Author Topic: Mustachian Lawn Trimmer Alternative?  (Read 11201 times)

vagon

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Mustachian Lawn Trimmer Alternative?
« on: October 22, 2014, 06:36:44 PM »
So I have a push reel mower and its working well, the missing piece of the puzzle is a lawn-timmer/whipper-snipper for edging near the deck etc.
Anyone got a good alternative?

Cheddar Stacker

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Re: Mustachian Lawn Trimmer Alternative?
« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2014, 06:45:21 PM »
Sheep?

Hopefully someone else has a better answer for us though. I'm dealing with the same issue.

Dan_at_Home

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Re: Mustachian Lawn Trimmer Alternative?
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2014, 06:51:50 PM »
MMM once said in an article that he had a weed wacker power tool but that one day it stopped working.  He said he got pissed at it and smashed it right there.  He said that since then he was using manual hand trimmers. 

i.e. the quote was:
Also, I was trimming the grass with my old inherited corded weed eater. The piece of crap finally gave out and shot broken plastic parts all over the lawn. I smashed it up in rage and threw it into the metal recycling bin, and ALMOST hopped on the bike to head to Home Depot to pick out a new cordless one. Then a bubble appeared over my head and Barney from the Simpsons started calling “Chaaaaalllenge Weeeek!”. So I went to the shed and grabbed the long manual shears instead. I had never tried using these for lawn and weed edging before, but surprise, they are shockingly fast, silent, and I also got a bit of added workout for free! I don’t think I’ll even buy a weed-eater again

I have a large yard, work full time and don't have the time to do the manual hand trimmers thus resort to an electric, rechargeable weed wacker.  I am sure someday the time will come that my weed wacker too will stop working, and thus I will have to smash it, hopefully by then I will in FI and I can just take my time doing the weed trimmer by hand like MMM.

« Last Edit: October 22, 2014, 07:02:19 PM by Dan_at_Home »

Jesus Christ

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Re: Mustachian Lawn Trimmer Alternative?
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2014, 07:36:32 PM »
If you go to enough yard sales you will find a nice electric one. Just use it around the house and deck. If it requires two extension cords to reach the high grass simply don't bother trimming. Go enjoy your day instead.

- Never buy a chainsaw, just use an old fashion hand saw for tree trimming.
- MMM recommends manual shears for hedge trimming however I would splurge on the electric hedge trimmer.
« Last Edit: October 22, 2014, 09:53:37 PM by plasticspale »

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Mustachian Lawn Trimmer Alternative?
« Reply #4 on: October 23, 2014, 11:42:26 AM »
The manual grass shears work well as long as you don't have carpal tunnel. Otherwise I'd go electric (corded for small yards, cordless for large).

Cheddar Stacker

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Re: Mustachian Lawn Trimmer Alternative?
« Reply #5 on: October 23, 2014, 11:43:52 AM »
The manual grass shears work well as long as you don't have carpal tunnel. Otherwise I'd go electric (corded for small yards, cordless for large).

Pictures? Are you talking about loppers, like tree trimmers, or is there something specifically made for grass?

Rickk

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Re: Mustachian Lawn Trimmer Alternative?
« Reply #6 on: October 23, 2014, 11:48:46 AM »
The manual grass shears work well as long as you don't have carpal tunnel. Otherwise I'd go electric (corded for small yards, cordless for large).

Pictures? Are you talking about loppers, like tree trimmers, or is there something specifically made for grass?

Google images of grass shears.
https://www.google.com/search?q=manual+grass+shears&es_sm=122&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Uj9JVKOiOqHC7AbplICIDA&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAw&biw=1920&bih=1019

GuitarStv

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Re: Mustachian Lawn Trimmer Alternative?
« Reply #7 on: October 23, 2014, 12:07:21 PM »
This has inspired me.  I hate using our crappy weedwhacker and will be checking out these grass shears.

DollarBill

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Re: Mustachian Lawn Trimmer Alternative?
« Reply #8 on: October 23, 2014, 01:52:18 PM »
It's kind of over kill but you can put bricks down, then no need for trimming. 

CanuckExpat

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Re: Mustachian Lawn Trimmer Alternative?
« Reply #9 on: October 23, 2014, 03:54:39 PM »
I use grass shears. I had them hanging around from another "project" and they seem to be working well for edging the lawn. It doesn't actually take too long and I find it kind of therapeutic, people walking by might think you are a bit crazy when they see you near your grass with what looks like scissors though, if that kind of thing bothers you.

Sometimes when I let the grass grow too long, I end up using the grass shears to take the tops off everything, since the reel mower is not the best at handling overgrown grass. Caveat, I have what is probably considered a small lawn.

Since I already have the shears, I've also been using them to keep the hedges trimmed. I have been wondering if doing that will dull the shears faster than if I only used them on grass. Any ideas here?

These are the shears I have: http://www.sears.com/black-decker-13inch-grass-shears/p-043W028974690001P
I think I paid ~$3 after applying some coupon or other that they emailed me.

vagon

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Re: Mustachian Lawn Trimmer Alternative?
« Reply #10 on: October 25, 2014, 05:05:21 PM »
Thanks for all the input guys, sounds like grass shears it is!