HANDHELD EQUIPMENT: The Ins and Outs of Edging

Crisp, clean edges are the finishing touches of a good landscaping job. Without them, beautiful turf and weed-free beds don’t look as neat and professional. Thankfully, a variety of edgers are available to landscape contractors to keep a client’s lawn on the straight and narrow.
 
Different edgers are better for different tasks, so contractors must be aware of what their machine can accomplish before edging. But with the right model and the proper upkeep, edgers are the best tools for  keeping lawns looking neat.

THE BASICS. Edgers were introduced in the mid-1980s as multi-purpose handheld tool. By the early 1990s, the machines appeared as dedicated units with one purpose: to create deep, neat edges between sidewalks, beside curbs and driveways and on the edges of grass lines and flower beds.
 
“When you’re at the store picking out an edger, it’s probably a good idea to pass by the multi-purpose machines,” says Jay Larson, marketing manager for Shindaiwa’s North American division, Tualatin, Ore. “The performance and versatility you gain with a dedicated unit will be worth the effort and the price.”
 
The machine comes in two main types, stick and walk-behind, and both have their advantages and disadvantages. Stick, or handheld, edgers are powered by 1 to 1.2 horsepower engines attached to a shaft, says Chris Nordling, Shindaiwa lawn edger product manager. Walk-behind, or wheeled, edgers are powered by bigger engines with between 2.5 to 5 horsepower and run with three or four wheels placed on the ground.
 
Handhelds are light and easy to maneuver, weighing between 13 and 15 pounds, and can fit into tight, compact areas. They’re ideal for short, quick jobs, such as upkeep and maintenance, and they are not always best at making the first edge on new lawns or that first important edge in the spring.
 
Walk-behinds can run for longer periods of time, making them ideal for jobs a mile or longer, like highways and large commercial properties. They are better suited for creating edges in new lawns or edging through winter buildup to make spring’s first cut. However, because of their size and weight, they are more awkward to transport and maneuver and require a larger vehicle to haul them around.
 
Stick edgers are more popular in the landscape industry, and experienced a market growth of 66 percent from 2002 to 2006, says Bruce Gosen, product manager, Echo, Lake Zurich, Ill.
 
Tommy Tanaka, marketing manager for RedMax, Lawrenceville, Ga., agrees, adding stick edger sales have doubled in the past five years.
 
“Stick edgers are more maneuverable and easier to use,” he says. “Contractors can pull it out of the truck and use it, which saves time. Walk-behinds can be heavy and awkward and require more manpower to operate.”

PURCHASING POWER. When purchasing a stick edger, there are a few factors to consider, and machine weight is one to keep in mind. Contractors want a machine that is light enough to use without tiring their arms, but sturdy enough to be used on thick weeds or near a sidewalk, Larson says. In terms of horsepower, he recommends a machine with around 1 to 1.2 horsepower – any less is too little to be effective and any more is unnecessary for what the machine is intended to do.
 
Besides weight and power, blade adjustment is another important edger features because different tasks require different cutting depths.
 
“One of the most common mistakes contractors make when using an edger is not setting the appropriate height adjustment to provide a nice, deep cut for a particular job,” Gosen says. “This can result in having to do the job over again or having to maintain it sooner than they would have if the blade height would have been set correctly.” 

Edging too deeply bogs down the engine because it’s harder on the gear case and drive train, Nordling says. “And you also run the risk of hitting an irrigation line or sprinkler,” he says. “But if your edge is too shallow, you won’t get a sharp enough cut.”
 
And edging more than two inches deep increases the chance of hitting the concrete. “Striking a solid object causes the most stress to an edger and should be avoided,” Nordling says.
 
Contractors should seek machines equipped with deflectors that keep debris from building up and clogging the machine. “Debris guards are like mud flaps on a truck,” Larson says. “And they definitely help.” Deflectors add $15 to an edger's price, but it’s a feature most models are becoming equipped with, Nordling says.
 
The blade is another important edger feature to consider. Without a strong, sharp blade, neat edges are difficult to obtain.
 
“Stout, stiff steel is what you want in a blade,” Larson says, adding tool steel with a little bit of give to it is considered the best. “Nothing else will hold up to running through sod and dirt, scraping against concrete and hitting pebbles,” he says.

EDGER ACTION. A contractor's geographic region will dictate the kind of edger he uses and when.
 
For example, in the southern states, where weeds are thicker, denser and grow throughout the year, may need a walk-behind or  stick edger that will withstand year-round use to keep weeds under control. However, in northern states, where weeds go dormant during the winter, a walk-behind is best suited for creating the first edge in the spring. Likewise, a stick edger, or in some cases a string trimmer, may be sufficient for maintenance and upkeep throughout the summer and early fall.
 
“We often find contractors in northern states will use a dedicated edger in the spring for spring cleanup, and then try to get away with using a string trimmer for weekly maintenance,” Gosen says. “In the south, where grass and weeds are heavier, contractors primarily use edgers for everything – our biggest market is in the Florida area.”
 
Nearly all landscape contractors in southern states use some kind of edger, compared to about 50 percent of contractors in northern states who use string trimmers or other equipment to perform an edger’s job, Tanaka says.
 
It’s important for contractors to remember that edgers are made for edging, and they're not designed to troubleshoot other jobs.
 
“Edgers are not sod-cutters, leaf mulchers or roto-hoes,” Larson says. “What they do well is put a neat edge on your lawn. Use them for other jobs and you won’t like the results.”
 
Edgers come in a wide range of prices, making it feasible for most contractors own more than one. Stick edgers can cost from $200 to $500 and wheeled edgers can run from $400 to $900, Gosen says.
 
Tanaka recommends any contractors that offers lawn maintenance have at least one machine in use and one for backup.
 
However, with proper upkeep, edgers can last five to six years, or 1,000 hours, before they need replacing, Nordling says.

MINOR MAINTENANCE. How an edger is maintained during the growing season is just as important as how it's maintained before winter storage.
 
During the growing season, let the edger warm up for a few minutes before starting a job. At day's end, and once the machine has been allowed to cool down, hose off the blade and the debris guard after to clear abrasive debris. This is a good time for contractors to thoroughly inspect the blade for cracks or nicks that may have occurred during use and replace damaged or dull blades.
 
Larson suggests greasing the gear case every 50 hours, and to consult the owner’s manual to determine how greasing should be done.
 
“Make sure to remove the old grease first, rather than just add to it,” he says. “Too much grease will make the gears run hot by entering the shaft and overloading the engine.”
 
To winterize the machine, clean the blade and other mechanical parts and spray them with an oil coating to prevent rusting, Larson says. Clean the engine cylinder fins, the air filter and the muffler. Cover and store in a dry place away from moisture and severe cold.
 
The most important thing to do when winterizing an edger is to either add gas stabilizer to the fuel tank or to drain out all of the fuel to prevent clogging of the carburetor.
 
Lastly, before restarting the machine in the spring, Larson suggests contractors install a new spark plug, changing the fuel filter and re-greasing the gear case.