Why not put an electrical copper wire into the weed whacker?

Many men have lost their manhood that way. Do you want to lose yours?

Vibration and flexing make copper brittle. I imagine a flying piece of wire could endanger the eyesight of passersby some distance away.

Twenty years ago I used to see ads for weed whacker heads using flailing chain-saw chain. None for me, thanks.

There are a lot of heads like this: >

I use the "titanium" string made by Husqvarna. It holds up better than anything else I've used. Also when cutting it's the the far end of the string that does the cutting not the middle. The more you make the "end" cut the longer the string will last.

Copper wire wouldn't last but you can replace the string head with one that uses flails, either chain or metal (or plastic) blades.

I've used that style. It works well but eventually the "blades" get worn down and have to be replaced. No big deal and not expensive (a set of 12 is about $5).

How often do people string trim their bodyparts? Not often, I'm guessing.

Though, I've met people who have had thier AC electrical line cut by folks with trimmers.

I have one of those chain ones and it got a "recall". They supplied plastic replacement blades free to anyone that asked. Seems the chains were wearing out the pin that held them in. You can get triangular solid metal blades for rough work.

Just make a metal blade for it. Cut out a piece of lawnmower blade and sharpen it on a grinder. Bolt it on.

Understood. But lawn mower blades aren't made of plastic. Jigsaw blades aren't made of plastic. Drill bits aren't made of plastic. Lawn cultivators and edger blades aren't made of plastic. etc.

Point is, LOTS of cutting things we use can hurt us. But, my plastic string trimmer lasts only about 5 minutes between refills.

My (steel) jigsaw blades last longer than 5 minutes. My (steel) drill bits last longer than 5 minutes. My (steel) cultivator & edger blades last longer than 5 minutes.

Something (dunno what yet) is DIFFERENT about string trimmers.

Does anyone know if there is a SPECIAL danger or reason why sturdier trimmer materials don't exist yet?

I don't understand what you mean here but I will google to see if there is a good explanation on the web of what you intimate.

Ah. I read the rest of the posts. Sturdier (i.e., metal) materials DO exist for string trimmers!

I like the ideas posited. Flailing chains and saw blades. I wonder if the head will fit my Craftsman string trimmer though. Plus there's that safety cover with the blade that cuts the string if I put one in that's too long.

Interesting that the flailing chains and saw blades were proven, but no metal wires.

Wires and chains revolving hundreds of miles an hour become deadly missiles when they break off the trimmer. Nylon line, not so unless you catch a piece in the eye because you failed to use safety glasses or were standing close to someone using a trimmer. I use 120 line in my trimmers with a special hub that you just insert 2 six inch lengths of the line into. 120 will knock down just about anything and survive quite a long time on concrete for edging etc....

re: "My (steel) jigsaw blades last longer than 5 minutes."

Start your jigsaw and ram it full speed into the material you want to cut; include a rock or chain link fence in the mix.

Let us know how long it lasts.

re: "My (steel) drill bits last longer than 5 minutes."

Start your drill and ram it full speed into the material you want to cut; include a rock or chain link fence in the mix.

Let us know how long it lasts.

re: "My (steel) cultivator & edger blades last longer than 5 minutes."

I'll assume you aren't cultivating or edging rocks or chain link fences. If you are, let us know how long they last.

re: "Something (dunno what yet) is DIFFERENT about string trimmers. "

I'm guessing it's the force they undergo when be rammed full speed into the material you want to cut, including rocks or chain link fences.

I just checked my stock.

I have 150 feet of 0.130" "nylon" string which I cut into foot-long lengths to fit into the Craftsman string trimmer.

Mine only last a few minutes, five or ten at the most before they're cheweed up to an inch or three sticking out (which is probably about 8 inches long but more than half of that is unusable inside the center cap).

So, I'm pretty surprised you say 0.120 will "survive quite a long time" since I only get about five or ten minutes out of 0.130 nylon line.

PS: No, I'm not hitting chain-link fences; I'm just hitting weeds and brush at most about 1/4 inch thick. Very rocky soil though.

Odd. I can edge a 60 foot walk both sides and use maybe 1/3 of the

Get a twin line bump and feed hub. That business of sticking little sections in is idiocy if you work up against concrete or brick. And if you are using it as an edger, stop, get an edger. A stick edger. You'll never go back. I edge my sidewalks, drive, and the curb in about 10 minutes. I have one of the ones with the swapable attachments. The little chain saw is also great for pruning trees.

I just measured the string size after I cut the 150 feet 0.130 nylon.

Each cut is an 18 inch length (based on a saved sample of an original 16" string); and of those 18 inches, only six inches protrudes out each hole (so 6 inches is always wasted inside the spool).

Of the protruding six inches, about 2 inches are left after five or ten minutes, so the "wear" is about 4 inches per side per ten minutes.

That's about 24 inches per hour per side.

I suppose you could use thin, stranded (flexible) wire. Something like