( 82 reviews )
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Posted: Jul 14 2009
The jaws make the saw safer and they hold your work for a cleaner cut. The jaws however get in the way when trying to cut at the base of a branch, when pruning correctly. I found it easier to break down branches for disposal with a standard chainsaw. I could access tight spaces easier and not have to constantly maneuver the jaw.
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Posted: Jul 11 2009
I originally bought this for my wife. After a few uses, I commandeered as it as my own. "We" have owned it for over two & 1/2 years with no trouble. In fact, I just replaced the chain for the first time, a few days ago. It's safe enough, my children have used it (with my supervision, of course). I have cut everything from limbs to whole trees down with a 10" dia. It makes short work of everything. No bar oil, no gas/oil mix, no resharpening chains, no fuss, no muss, just an extension cord to wind back up. The only bad thing I can say about it, is that I could not get a chain locally, but it was delivered within a week. Implied task - Order the saw & 1 extra chain. I have recommended this to everyone I know.
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jun 15 2009
I'm a first-time homeowner with a huge, heavily wooded yard, and as much as I needed a chainsaw to get through the trunks and branches that need constant pruning, I'm naturally clumsy and intimidated by the raw, unharnessed power of most chainsaws. When I learned about the Black & Decker Alligator Lopping Chainsaw, I felt comfortable enough to at least add one to my Wish List. Surprisingly, my Mom bought it for my birthday, but it sat in the garage for a long time before I finally got around to trying it out. I now wish I had put it to use sooner! The biggest selling point of the lopper is safety: you get chainsaw power and utility in a more error-proof form factor, with the chain guarded on both sides by the jaw. You lose some flexibility in terms of the width of cuts allowed, but most things you'd cut with a traditional small electric chainsaw aren't much wider than the maximum this lopper's jaws can accommodate. And as other reviewers have noted, there are things you can do with this chainsaw that would be tricky or impossible on a traditional model, like cutting a stump flush against the ground. This weekend, I spent 6 straight hours trimming 5 years' worth of growth on a thick mountain laurel hedge. It performed remarkably, barely struggling on trunks 6 inches in diameter and cutting through the smaller branches like a hot knife through butter. Only once, due to user error, did the chain come loose but resetting it in the cam was a snap. But otherwise no stalls or kickback, and its lightweight design made it a breeze to lift over my shoulders and carry up the ladder. I'm already looking forward to my next pruning/trimming project!
