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.

 

[Jstpssng]

I use an Echo with bicycle handlebars and a harness. I looked at the Kombi but all they had was the single handle type.
If you want to use herbicides I would cut for a while, then treat the stumps with a sprayer; preferably in spring or early summer while the nutrients are in the stem.

 

[LittleBill21]

SRM-410U Echo, I primarily use it with string head, but its primarily a brush cutter.

I use this harness

https://amzn.to/3muWVbk

i cut between 3-4 hours, use about 100 feet of string, and 2 tanks of gas.

 

[Doughknob]

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

Mountains in NC? Them are "hills" man. . Why are you clearing this?

 

[tomplum]

A Stihl with the harness here, though entertaining the thought of a backpack model.

 

[old and tired]

...Why are you clearing this?

I'm guessing for a view!!

 

[old and tired]

...had me cut 1 acre of wild wheat with this awful tool when I was a kid...

But did your golf game improve???

 

[Jstpssng]

This is Amazon’s choice! Don’t be lured in by the low price and thoughts of saving time and money by not needing to go to the gym. My dad had me cut 1 acre of wild wheat with this awful tool when I was a kid. After I moved away from home I didn’t talk to him for a year.
View attachment 715842

I used one of those for a short time. Then I bought my brush saw.

 

[ericm979]

I use a stihl FS240 with harness. The one problem with brush cutters is that moving the cut brush is difficult. You have to unclip the cutter from your harness. If you have thick brush where you often need to pull the stuff you just cut out of the way to get to the stuff behind it, the cutter and harness is a lot less useful than a chainsaw that you can put down and pick up more easily.

It's also not good for woody stuff that's got much of a diameter to it. Anything over about 3/4-1" and I'd rather use a chainsaw.

The Garlon 4 in diesel works well but you have to apply it when the plants are growing (it works by disrupting growth).

 

[dstig1]

Stihl gas powered FS90 (?) with the handlebars and the Stihl brush blade that looks like a circular saw blade for me.

But I am curious about those saying to treat with something mixed with diesel. Where do you find any sort of a sprayer that is rated to handle diesel or any solvent? We have Buckthorn around here and the DNR suggests something mixed with diesel sprayed on it in the fall but every hand sprayer i see says no diesel, gas or anything like it.

 

[Torvy]

Here you go, low maintenance. Safe. May be a little work...