★★★★★ 3
Nice Edger as long as the blade doesn't come loose -- and it will come loose, repeatedly!
Probably could've/should've rated this 2 stars yet it works well when it works. I purchased this edger to edge my drive and sidewalks and not for trenching. The edger arrived very quickly after I ordered it (I am not a Prime member so this was a nice surprise). Assembly was easy and straight-forward. The first use went smoothly and the edger performed flawlessly and provided clean, smooth edging. About 20 minutes into the second use I noticed that the edger was cutting and quickly determined that the blade was spinning freely -- fortunately the hex nut was still attached to the threaded shaft. I reviewed the manual that came with the edger, grabbed the correct sized socket and torque wrench. I removed the hex nut, the first washer, the blade and then the second washer. To install I followed the directions ensuring that the flats of the washer aligned with the flat on the shaft and tightened the hex nut to the specified 140 in-lbs. The edger worked well for about 10 minutes and the blade once again became loose. This time I replaced the original blade (which did not need to be replaced from a wear perspective) with a new B&D blade and new washers. Once again I followed the instructions and this time the edger performed flawlessly until about 5 minutes remaining in my edging when once again the blade came loose. my experience has most certainly been frustrating to say the least. one should not need to carry a socket and torque wrench with them and repeatedly need to tighten the blade. So, when the edger performs as intended it does an excellent job at edging; however I have no confidence that this edger will be able to perform as intended throughout repeated uses and more importantly has shown that it cannot complete my edging without requiring tightening the blade (which requires disassembly down to the second keyed washer). Potential buyers should be prepared for this experience and make your decision accordingly. Note: I tried contacting black and decker via twitter (@blackdeckerhome) and never received a response; I could not find a separate customer service/support twitter account. Trying to contact customer service via the phone these days is an exercise in patience to say the least.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2022