August 17, 2010
Howie
Lincoln, NE
 
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Lawncare Professional for 22 years
I consider myself an edging professional because of the quantity I've done over 20 years. I've used this edger since the early 90's, in fact, we've bought 8-10 of them over the span of years since, mainly to rob parts to fix the one still running.
Right now there are literally 5 skeletons in our shop for parts. I edge miles of sidewalks, curbs, patios, driveways every year. This doesn't mean I've used Tanaka exclusively. Lately, as of the past 4-5 years, I've been using a double belt driven Little Wonder and the Tanaka is used only as a back up.
The handle is poorly designed as it doesn't stay tight when in use. The vibrations will eventually cause the handle to slip. As you tighten time after time, the screws strip out and you're left with welding the handle in one position. I can live with that, but could everyone? Speaking of vibrations, hands become numb when used for prolonged periods.
Next, the blade head will not stay at an angle. You can tighten all you want but as you start to edge, it will always slip back to straight up and down, or even beyond 90 degrees. The guard on the blade head is so close to the blade that when cutting through wet edges, it clogs easily and requires you to shut off the machine and manually unclog. Of course after doing this repeatedly, the guard will start to get bent out, the metal where the screws that hold it on to the head will crack and break and you'll have to weld it on.
The shaft is basically the only thing that holds the blade head on, so if it breaks, and it will, you're stuck with buying a new shaft which leads to down time.
The description says it's gear driven which means more down time when they strip out with use.(usually they last for a month , maybe two if you are lucky)
The unit also has starting problems in cold weather, and running problems in hot weather with carb problems.
I will say the machine is good as it is light and is easy to balance for curb edging. (the only reason I didn't give it the lowest rating). It also has good power but doesn't touch the power of the Briggs 4 stroke on the Little Wonder. It will cut concrete if you don't watch out.
All in all, I would only recommend it to the personal user as you'll waste a lot of money on down time if you intend to use it in a professional sense. With that said the price tag is rather high for the average home owner to absorb.
I would never buy another one as I will stick to the heavier, double belted machine. I consider myself an edging professional because of the quantity I've done over 20 years. I've used this edger since the early 90's, in fact, we've bought 8-10 of them over the span of years since, mainly to rob parts to fix the one still running.
Right now there are literally 5 skeletons in our shop for parts. I edge miles of sidewalks, curbs, patios, driveways every year. This doesn't mean I've used Tanaka exclusively. Lately, as of the past 4-5 years, I've been using a double belt driven Little Wonder and the Tanaka is used only as a back up.
The handle is po... more
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