Weed eaters are great tools for your lawn care needs, but can they cut grass? Weed eaters can cut grass, but it’s not their primary function.
Some weed eaters are capable of cutting thin strips of grass and weeds, but you may be better off using a gas-powered push mower to do this job.
Weed eaters aren’t intended to be used on large areas of thick grass like manicured lawns and golf courses, as they aren’t powerful enough to cut through such large amounts of vegetation with the built-in blades on weed eaters and string trimmers.
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How does a weed eater work?
Before you can understand how a weed eater works, you need to know how a string trimmer works. A string trimmer is a technical name for what’s also called a weed whacker, weed trimmer, or weed eater.
Basically, a grass trimmer runs on either electricity, battery power, or gasoline. That energy propels the spool of nylon string at the end of the trimmer (the “string” part).
It cuts grass and weeds at ground level as it spins around in a circle—kind of like someone swinging a lasso around in an arc.
The nylon is strong and flexible enough to cut through thick growth without being so stiff that it will break off easily once it hits something harder than grass.
The spinning action is what allows the trimmer to cut through tall growth without requiring much effort from you; otherwise, you’d have to push down on the trimmer as you tried to cut through the weeds with the force of your arm.
As we all know, arm strength can only go so far!
The difference between a weed eater and a lawnmower
Weed eaters, also called string trimmers or weed whackers, are small handheld devices with a motor that spins a string at high speed. The user moves the spinning string back and forth along the ground to cut weeds.
These are great for getting at hard-to-reach areas, like under bushes or around fences.
Lawnmowers, on the other hand, have a blade that spins underneath the lawnmower’s body. They cut grass by running over it.
There are many types of lawnmowers, including push mowers that you must provide the energy to move (by pushing) and riding mowers that you sit on top of and drive.
Can you cut grass with a weed eater?
The short answer is: yes, you can cut grass with a weed eater. The long answer is: it’s not recommended.
Weeds are tough and the grass is soft. So if you use a weed eater on your grass, it’s likely to do some damage because the blades of the weed eater are sharp and meant to slice through those tough plants that you want to get out of your garden.
But if you’re in a pinch, or if you have a large area of grass that needs to be cut and a weed eater is all you have on hand, sure—you can cut grass with a weed eater.
Just be careful! Don’t push too hard on the ground because the blades may dig into it and tear holes in your lawn (and nobody wants that).
If possible, try cutting along sidewalks or patios where there isn’t much soil to worry about—just don’t let any stray blades fly up into your face while you’re at it!
Is it bad to cut wet grass with a weed eater?
It’s not bad for your weed eater to cut wet grass, but it isn’t the best idea either.
When you cut wet grass with a weed eater, it tends to get clogged in the spool and can cause the machine to stop working properly.
This is especially true if there is a lot of dew or rain on the grass.
Also, because wet grass is heavier than dry grass, it can be a little harder to maneuver the weed eater through your yard.
You’ll have to put more effort into it and might tire out faster than you would on dry grass.
What type of grass you can cut with a weed eater?
According to most weed eater manufacturers, you can cut any type of grass with a weed eater. It’s all about the length of the grass and how often you mow it.
If the grass is too high and all bunched up, then you need to mow it first with a regular lawnmower before using a weed eater. Otherwise, it can be hard on the trimmer line and cause some serious damage to your machine.
If your grass is short enough (under 2 inches), you can use just a weed eater to mow it down. You’ll have to move at a slower pace than usual so your trimmer doesn’t clog up or stall out.
How to cut the grass with a weed eater?
So, you’re ready to cut the grass with a weed eater. Great!
First things first: make sure your weed eater is in good working order—you don’t want to be cutting the grass only to find out that your weed eater doesn’t work and you have to go back inside and get a different tool, do you? Didn’t think so.
Start by plugging in your weed eater, and set it on “grass cutting” power level 2.
Then take your weed eater outside and start walking around the perimeter of your yard. Make sure you keep all limbs away from the weed eater blade at all times! This can be dangerous.
Once you’ve walked around the perimeter of your yard, start moving in a spiral pattern toward the center of the yard.
You’ll want to make sure that you don’t miss any spots—weeds are very good at growing their roots deeply into crevices, so you need to make sure that you expose them to the light enough that they wither and die!
Conclusion
With the long blades and power of a weed eater, plus the detachable blades to cut grass, you could probably use a weed eater to cut grass.
I don’t think it’d be very good at it though, because of the short blade length.
That’s why you should use a lawnmower that has been made just for cutting grass, rather than substitute a weed eater.