Ames True Temper HDP38 Steppin' Edger for Sidewalks and Driveways

We have an electric mower we love, and a cordless weed wacker that does an OK job of cutting down the grass on the edges, but not to the root. As a result, grass has been slowly inching onto the walkways. This was the year I decided to tackle it.I am not too fond of the gas tools - they are powerful, but I hate the smell of gas. If you don't mind it, gas may be a faster and better alternative for you, but I was looking for something else.I tried an electric edger/trencher, and the biggest dent it did was on my sense on accomplishment. I also tried using a rotary edger, with not much better results. Next came the mattock tiller - great for small areas and to loosen soil, but it doesn't give a nice control of edges. I tried shovels, and either I am clumsy, not heavy or strong enough to dig it deep enough, or both, but I gave that one up pretty soon (and decided that would eliminate most of the edgers you step on).Then I ran into this edger, and decided to give it a try - I am so glad I did!The first thing that is different, is that you step on it like you would on a skateboard. There is a kind of "platform" above the blade, giving it a relatively long and wide area you can step on, making it easy to use all your weight to put pressure, and making it easy to keep your balance on top of the tool.The blade goes deep enough to cut through most of the roots in the grass (and dandelion and other weeds) . You can cut a strip about a yard long with maybe 5 cuts, and then it is relatively easy to remove that whole strip. I still used a hand-held weeder to help with that, but it make the work soo much easier!Edging is still a chore, it still takes time, but it is by far the best tool I've found.

The thinnest piece of metal is the cutting edge and this bent on first use. (Just a nickle plated piece of sheet metal not a piece of tool steel) I weigh 230# and used this to edge concrete sidewalk and driveway. Probably not an issue if edging a garden/grass border. Clean cut does not pulverize grass/dirt like a string trimmer or conventional bladed edger, making clean-up much easier....less crumbs to sweep.Concept is better than half moon edgers of my youth, fast and simple BUT the thin blade is not as sturdy as those half moon edgers. If the cutting edge was as thick as the foot pedal there would have been no issue...the weakest link is the blade. I have a shop and a vise and was able to correct the bent metal edge(mostly) and will keep the unit.Double the thickness of the cutting edge, use tool steel, or at least match the thickness of those old half moon edgers and this device would be ideal!

If you want to know what it's like to use this: picture that you're trying to ride a scooter, only instead of wheels its got an ice skate blade directly under your foot. Only its not a stationary blade, it swings every which way. Does it cut down into the grass? Yes if the soil is extremely soft. Otherwise 150 pounds or 350 pounds, it doesn't matter. It won't cut through, it'll just tip you over onto your side exposing the blade who ever happens to be standing next to you.I won't be recommending this contraption to anyone.

This takes a lot of work with St. Augustine grass, but it's a viable option for small jobs. It seems sturdy enough, and the design makes sense. It's not nearly as easy as the instructions make it out to be, though.My soil is rock hard when it's dry (as it almost always is), but I used this a few days after a big rain and it was doable. It's about as sharp as a shovel out of the box. You should probably sharpen it before use unless you have a really easy job for it.

Could not do the job on St. Augustine grass with my 150 lbs. Seems well built but just couldn't what I needed it to do. Wish I had put that money toward the string trimmer I eventually got. Not sure what I will ever use this thing for now.

The HDP38 Steppin' Edger is the best overall solution for edging my driveway and sidewalks that I have found. I have tried a string trimmer/edger and have used two different blade-style edgers, all powered by little 2-cycle gas engines. The most recent one was a Weed Eater PE550. My lawn is St. Augustine, which propagates by runners called rhizomes that spread out over the concrete and are very tough to cut. I have about 300' of driveway and sidewalk to edge. I also have sprinkler heads buried every 10' or so along this length.Problems with other solutions:2-cycle gas engines - forever had problems getting the stupid things to start - especially in the springString trimmer - difficult to "aim" accurately, didn't cut the rhizomes all that well, the concrete ate up line at a ferocious paceBlade trimmers - ate up sprinkler heads unless I was VERY careful, still lost sprinkler heads, difficult to control when the wheels got clogged up with mud and cuttingsSteppin' EdgerNeither fun to use nor easy to use, but it also has none of the problems mentioned above. Takes about 1 1/2 hours to do the 300'. Call it 3' per minute. The blade edgers were faster, but not by all that much. The blade edgers were less work, but again not by all that much.Features:Sturdy construction. I weigh 200lbs and nothing has bent out of shape. Can be used equally well with either foot. Works surprisingly well on curved edges. My sidewalk has a 90 deg bend in it with maybe a 4' radius on the inside edge and a 6' radius on the outside edge. Worked well on both curves.Problems:The blade was quite dull on delivery. I had to put a decent edge on it using a bench grinder before it would cut the rhizomes. Will require frequent resharpening; maybe every second or third use.