# Brush cutting with a weed whacker



## Mycrossover

I must live in a bubble but I just noticed that there are saw blades you can put on a weed whacker and cut pretty big stuff, that I would have cut with with pruning shears or my chain saw. I have an old but super reliable RedMax weed whacker fom when Komatsu owned Red Max. Any blade suggestions? Does this put undue strain on the weed whacker? Exceedingly dangerous? Thanks for any advice.

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## CentaurG2

For tough wood brush or saplings I like the redmax sst229 blade. It is basically chainsaw teeth stamped into a metal blade. You sharpen them the same way.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/273411646760


For heavy grass and weeds I like the stihl 3 blade brush knife.

https://www.stihlusa.com/products/trimmers-and-brushcutters/trimmer-heads-and-blades/brushknife/


Added strain? Yup. Dangerous? Hell yah. Bike handles and a harness are recommended. I have done a lot of clearing in my younger days and any sort of power brush cutter will save you hours of labor. Depending on how much land you want to clear consider renting a walk behind brushcutter (billygoat) or hiring someone with a tractor and a 3-point brush hog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SxQJWoD4FY


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## Mycrossover

Thanks. My string trimmer is not a model with the bicycle handles and it came with the simple shoulder strap. I imagine it can get away from you pretty quick with a saw blade. I see there are other blades with a lot if teeth, like 80. How does that behave compared to a chain saw tooth design? I have a lot of "strangler vines" with thorns in the brush. That stuff is NASTY.

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## Big Red Oaks 4 me

I don't seem to have a problem keeping the chainsaw out of dirt, but I'm not quite as "precision" with my brush-cutting Echo blade.


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## CentaurG2

Mycrossover said:


> Thanks. My string trimmer is not a model with the bicycle handles and it came with the simple shoulder strap. I imagine it can get away from you pretty quick with a saw blade. I see there are other blades with a lot if teeth, like 80. How does that behave compared to a chain saw tooth design? I have a lot of "strangler vines" with thorns in the brush. That stuff is NASTY.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


Stihl used to make a D handle with an additional small bar set at 90 degrees to give the D handle user a sporting chance with a blade. Blade performance will really depend on the displacement of your trimmer. I have seen big honkin’ clearing saws with blades that look like a lawn mower. We use 40cc stihl fs250s. Plenty of power for clearing but still can run a string head. You can always go granola and rent a herd of goats. Even power line companies are using them around here.


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## Franny K

Do you have the pieces that grip the blade? Are those parts available for that model? A curved shaft one would not be applicable. Sure it will put massively more stresses when you bind the blade from full rpm. Official brushcutters have the bike handle setup and there is an anvil of sorts to purchase separately depending on what you are doing. Manuals for those things are easily downloadable. I kind of like the steel blades (sheet/plate) that you sharpen with a chainsaw file I think a big (12") one has 24 teeth you would want a small one perhaps 8" I would think. Pole saws/pole pruners are a better choice for vines in my opinion. Not a monster extendable one.


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## blades

Straight shaft is preferred. You would want the steel plate blades with very small teeth, chains / tri arc, or any thing with a low tooth count will be unmanageable. Iirm correctly you need to cut from right to left not swinging back and forth, this throws most of the chips away from you based on a right hand rotation.


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## 066blaster

i had one once and it wasnt easy. i would rather swing a chainsaw at the brush. or do it by hand with an ax or lopers.


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## ironman_gq

I put quite a few hours on a brushcutter every year. Bike handles or a J bar are mandatory, even the high tooth count blades can kick pretty hard so you need the extra control. Forget about using a curved shaft trimmer, you'll destroy it very quickly, straight shaft preferably with a solid drive shaft not the spring shaft. The blades put a ton of stress on the gear box and driveshaft and if they aren't up to the task they'll break quickly.


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## muddstopper

Just seen this thread. My brothers weed eater all have homemade blades. I took a old power bandsaw blade and cut into 5in pieces. I drilled a hole in one end of the blade and mounted the blades in one of those three bladed gator heads.https://www.lowes.com/pd/Grass-Gator-The-Ultimate-Trimmer-Head/3654320 The blades will fold back if you hit a fence post but it will cut down some pretty big saplings. Its scary how fast it will cut small brush and you definitly want some sort of leggings and eye protection. Throw the plastic blades that come with the new head away, they dont even work well in grass. You will also need a m42 or similar colbalt drill to drill the holes in the hacksaw blade. Cheap drill bits will just burn up.


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## sb47

Mycrossover said:


> I must live in a bubble but I just noticed that there are saw blades you can put on a weed whacker and cut pretty big stuff, that I would have cut with with pruning shears or my chain saw. I have an old but super reliable RedMax weed whacker fom when Komatsu owned Red Max. Any blade suggestions? Does this put undue strain on the weed whacker? Exceedingly dangerous? Thanks for any advice.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk




Just be careful, those weed wacker saw blades will kick back on you and take your leg off. They work better if you use a skill saw blade. I like the Diablo blades best. they cut faster and stay sharper longer.

https://www.amazon.com/Diablo-D0724...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00M9IDPD0


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## John Lyngdal

I run a 80T 255MM diameter carbide tipped blade on my FS250 and have been quite pleased with the results.
Wouldn't consider cutting brush without a bicycle handle equipped device.


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## sawfun

The U shaped shredder blades are perfect for blackberries on my fs250r. As a string trimmer it's too powerful for my yard in town and was barely able to deforest with a sharpened tri tip blade.


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