Hand held Brush Cutter

[sherpa]

I have about 2 acres of brush that I need to clean up on the side of a mountain that my tractor can't go up. I cleared it last year with a chainsaw. The saplings have shot up 4 to 5 feet and I need to cut it. Which brush cutter do you recommend? Gas or Electric? And most important, what brand? Also what kind of blade?
Thanks,
Sherpa

 

[old and tired]

Neither, Garlon 4 mixed with diesel, brushed on the trunk of the sapling. Or sprayed on the new leaves coming out next spring.

Otherwise, you'll be cutting brush year after year...

 

[dougtrr2]

Personally, I would go with a gas powered, handle bar, Stihl.

But regardless of the brand I would get a harness instead of the shoulder strap. I finally got one for use with my Stihl and wish I would have bought one years ago.

Doug in SW IA

 

[sea2summit]

I've got a stihl Kombi 130 that's 12 years old now and I bought a second one last year or the year before so my son and I could both be hacking at the same time. Love them. If I was commercial I'd probably go with one of those two handled versions but the Kombi works great and the other attachments are pretty useful to me.

As for blades, there's many great options out there and some work better than others for some tasks. Check out project farm, he did some great tests and spent my money for me

 

[JM7500]

I've had good luck with the Forester blade with the chainsaw teeth on 1-1/2" saplings, but it doesn't work well on grass. You still need a herbicide to kill or they grow back. The chainsaw teeth can be resharpened with a round file. My is mounted on a Stihl FS90R.

 

[Dragonpharm]

I use a Stihl FS130 and really like it. It has handlebars and a harness. Have used a number of different blade types. The ones that look like circular saw blades seem to be most effective for me however, they dull the quickest. The triangular shaped blades with larger cutting edges are easy enough to sharpen with a file which helps when you hit something and need to touch it up to keep going.

 

[kenmbz]

I use a Stihl FS110 handlebar.
It actually has less power than my old craftsman brushcutter, but is so much lighter.
And I second the harness, it makes the hours less painful!
Wish I could use a bigger blade. Have the scratch and cutter stihl blades, they are just ok.

 

[LD1]

I always adapted a circular saw blade.

How steep is the hill. Two acres is alot with a weedeater and saw blade of some type. Is it too steep for a tractor or skidloader rental with brush cutter. What about a walk behind brush cutter like DR.

I agree, need to spray after its clear or its gonna be an ongoing issue

 

[ponytug]

Another vote for the Stihl 130, with a harness. I mostly use the triangular blade, (great for brushy weeds, but not very good for solid trees) but I have used the circular saw version to takeout small trees; just be super careful to keep it out of the dirt.

If this is a recurring problem, I would think about getting some grazing animals, preferably browsing animals, in to keep it in check. Cows? Goats? llamas?

All the best,

Peter

 

[RancherGuy]

Neither, Garlon 4 mixed with diesel, brushed on the trunk of the sapling. Or sprayed on the new leaves coming out next spring.

Otherwise, you'll be cutting brush year after year...

Another option is Remedy w/ diesel @ 20/80 mix will do it. With a 1 or 2 gallon sprayer, I spray the trunk but only need to cover 3x to 4x the tree diameter. Any time they are growing, but most effective will be when sap is heading downward, such as late summer or early autumn. Control the trees and let the smaller stuff grow, if that's your objective.