Oregon Blade v Brambles

[dewaltdisney]

I have quite a lot of blackberry thickets that have developed over years on my land through me taking my eye off. Farmers are not allowed to 'hedge cut' after March the 1st until the 1st September with tractor flails due to DEFRA rules to protect nesting birds. This actually made it too difficult due to wet ground conditions and a window of opportunity for a local farmer to get in and do it. I had been slowly doing clearance with a basic brushcutter and my hedge clippers but it still left a lot of waste that had to be put through a shredder.

I found a new mulching brushcutter blade called the Oregon mulching blade and I was impressed with the performance that tears through and mulches the brambles. I bought a blade and tried it on my 27cc brush cutter, it worked for ten minutes, and then the shaft broke through fatigue and buggered it. I realised that you need a decent machine with a powerful motor, a steel driveshaft, and anti-vibration. At least 50cc is needed and I have both the two and the three toothed blades. The three-toothed blade seems best.

I investigated a lot of machines and came across Wooly's video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opXpgFNfqvM&t=634s I managed to get hold of the same Hyundai brush cutter, it must have been the last in the country, and I am now starting to make inroads into my thickets. It is a heavy bit of kit and being an old git and even with the harness, I get tired fairly quickly but you can clear 20 square meters in half an hour so I am doing it a bit at a time. (wind the video back it starts too late)

I am posting this in case it helps someone who has the same problem, the Oregon blade is wonderful but there is no guidance on the machine required. Even Oregon were useless when I emailed them for guidance. I did not want to fork out for a Stihl and other machine suppliers were reluctant to endorse their machine for use with an Oregon blade as it such a beast. So the guidance is as above, 50cc or greater, steel shaft rather than ally and antivibration.

DWD

[kellys_eye]

That's impressive! I have a need for such a clearance every summer - a little less now we've had the land flattened by bulldozer but there's still a lot surrounding our borders that I want a clear 2m path outside the fence line. I've not got a 50cc jobbie but was planning on a new machine and intending spending a little extra to get one that will be robust enough to last more than a few seasons. I'm sick of buying replacement machines every couple of years!

Going Japanese is never a bad idea for any form of tool - I only hope the likes of the Hyundai is actually Japan-made and not just sourced from China...??

Thanks for the useful information

[Dave54]

I bought a Tanaka at the end of the 2017 season, because my old McCulloch was no longer starting. 25 years old-ish though.
The new one's lighter but not quite as powerful. It wouldn't drive that blade, but the blade looks useful!
Have to look into that a bit. Like you I've let it go a bit, and it's been too wet for hedge cutting with a tractor.

[dewaltdisney]

I was reluctant to pay too much for another machine and I was looking at the mid-range stuff. I think most 2 stroke motors seem to be very similar and my thoughts were that I did not want to spend £4 to £500 on a Stihl and bugger it with the blade. I paid £150 for the Hyundai which has three years warranty so a fair risk. If it has done £150 worth of work I am in a position to not have to worry too much if it is buggered. Wooly does a review of the machine here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ro72lIv_4cA So far so good.

DWD

[Dave54]

I was looking around for another machine, and I was going to get s Stihl.
Apparently though Americans like the Tanaka better than the Stihl these days. Local dealer as well.
I will say it's a lovely little machine. Reminds me of Japanese motorbikes.
Not cheap though. Still I want reliability. The old McCulloch was getting very iffy to start, and a new carb hadn't fixed it.
This one starts with a couple of easy pulls.

[Razor]

I got a backpack unit from SGS. It's a bit more of a pain to store but it's brutal at it's job

https://www.sgs-engineering.com/gpbs520 ... ol-trimmer

[kellys_eye]

Woah, that's a pretty cool solution, more so for those of us with back issues that are made worse by carrying weight 'out front' (no, not my belly ) - anything carried with elbows forward of my body causes massive issues with my lower spine disks.

It's also got a 50cc+ engine too AND the cutter for only £108 Shame they're out of stock! Still, I'm on notice of new stock and will jump at one when they get them back in.

[dewaltdisney]

That looks like a good unit, it moves the weight centre and might be better, especially with your back Kelly. On my tool, the point of balance is adjustable to suit each person as there is a row of holes for the strap link and the cow horns are easily adjustable to get the position right. One thing Razor can answer is if that shaft is ally as if you are going to use the Oregon blade it will shag it. Also is the vibration dampened on the handle?. The forces are much less with the thin blade shown in the advert the Oregon blade weighs over 600 grams and really does have a reactive kick in use.

I notice a lot of garden kit is hard to find. I actually only found my tool by chance and it came from a farm and tractor supplier in Northumberland. The guy I dealt with was a right decent chap and he let me have it at last year's price. A true gent.


DWD

[Dave54]

If you've got more than a bit of garden you end up needing everything from a pair of secateurs to a Tractor and attachments!
Looks a good piece of kit Razor that does. The Stihl ones that are similar are a lot more than that.
Don't mind paying for stuff I'm going to get a lot of use out of, but short arms and deep pockets kick in somewhere along the way!