing.
• This person CANNOT protect them.
• This person is reckless enough to operate equipment HE cannot handle, so he is likely to toss the kids into dangerous situations they will not be able to control.

Also the irony of the safety instructor repeating an injury while discussing that injury during a safety briefing might expose the kids to a very frightening fact they are not mature enough to understand and accept:

• The Universe does not care about us AT ALL, every narrative me make to say how things 'should' work is just a lie to hide from is the truth that anything could go horribly wrong at ANY moment. We are like ants on a New York sidewalk, crushed not out of malice or pity, but simply because the crushers AREN'T EVEN AWARE of us⁽⁴⁾.

1. Fun fact, that is exactly how Europe discovered the concept of 'vaccination,' they noticed that the milkmaids never had the unsightly pock marks that disfigured the faces of smallpox survivors⁽²⁾, and doctors realized that being around cows with cow pox had made them resistant to smallpox, so they started a program where patients would have a small slit cut into their arm and piss from a cow pox sore was inserted⁽³⁾, to protect them from smallpox, and it worked.
2. That's also why the 'ivory-skinned milkmaid' was so highly desired as a wife, they were shining examples of beauty when everyone else almost looked like trolls from all the facial pocks and scars.
3. Early medicine was crude and disgusting, but we had to start somewhere n our search for knowledge.
4. Yes, that's also the underlying message to good Gothic Horror/Cosmic Horror.

"...as a kid, if you can watch someone chop off the tip of their own finger ..."

I did exactly that in one of my drafting classes when I was in high school! The fellow was trimming his finished drawing to turn it in; he curled his index finger around the end of the large paper cutter blade, and then whomp! He cleanly removed the last joint!. Fortunately for me, he picked up the tip of his finger, went to the teacher, and said: "Look, I cut myself." If he hadn't done that, I probably would have fainted...

I have to confess that I don't remember what happened next, but I'm pretty sure they were able to reattach it.

Reminiscing... in grade school, this thing really scared me....

That one is only a foot square. In the drafting room, it was somewhere between 2 and 3 feet square. A LOT more inertia in the blade/handle...

That picture was just handy.... The one I recall was 2 feet square.

Weapon of class destruction, or class instruction?

Reminds me of these pizza cutters.... They do work great, you can really lean in to them.... but mind where you pinkie is.

Which is why the engineer who designed it put the big, fist-grip handles where they are, set in from the ends to minimize the opportunity for unfortunate pinky placement.

Myself, I would have had the handholds be set so your fingers went through big slots under the grip points, so all your favorite digits are protected by handguards, but that design might be under patent protection; thus the design we see here. Which ever is better will likely become the standard after the patent expires.

Yes, Little Johnny, they made swords with hand guards for a reason.

Dam it Jim, what kind a pizza you making that you need a Klingon Bat'leth to cut it.

Famous quote from that guy: "You call that a knoife, no, no, no, this is a knoife!"

Klingon Bat'leth must only be used when cutting hyuge donut shaped pizza, to answer your question McCoy. Call Scotty right now, I need maximum reactor power to those pizza ovens, the Klingon envoys are hailing me their arrival already. Have you ever seen those guys devour pizza? It is almost as disgusting as their mating rituals.

The bladelets on the under-side middle are for gutting that pepperoni, or whoever is trying to steal your pizza.

"Have you ever seen those guys devour pizza? It is almost as disgusting as their mating rituals."

You forget, we have had a first-hand report of Klingon mating rituals:

[block quote on]

[Worf makes a prolonged scream.]
Worf: That is how the Klingon lures a mate.
Wesley: Are you telling me to go yell at Salia?
Worf: No. Men do not roar. Women roar...[besotted] and they hurl heavy objects...and claw at you...
Wesley: What does the man do?
Worf: He reads love poetry. [regaining his composure.] He ducks a lot.

[block quote off]

O.J.T. - finding out how to interact with customers, listening skills, productive effort. And lastly, a word left out of the dictionary for a long time, gumption.

I had hire a fellow from the U.P. (Upper Michigan) back woods.

Nice guy, really genuine attitude, but would panic in a lot of situations either freeze up or say things that were not well thought out.

To help break him in, I had him first dealing with our vendors, if he said something that was foolish or stupid. (He tended to not think about what he saying,) I didn't care, because the venders were looking for a sale. I'd give him pointers, to write down what he was going to say or needed to get across and use that as a script incase his mind went blank.

And he progressed to direct unsupervised customer contact. He still said stupid things, but he was honest and the customers knew that.

Maybe they should put up these things called job boards at high schools for summer jobs. The real idea, though, is for Dad's to start their sons/daughters on a path toward some form of entrepreneurship. Then maybe they get a real handle on the job market, what it is, what skills are in demand, and how to apply themselves and propel into a worthy future. Then there is military service that is never to be underestimated in building potential into reality.

"Hire a teenager (and refuse to make them have a business license)."

Or, conversely, talk to your local Alderman or Chamber of Commerce to see what it would take to set up a small company for the teens to run to do the yardwork for a local neighborhood. That way they're not just doing 'chores' for money, they're getting a small taste of what running a business is like. It could wake up a dormant entrepreneurial spirit within some of them, give them the ideas and experience to start their own business when they get out of school. THERE'S a Job-Creation route right there.

to see what it would take to set up a small company for the teens to run to do the yardwork for a local neighborhood

Like Chimney Sweepers?....

One cannot expect government to find a way where you, yourself should do.

actually, there's too much responsibility coupled with liability, that should be falling onto the parents.

And if the people depend on the government which impedes their growth,... you change that in the voting booth.

First, you have to be fortunate enough to find that one responsible teenager that can manage it. It is asking a lot of some of them. One kid, one lawnmower, and a weed whacker goes a long way.

They usually find out that everyone wants their lawn done a different way, how to deal with back yard dogs (without letting them run amok in the neighborhood, etc.), deal with customers that just want someone to talk to, etc. etc.

By the way I am in Australia, so say that cordless electric whipper snipers (Weed Whackers) are a joke is not fair, I bought a Victa cordless unit about a year ago from Bunnings (Australian hardware company), my first impressions with this unit was poor. It used 40V 4 amp hour Li ion batteries and it cost me about $400 Aus.

The hardware company had very little information on the unit, well I took the risk as a first adopter the biggest problem was not so much its power, but as you might guess, the battery problem. I finished up buying a second charger and two extra batteries.

This cost me all up another $500 AUS. Once I had done this I never use my petrol weed whacker, the unit stays in the house, and with the extra batteries and charger I have no problems cutting down Couch Grass and Buffalo Grass these are very tough weed grasses we have in Australia.

Being an early adopter is not really a smart thing to do yet with the unit I bought I must admit its a joy to use this 40V unit with extra batteries and charger you can do large areas. It will be interesting to see how many years the batteries last.

But roll on one year and Victa have brought out a unit which uses an 800W 80V Brushless motor, This unit uses 82V Li ion battery and you can buy the weed whacker with 82V battery and charger for $500 AUS an extra battery 82V 4 amp hour is $300 AUS.

Don't forget an 800W electric motor is extremely powerful compared with what might be quoted as an 800W petrol engine.

I will concede though that battery technology still has a way to go, You may find a similar product in the USA, I know now I would buy one of these , keep the batteries charged though.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/victa-82v-line-trimmer-kit_p3381101