[JayG]

At the moment I've got a Bosch rechargeable hedge trimmer which cuts very well, but not for very long now that one of the two batteries won't hold a charge, and I refuse to pay a minimum of £45 for a replacement. 

I have a bookmarked page on Ebay for petrol hedge trimmers, but can't quite bring myself to pay the high price for a decent quality machine, and I'm not sure I could stand the racket either. 

I also have my trusty 12-year old Flymo mains powered trimmer which, apart from the ever-present risk of slicing through the cable, tends to rip rather than cut the stems cleanly.

On closer examination there was a small gap between the two sets of sliding teeth which was obviously stopping them cutting cleanly - I tightened the bolts holding the two sections together as much as I dare but that didn't make any difference, so although the blade assembly looked pretty straight to me I though it might be worth trying to bend it to see if I could bring the teeth closer together.

It worked!  Not perfect, but a lot better - you need to be very careful with the amount of pressure you apply, this is a minor adjustment and brute force is definitely not required.

Don't know whether this will be helpful to anyone else with a similar problem - mine have fallen off the hook in their cubby hole onto the concrete floor more than once.................

[mumofstig]

Some thing to bear in mind Jay 

I can deffo relate to cutting through the cable, though - mine has several repairs.
When my SIL borrowed it he laughed at it...............but, needless to say, he brought it back with a red face and another repair 

[JayG]

 

My neighbour has sliced through his so many times he now has to borrow one of my extension cables to reach the end of his garden!   

[Sparkyrog]

that is the trouble with them 

[madcat]

Slicing the cable is one thing - slicing your finger (as OH did) is quite another!     Not recommended.  A&E might be quiet on a sunday afternoon, but it is no reason to want to go visit....     All credit to a very painstaking doctor, picking bits of nail and bone out of the cut, the nail grew back straight and the finger healed without a scar.

[mumofstig]

That does sound nasty 

[Sparkyrog]

I only use petrol hedge trimmers But you must be aware that fuel goes stale 

[madcat]

That does sound nasty 

last cable he sliced!  The lesson about hedge cutters was thoroughly learnt!!  I learnt never to let him lose with it without someone else in the house ...   

[jezza]

hi i used to use electric hedge cutters with 30 foot cables ended up with more joiners than cable ,changed to petrol easier and more manouverable if you are botherd about cost why not hire one .IF youve good neighbours share costs over a weekend £30-40  jezza

[dim]

I am a full time landscaper/gardener, and prefer a petrol hedge trimmer

however, I also own a Stihl electric hedge trimmer .... I bought it off ebay for £46 (used)

for small gardens, I would rate it highly (better than any of the other electric hedge trimmers that I have used)