The LawnMaster Red Edition is a powerful tool for cutting weeds, even weeds that have grown quite high and thick. I find the string mechanism on the lawn master fairly easy to use, however, I have had to change the line about every five minutes because my yard is rock. I did not deduct from my rating because the line wears quickly on rocks because that is to be expected. The rocks and bricks cause the line to either be cut or worn down very quickly. My previous weed cutters have had a bump line feed mechanism that I find fails quickly. The cost of replacing the bump feeder was too rich for my blood. I decided to try this single line kind of mechanism. To change the line you take a 16 inch piece and insert it into a hole in the cutter head, while pushing a button located on the side. I find that pushing the button is very difficult, probably because I have arthritis in my hands. After pushing and holding the button you push the line through a hole and allow it to feed out the other side of the head and then, while still pressing the button, you align the piece of cutting line so equal amounts are on both sides of the head. Getting the line through the hole was a major problem. Something inside the hole stops the line about halfway through and it requires multiple tries to get the line past the unseen obstacle and out the other side. This was easily the most frustrating part of putting new line in the machine. Looking at the reviews several people recommended getting better line because the line that came with the machine was poor. So, I bought another kind of line which was a little thicker and it was twisted (red in the photo). After extensive use of both, the line supplied with the machine (green) and the red line I had purchased I find no difference in either the cutting ability or the longevity of the line. Stick with the cheaper line. There are downsides to purchasing a corded weed cutter. While the corded weed cutter is more powerful than the battery operated type, I find that the cord severely limits the distance you can cut. I happen to own three long extension cords of sufficient gauge, which I joined together so I could reach the furthest parts of my yard. But I do get concerned about the amount of cord I had to use because, unless the cord is very thick (a low gauge number), there will be a loss of power in the electric motor if the cord used is too long. Across my back yard, estimated at about 50 feet to the corner from the closest outlet, I found there was little or no loss of power. However, this is a major factor to consider before buying a corded machine. I personally found this machine to be unwieldy in operation. It is simply heavy at the operators end, and out of balance for the position of the hand hold. There is a strap that came with the machine to assist the operator in balancing out the weight of the machine. The strap is narrow and tends to cut into the neck as the time of operation increases. I personally think the strap is nearly useless, and I have stopped using it. Holding the cord on the machine is well thought out on the lawn master. The cord is looped through a holder on the back of the machine and then the unit is plugged in. The loop arrangement holds the cord very well. I had no trouble with the cord pulling loose while I was cutting weeds and I was dragging more than one cord.. Like all corded products the operator must be careful not to whack the cord. If the cord is hit while the machine still has a full length of line it can cut through to the wiring very quickly. The repair is easy enough, unless the inside line is cut, just apply a good amount of electrical tape over the area cut by the line. The other tip for using this weed cutter, common to all weed cutters, is avoid striking objects like the eight-block bricks shown in one of the photographs. Hitting the corner of this cement block immediately cut the line. The photographs show the eight-blocks which should be avoided by the weed cutter, the two types of line used to test the cutter, and the weeds I was cutting. The weeds are quite high because I underwent shoulder operations and could not cut the weeds at the start of the year. I tried using a battery powered weed cutter and it was not affective against the taller, thicker, weeds. Then I tried a weed cutter that was corded, but had the bump feed head, which failed immediately. Then I acquired the lawn master and it worked very well at cutting the weeds. I highly recommend this weed cutter; however, it is not a well balanced machine. I can report that changing the line isn’t the total pain I expected it to be. The fact that I have arthritis and cannot easily push the stiff button should not cause me to downgrade this unit, in my opinion. The line from the manufacturer inserted easily enough and cut quite well. The additional line I purchased from another company had more difficulty feeding through the line hole than the factory line. I think this was because the line from the LawnMaster manufacturer was fairly straight because it was already cut to 16 inch lengths and was placed into a plastic bag that did not curl the line much. The other test line, red, was tightly spooled which caused it to be very curled up. Thus, the point of the line was dragging on either side of the hole as I pushed it forward. I think that this line was striking some kind of depression right at the point where the button contacts the line inside the hole. This caused me to be nearly unable to feed this line several times. I recommend trying to find line that is either fairly straight, or can be pulled out and laid in the sun until it becomes straight on its own. After that, the line could be cut to16 inch pieces needed to feed into the cutter head. AD2
