Metal blades come in a variety of shapes. The most common are the 3 arm versions and the multi-teeth type which resemble a circular saw. See a popular example here which is the Silverline 675319 strimmer blade. Line feed and blade replacements. It’s useful if a blade strimmer comes with spare blades, so you don’t run out if one breaks in the middle of a job. You should be able to get a new spool of line for a line strimmer or replace the whole head. With both types it's helpful if the spare blades or line can be stored on the tool. Plus, there is some sort of argument about having a head full of metal having more rotational mass, thus possibly causing clutch issues down the road from overworking, esp when used on a smaller trimmer that is much more suitable for every day trimming, as opposed to a larger one that has the ability to use blades (which kills you when used for normal trimming every day..).

Anything heavier such as long tough overgrown areas of grass, nettles and other tough weeds will be best trimmed with a heavy duty petrol strimmer. Preferably fitted with something like 2.4mm strimmer line up to 3mm heavy duty type. As you might imagine, it would need to be a more powerful type of strimmer to drive a metal blade and at a speed fast enough to cut through the type of growth mentioned above. That power could only be supplied by a petrol powered strimmer. These machines will work away for hours day after day no problem. Handle types. There are two types of strimmer handles. The most common is a round, circular handle on the shaft of the strimmer, called a loop handle. It makes the strimmer easy and comfortable to control, and on the best models, it can be slid up and down the shaft, so you can adjust it to your height. Alternatively, there are ‘steer’ handles - two handles rather than a loop. These offer more control and let you use a comfortable scything motion when you cut, but they take up room, and can be a little more expensive. They’re also far more common on brushcutters and petrol strimmers than electric or cordless strimmers, so you might not find steer handles on many domestic models. Straps and safety harnesses. A shoulder strap or safety harness is an excellent bonus feature. It takes some of the weight of the tool, making it more comfortable to use, and also helps balance it, for better manoeuvrability and a more precise cut.Blades are designed to do specific tasks. Unlike the nylon line you may be more familiar with using, these solid blades should never be used for the more normal grass trimming tasks. And certainly never used up against walls or trees. My Preferred Method Brambles and Heavy Brush Petrol strimmers. Powered by petrol these typically have steer handles - explained in more detail below - and a curved, angled shaft. Because they use fuel, they’re often more powerful than corded and cordless strimmers, but petrol is polluting and messy to store and use. They’re also heavy, noisy and need regular servicing. Thanks to the rise of cordless batteries, they’re less common nowadays, particularly for home use. Personally I prefer to use my heavy gauge nylon line on as many of these tough jobs as much as possible before moving up to the metal blades. Even then, this will be done in stages if I had some difficult cutting to do.

You will need to choose blades that will be suitable for your particular machine as there are differences. Stihl replacement blades are very different from those used on Bosch trimmers. Even Bosch have different blades for their ART 23-18 LI grass strimmer’s from their ART26LI and ART26 Accutrim models. For an example take a look at the Art 23 versions here. The ART 23-18 LI Plastic Blades It’s a cordless version that uses a 14.4 NiCad battery. If you want to learn more about cordless strimmers, go here. Medium Type Work Attempting to clear a rough area of long grass and heavy tough weeds will only succeed in destroying your equipment if not designed for such work. If light trimming wire were to be used, you would be spending most of your time stopping and starting due to broken and tangled line. That being said it’s always a good idea to know what particular one will be best to work with your equipment and what you intend to trim down. If the area being strimmed should become more difficult with the presence of heavy brush such as woody growth consisting of shrubs and young saplings then I would fit the saw toothed type blade. The sawing action will eat its way through this material providing of course the blade is sharp. Selection of Strimmer BladesAlong with the pre-loaded stimming head they also provide 3 blades for cutting those tough brambles etc. I’m thinking this powerful tool could be used for many commercial situations and comes in at a very competitive price. Electric corded strimmers. Corded strimmers use a power cable connected to mains electricity. Depending on the length of the cable, these strimmers are more suitable for smaller gardens, but you can expand their reach with an extension lead. They’re also more dangerous than cordless strimmers because you run the risk of accidentally cutting the cable.