a great tool, I have a patio and large yard ...
599303
a great tool, I have a patio and large yard and it is light enough to use until it runs out of power
16222
I bought this last year at another retailer. I have found this to be one of the most useful outdoor tools I own. I have some areas of my property that I really haven't paid much attention to over the past few years, and they're now starting to get full of saplings and the like. I also have some trees that need pruning. The saw has done an excellent job with these. Its design also has some good safety features making me more comfortable working with it than with a small gas-powered chain saw.

This tool has done an excellent job of pruning tree limbs and removing 2"-4" saplings I've found on the property. When cutting, it operates best with only slight pressure. If you use too much pressure on the handles you'll hear the chain slow down, and you are will more likely than not bog down the tool. After hours of using this tool (and tightening the chain during the first 2 hours of use as instructed by the manual) I have yet to have the chain slip off the tool. Light and easy does it.

It does need to be oiled about every 10 minutes as the manual says. On the bottom side of the tool there's a small "pit" covered by a snap-on cap. Just drip the oil into that. Apparently some people think they have to force oil into the small rubber thing at the bottom of the "pit" and they end up closing the stopper on the oil bottle. Wrong thing to do. Just fill the oil "pit." Even though the tool is only about 6 pounds, I find stopping every few minutes to add oil to be a nice break of a minute or so. I've even found non-petroleum based oil at my home center.

The discharge port on the tool can clog up if you start trimming branches near their tips where leaf stems can get chewed up by the tool. The small stems will clog up the discharge port. But it's not difficult to clear them from the tool.

Obviously don't try to lop off a 6-foot limb all at once. Too much danger of it falling on you or jamming the saw. I prune limbs a couple of feet at a time. Ditto for taking down small trees. I cut off the limbs, then start by lopping off the trunk in sections. You can get just about down to ground level by turning the saw upside down.

The chain is not meant to be sharpened. The teeth don't seem to be thick enough for that. One of these days I'll have to look into buying a replacement chain, but for the moment it's still cutting well.

In summary - a nice tool that's obviously only good for a hundred or two hundred feet from an outlet. An engine on it would make it too heavy.
3870075
I bought this tiller last weekend when attempting to re-seed my lawn, a 18' x 16' plot.  This little guy really tore it up. It performed beautifully and it has an amazing construction. It is very sturdy and it took care of mostly clay soil with ease (following a good rain storm last week).  Well worth the purchase and was an alternative for me from renting a roto-tiller at a local equipment rental store.

The only thing I wish was that it were larger and covered more surface area with each plunge into the soil.  I stand at 6'5" or so and I found myself bent over for a couple of hours. I did all this work yesterday and my back and hands are still feeling it. I would have felt much more, had I used just a shovel alone.

If your working in a garden or just a small area your looking to plant, this is the tool for you. It will last many years and the value will pay for itself in time and save a lot of time.

Take a chance, it's a great product.
2548258
I would not be without this great tool. We live in a rural area where outdoor burning is legal at certain times of the year. I have bought several for friends and neighbors. They all love them.
2333831
I purchased this to keep my patio, courtyard, and sidewalk tidy during the seasons when the landscaping crews aren't around.  It's lightweight, has plenty of power with 2 different speeds, and I haven't experienced any issues with it.  The leaf blower tube conveniently detaches when not in use and this unit easily fits underneath a cabinet for storage.

Having cut and manicured my fair share of lawns in the past, I will say that if you are looking for a leaf blower to handle a medium--to-large sized yard (1/2 acre +) and drive, I'd invest a little more money and at least get a 12amp electric or a gas-powered blower.  Either of those two would be much better suited to tackle large amounts of leaves (including wet) and other debris.  As such, I've rated this 5 stars for my particular application.
1862783
I love this tool! It charged up in about 90 minutes first time, I got the pruning blades and have been using it to "Firewise" my yard. It cuts through branches and shrubs that were overgrown easily. No cord so easy to maneuver to get the best cut. Makes yard work a piece of cake!
4252647
I wish I had this tool long ago. Very versatile tool for any number of jobs: Cutting, Sharpening, Polishing, Sanding all of which I have needed over many years. My immediate need was to sharpen a mower blade that I could not get detached from the mower. I needed a tool to sharpen it while still attached to the mower. Since the mower weighs over 400lbs, it is not easy to adjust it to a position to sharpen the blades. However, the Metabo made sharpening easy where the mower was positioned. The one feature I appreciated the most while doing this task was the side grip. It is a breeze to hold steady and firm without the tool jumping or jerking.

Another job I did was to cut through wood that was attached with nails I had to cut through the nails to trim the wood. A word of caution with this, be sure to buy the correct cutting blade for the job you are doing. I have one that is designed to cut through metal. Some are not. Again, this tool made it easy and safe. The speed of the blade made the cutting smooth and easy to handle in awkward positions and hard to reach places.

One characteristic I greatly appreciate about the Metabo tool is the power of the motor. It did not even struggle while cutting the nail. I feel confident that cutting metal will be just as easy and effortless on the motor. In sharpening the blade, I did have to watch my pressure on the blade, slow and less force is better. I can see where it would be easy to file a notch or two with too much pressure.

Now that i have this tool, I am looking forward to doing many jobs that I have on my to do list, one of which is to sand the paint off of an antique door. I cant wait try this. Who knows, maybe I will attempt to buff and sand some areas of my car. But that might have to wait until I feel more confident.

I highly recommend this multi-faceted tool for so many projects around the house and garage.
4583888
I originally posted a review back in 9/07, after purchasing this tool for a friend.  (I have added it below just for your information because Amazon used to list this tool under the heading, "Knife Digging Hand 6 1/2 Inch", but is no longer available.)
  I purchased several of these tools over recent years as gifts for gardening friends, and I am generally still pleased with my own.  The hefty hunk of steel is excellent for removing weeds, planting, and prying up large rocks from the soil.  Now, five years later, I have discovered two flaws in the design:  1-The wooden handle of the tool is made of unfinished wood, so I recommend oiling it (I use mineral oil.) before use and then, every once in awhile.  If your climate is rainy, it will split, unless oiled.  2-The two rivets that hold the handle to the tool are set only two thirds into the handle from one side.  After a few years, the rivets can loosen and come out.  I just drilled the hole completely through the handle, and repaired it by securing it with a small bolt and nut.
  There is also a longer handled version of this tool, (still available on the internet), that address that problem buy seating the rivets completely through the handle, so they won't come out.  Finally, I think the sheath is pretty inadequate and cheaply made.  I just throw my tool in the garden bucket and never use the sheath.

Previous Review (9/07):
  I bought this Sentora tool to replace a similar digging knife that my friend, who works as a landscaper, had lost and could not find in local stores in our area. The Sentora hand tool, (unlike my friend's original one), has a tough, black coating to resist rust and the steel has excellent weight and heft to perform weeding, planting and other general garden chores. My friend is highly pleased with this tool.
4720687
great tool to have lets you know what your lawn needs
529528
This thing works great.  Pulling out dandelions on the lawn is very quick, though it does leave a plug of dirt missing.  The grass will quickly cover this within a few weeks if you give it no further attention.  I did try pulling some weeds out of a part of the yard that doesn't get sprinkler coverage, so the dirt is very hard.  After a few successful removals I realized that the tines were bending outward in the hard soil.  Easy to avoid by watering first, but it would be nice if the tines were made of stronger steel.  The rest of the tool appears to be very durable.

Overall it is a huge time and back saver and almost makes weeding fun.  I would gladly pay twice the price for chromoly tines and American manufacturing.
505279
My spicket was about 75 feet from the patio, and this has been a wonderful tool to keep the hose under control. I did have to buy a more slender hose, and I do have to help guide it back in. But it's so nice not to have to manually reel the hose in every time I water the plants. The automated retracting motor works great.
595319
I love to keep my yard as perfect as possible, but as an older gentleman bending over and squatting down with regular grass clippers is impossible.  The long handle fiskars works perfect.  I can get all my trimming done without making my legs hurt.  A great tool well worth the bucks.
1999512
Got weeds? Get this! My sister introduced me to this tool while I was helping with her landscaping, and I coveted hers until I finally found one to buy. (Looked in stores in my local stores to no avail; Amazon to the rescue!) There are other tools that, at first glance, look similar to this one, but they lack the blade angle that I think makes all the difference. Once you get the hang of it, the design of this tool allows you to uproot really stubborn weeds. It also has the serrated portion of the blade in case you need to cut through a root or something that doesn't come up, but I've only used that minimally, as the notch at the tip and the angle and curve of the blade allow efficient and effective extraction. With solid construction, I expect this will last me quite awhile. Highly recommended.
967944
This is a great tool for my needs in the yard. No arm ache, no back ache.  Easy start, does the job well. love the adjusting head.  Highly recommend, women and men.
1729940
I definitely like this tool! It has been very helpful for a recent storm clean-up. I was able to reach branches that would have been otherwise not as easy reachable with our ladder. Even the saw works just fine, it took me a minute to attach it correctly but I read the reviews and there were very good tips about it. I used the second hole to fasten it not the first. Thanks for that review. The pruner part worked out of the box. The only star lacking is from the weight of it. When I extend it completely for the higher up branches I get tired after doing a couple of branches and have to take a break. I consider myself a sportive female @ 120lbs and I like to fix things but I don't have those strong arms that guys have and so it can get a little heavy. I was surprised to see how well the saw works too for branches that the pruner cannot handle. I could saw through some pretty thick broken off limbs in a short time. Nothing huge but pretty much all the branches I needed to do on a larger maple tree. Its a little bit a question of how you do it but I played with it and it came to me. Very useful! I recommend it for females cautiously but its doable. (I love it)
Just don't overdo and when you get tired don't force it as there is a saw on the top, so has to be handled with care at full length:) Not for kids.
It really helped me to clean up a storm damaged tree in a relatively short time. I did it in a couple of days though and was quite impressed.
At first I took the saw off and it was easier to handle but once I figured out how the saw works I kept it on, just found it a bit cumbersome.
4508669
This tool is as advertised. It cuts through small roots with ease as well as sod. I like the large hand guard because inevitably you will slip when digging a plug. I am right handed but I dig my plugs from right to left so I bought the left handed version, the difference is that the serrations are on the left side. I recommend it.
3568947
I first saw the CobraHead weeder in a gardening feature in Bon Appetit magazine, of all places, and had to have it.  I use it all the time when cleaning up my own gardens and other projects as part of my master gardener training. The long handle is comfortable and really extends my reach.  The manufacturer describes it as a "long steel fingernail" and it really is a great tool.  I highly recommend it.