dalesky's Full Review: 24" Hedge Hog Hedge Trimmer
I am reviewing the Black & Decker HH2450.
If you look at many of my past reviews, you will quickly see that I love buying, using and reviewing tools. This particular item, a hedge trimmer, just took me longer to acquire than usual. Sure, I have a couple of hand trimmers, and even a Milwaukee Sawzall with a branch cutting blade.
Finally, after looking at the item on the honey do list long enough, I decided to trim some bushes. Now, I live in South Carolina, and things can grow quickly here. The bushes that were giving me the most trouble were quite tall, and very wide, In the past I had done a less than stellar job on them, and they were beginning to grow again. Also, I had some much smaller ones to trim, and they had grown tightly together. These smaller ones had been a favorite hiding place for a friendly but never the less poisonous cotton mouth snake last summer.
As usual for me, before buying almost anything, I did a review search for hedge trimmers. I usually type something like “hedge trimmer review” to search for reviews, using Google.
This particular Black & Decker came up as being a favorite, along with one from Sears. The B&D one was cheaper, and I lived closer to a store that sold them than I did to a Sears store.
I liked the idea of having a longer reach, and having a light weight tool, since reaching far out over the largest hedges would be a strain over time. Electric seemed to be the way to go here. As much as I like gas powered lawn tools for most jobs, a trimmer that was light weight would be good. Of course with electric you have to have an extension cord, but the upside is that they always start with a simple trigger pull.
I brought the trimmer home, ripped open the box and pulled out the trimmer. I had one thing to assemble, with 2 provided screws. It was the handle for the front grip. The screws went in easily, and I was ready to plug it in.
The handle is comfortable and easy to hold in either the vertical or horizontal position. Being 24 inches long you need to be careful though, since it is quite a ways out in front of you.
I think it is well balanced, and easy to control. I like the large trigger, which has a lock mechanism. You slide it forward when the blade is running and it locks. I am a bit nervous about that feature, since it increases the danger of cutting your self or the cord.
There is a hook to hold the extension cord together with the short cord on the unit. I dislike it, and instead just tie the two cords together. You could also use any number of devices available for this purpose.
A longer cord length than you really need to reach a given bush is actually an advantage. Having a number of feet of loose cord near you means less chance of stretching the cord tight, and cutting it. You need to be aware of where the cord as all times, and keep some slack in it. Because the tool is insulated properly even if you do cut into the cord you should not receive a shock. My neighbor has cut a couple of cords with his electric trimmer without getting shocked.
Vibration was an issue mentioned in a couple of reviews, but I did not notice anything excessive. After over an hour of trimming I was not aware of vibration being a problem.
I had no trouble cutting through any branches up to the stated maximum size of 3/4”. It cuts smoothly both forward and back, and as long as you hold it steady there is little tearing. Cuts are typically smooth and clean. For the smaller bushes that were grown together I had to use the blade close to the ground, occasionally pushing it into some dirt. No problem with that, but cutting into something like a metal fence or pole could ruin the blades I'm sure.
I quickly found that cutting smoothly, and shaping bushes was even easier than I had expected. The weight was not an issue either. Double action blades mean smoother cutting and less vicration. I like the balance, which distributes weight evenly, and delays fatigue. It also is relatively quiet.
Patented blade design for fast, dual-action cutting of branches up to 3/4-inch in diameter 24-inch blades made of pre-hardened steel offer superior du...More at Amazon
Features: Black & Decker HH2450 24" Hedge Hog XR Extended Reach Hedge Trimmer In-line body design allows for greater control & more accurate cuts 2-Po...More at Tyler Tool
This 24 In. hedge trimmer will cut branches up to 3/4 of an In. thick. It's dual action shearing blades cut faster and with less vibration. The in lin...More at Home Depot
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