the ever going battle, line trimmer or edger

before people start complaining, which seems to be a common occurance on these forums...shut up in advance

this is a question for everyone - who here uses an actual edger vs line trimmer

personally i find a line trimmer to be much more efficient and looks much better. for new clients that have excessive growth onto the sidewalk/driveways I use and edger but charge them an extra 10 bucks for the first mow because usually everything on the yard is overgrown.

i also find the line trimmer to be much more elegant looking, an edger leaves a large space between the sidewalk and grass and you can see the soil. if a line trimmer is done correctly - PERPENDICULAR TO THE HARD SURFACE not angled - it looks good but you can tell someone inexperienced by drops in the edger with a little angle in the cut. that makes it look really bad

i do the edges before i trim anything else just incase of fatigue. so there ya have my take - what's yours?

 

i use an edger, for me it's easier and more consistent.

 

I use the trimmer after I have established an edge. but I do not like seeing soil between the sidewalk and the grass. makes it look it it was, well, cut with a weed wacker. I think if done correctly, a weedwacker can make the edge look elegant and grace full, especially on curving walkways. I think I might be tempted to use the edger if there were long straight runs of area to be edged.

 

nick...sir--your profile says you are 18 and you already have an edger?

you must certainly be a lawn god because I was damn near 45 before I got my first edger.

GEO

 

They both have their uses, its really all preference the way I see it. Only downside is that it is anatomically awkward to use a weedwacker as an edger, producing more fatigue than is necessary, for me at least.

There is something subtly "right" in using tools for what they were intended, though.

 

Nothing short of a powerful Lazer, can restore an edge like a walk behind edger.Grass & Dirt, watch-out!!!!!!!......Always provided this service once per month to my regular mowing accounts, string trimmed the other 3 weeks.Never charged less than $75 for the 1st edgeing done on a new account..........and so goes life in the big city!

 

i completely agree with doing the edging first. i've had a few times where i've done the edging last and i got mad at myself for not being completely straight with the edge. the way i look at it, is if your customer is not happy with the edge you are laying with the trimmer, then use an edger. i've used both and sometimes i just find it easier to use the trimmer for edging since i already have it out trimming around the house. not to sound like a bragger but i do think it takes someone with a little experience with a line trimmer to be able to put down a good edge with one. theres a few lco's that mow houses next to my customers who edge with the trimmer and its sloppy as all hell. it all depends on whos doing it and who takes pride in what their customers lawn looks like when finished.

 

ahhh this is just like that conversation about do you cut and trim or trim and cut, it is really old by now lol, some people use an edger some don't.
end of story.

 

I have some properties where I use an edger, some where I use a string trimmer. The way the turf meets the concrete walk/driveway will be a large factor in determining which to use. If the ground surface is a couple of inches below the concrete, an edger will not work very well. That is the case on several of my properties.

Some of my "good" properties have asphalt driveways and they cannot be edged with an edger. I edge beds, but use the string trimmer on the driveway/turf boundary. These situations are not desirable because the boundary isn't so distinct, as the under lying base of asphalt "feathers" out, leaving loose stones - ouch, when they hit my legs!

Last season, one lady asked me to stop edging the beds with the stick edger because she said I was making the beds larger and larger each week. I had a very nice vertical edge on the beds, making the stick edger work well and leaving a very nice boundary. But, she was happier with grass growing over the edge than fearing I was going to take up most of the lawn area, making it bed because I was taking more and more soil off the edge. Of course, that was not the case, but only her perception.