Anybody use a Milwaukee M18 Brush cutter?

[John_Mc]

I've tried Stihl products, chain faced, but this is the toughest...doesn't throw teeth.
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The only trouble is if you are using it in rocky areas, you will eventually chip the carbide teeth, and carbide is not easily sharpenable.

At the recommendation of someone who uses clearing saws for a living, I tried the "Maxi" blades sold by Husqvarna and Oregon (and probably others - the blades are made in Sweden). Looks like a circular saw blade. Easy to sharpen using the same 7/32" file I use on my chainsaw. That's my goto blade for cutting saplings now.

Husqvarna also sells their "Scarlet" blade, but they are garbage compared to the Maxi blades. They look similar, but if you look closely, you can see the teeth are different. The steel also seems much more flimsy than what is used in the Maxi blade.

I've also tried the blades that look as though they have chainsaw chain wrapped around them. They just seem to rob the cutter of a lot of power as compared to the Maxi blades.

I do use the 3-armed blade that @Shawn T. W. posted for grass and light brush. It works great for that, but when you get in to hardwood saplings, it's a bit limited, and hard on the gearbox in the brush saw.

 

[kenmbz]

The only problem I found with the regular tooth blades was that I spent a lot of time sharpening them.
I use the renegade red Carbide and found they last a while and cut through the heavy stuff, even bouncing off rocks here/there when I cut a new area only dulls a blade a bit and can use them until the carbide tips are almost worn off.
They work for grass and woody stems. the regular blades would always choke in the tall stiltgrass.

 

[Old Retired Cop]

I have an older Echo with the saw blade. It does a wonderful job on vegetation. I sharpen it with diamond coated chainsaw bits.

 

[John_Mc]

The only problem I found with the regular tooth blades was that I spent a lot of time sharpening them.
I use the renegade red Carbide and found they last a while and cut through the heavy stuff, even bouncing off rocks here/there when I cut a new area only dulls a blade a bit and can use them until the carbide tips are almost worn off.
They work for grass and woody stems. the regular blades would always choke in the tall stiltgrass.

I've never tried the carbide blades in grassy/stringy vegetation. I generally use the 3-armed blade for that. Do do agree that the standard saw blade types (including the Maxi) are far from optimal when cutting grassy types of vegetation. You can make them work, but if you have much to do, it pays to just switch blades.

 

[2manyrocks]

I use one of these mulching winged style blades for cutting briar patches with an Echo gas trimmer with bicycle style handles. The metal blade slices through briars very well, but the wings will throw woody debris back at me if I try to cut a sapling that is say 5/8" or thicker. The winged blade design is very good for being able to mulch away briars and honeysuckle that haven't gotten too thick in diameter.

https://www.amazon.com/LSHUZIYU-255x3MM-2T-Washer-Muching-Trimmer/dp/B08SM4HXPK/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3R4NJ3WGJVQQN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.pgQWnUfnhakPsGTYuD5MiNNx-Rl7nvSBWJmCw2-nBrdeRxpT4X9er91JFn-v6FE4hFCSbzFdoYJRy1BzuYc_FqJ4qutKqkHWl1fu-Xxi5c7EaLsD9k6NXYt6HQ8RKijAr95IqFvEC9eUSEDtFpn6wWdjxwVwV3omDmIoZ2ESjtc.OQ6VV-me3UUSkVojUu6yijclTw5XQFnHUVqaqdLfoQE&dib_tag=se&keywords=shuziyu&qid=1764455783&s=hi&sprefix=shuziyu%2Ctools%2C164&sr=1-6-catcorr&th=1

I wouldn't try to use this kind of winged blade on a battery trimmer as it's fairly demanding on a gas unit.

Would also caution that I bought another variation of this style of winged mulching blade that was heavier, and it was even more demanding on my Echo gas trimmer.

Thick, long grass tends to clog it up. A tri-blade cutter does better at cutting thick grass, IMO.

I use a chainsaw type blade for cutting heavier saplings.

My suggestion is to think about what kind of material you need to cut and then match the blade to the material. Pick a saw that can handle the blade you intend to run.

 

[bill50cal]

a warning about buying anything milwaukee from amazon. it will be a 99.9 % chance it is counterfeit. same as with e bay. been there done that

 

[John_Mc]

a warning about buying anything milwaukee from amazon. it will be a 99.9 % chance it is counterfeit. same as with e bay. been there done that

You definitely purely need to pay attention to who the seller is when purchasing on eBay or Amazon.

I buy my Milwaukee stuff online from Northern Tool or in person at my local Hardware store or Home Depot (NT and HD often run specials with some pretty good deals.) However, judging from a few complaints online, even those sources are not foolproof. (Though the complaints I’ve heard about HD is more about missing parts or substituting a smaller battery than what is supposed to be in there - probably from someone buying the tool to use and returning or specifically to swap out parts.)

 

[EscapedSuburbia]

a warning about buying anything milwaukee from amazon. it will be a 99.9 % chance it is counterfeit. same as with e bay. been there done that

I have a couple M12 batteries from Amazon that I suspect are counterfeit. I've found that the same Milwaukee tool is nearly always cheaper from Home Depot. And a lot of times they throw in a free battery on items where the battery is usually worth nearly as much as the tool. No reason to risk counterfeits on Amazon.