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Grass shears or a strimmer

Updated: October 2026

You searched for an edger and the results mixed a palm shear with a shaft that spins a nylon line. Grass shears vs a strimmer is a choice about how long the grass is, not about which listing scored more stars. A shear clips a short, dry fringe and soft shrubs. A strimmer takes longer grass, weeds and a bank. Prices for the shears sit on the [cordless grass shears comparison](/hub/lawn-and-garden-equipment/cordless-grass-shears). Peter F. compared these classes with RHS and Gardeners' World guidance on 22 October 2026. A strimmer was not tested beside these shears. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You searched for an edger and the results mixed a palm shear with a shaft that spins a nylon line. Grass shears vs a strimmer is a choice about how long the grass is, not about which listing scored more stars.

Our top picks

Einhell Einhell GE-CG 18/100 Li Solo

Best overall

Einhell Einhell GE-CG 18/100 Li Solo
9.0/10about £52.98
View offer
Bosch Bosch EasyShear

Rank 2

Bosch Bosch EasyShear
9.0/10about £42.95
View offer
WORKPRO WORKPRO W159022

Best value

WORKPRO WORKPRO W159022
8.5/10about £26.80
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Three different edge tools
  2. 2.Where the shear wins
  3. 3.Where the strimmer wins
  4. 4.A condition, not a single winner

Three different edge tools

The first tool is the cordless palm shear in this comparison. It is a one-handed body with a grass blade about 75–120 mm wide, and usually a shrub blade around 120–200 mm. You hold it at the fringe. You do not walk a shaft. The second is a long-handled manual edging shear, the tool the Royal Horticultural Society describes for the overhang after each mow. Which? notes that hand edging shears are quieter than a grass trimmer, and those scores are not scores for these battery models. The third tool is a strimmer: a shaft with a nylon line. Line wears, and it can snap on stone. A telescopic strimmer is not a handheld shear. If the mower has left a short lip, choose a palm shear or hand shears. If you are looking at a wet bank, choose a strimmer.

Where the shear wins

Use the shear when the lawn is already cut and the fringe is short and dry. EasyShear reviewers talk about border edges a mower and hand shears miss. The grass blade does not throw nylon at the greenhouse. The shrub blade will shape soft new growth on a small box or lavender. The grass head knots unless the lawn is already short. An 8 mm tooth gap is a soft stem, not a bramble. A half-moon iron cuts the vertical soil face. That weekly clip is on the cordless grass shears for lawn edges page.
Einhell Einhell GE-CG 18/100 Li Solo

Testsieger

Einhell Einhell GE-CG 18/100 Li Solo
9.0/10about £52.98
View offer

Where the strimmer wins

Use a strimmer when the grass is long, weedy, or lying on a bank the mower cannot hold. Gardeners' World treats a line trimmer as the tool for that longer growth. The line reaches past a fence post in a way a 100 mm grass blade never will, and it throws debris. Strimming needs boots, gloves and eye protection, and a check for hedgehogs before you cut long grass. A palm shear on a short fringe is still a blade next to your hand. A cordless shear has no cable in the border. Do not pick a shear for a rough bank. Starting and swapping a blade are on the how to use cordless grass shears page.

A condition, not a single winner

Keep a shear if you already mow and the only untidy part is the fringe and a few soft shrubs. Add a strimmer only for the bank, the nettles, and the grass that has fallen over the path. One 2-in-1 does not replace both. The second blade is a short shrub bar. A manual edging shear remains the RHS tool if you would rather not run a motor for five minutes of patio. Short and dry: shear. Long, weedy, or on a slope: strimmer, with eye protection and a look for wildlife first. A battery layout for the shear is the cordless grass shears buying guide.

Common questions

Are shears better than a strimmer for a patio edge?
For a short, dry lip along a patio, yes. A grass blade about 75–120 mm wide clips that fringe without throwing nylon into the gravel. A strimmer will also cut it, and it will fling line fragments at the glass. The shear loses as soon as the grass is long enough to knot in the teeth. Better here means neater on a finished lawn, not more powerful.
Will shears cut long grass?
Poorly, and then they clog. The AdvancedShear grass blade knots unless the lawn is already short. Forcing a pass through wet, fallen grass packs the teeth. That is the job a line trimmer is for. If you only own a shear, mow first, let the fringe dry, and clip the lip.
Which is quieter?
A manual edging shear is the quiet option. Which? makes that point against a grass trimmer, for hand shears, and this page does not import their scores. A cordless palm shear is quieter than a petrol strimmer, but it is not silent. Neighbours will hear a strimmer on a bank more readily than a two-minute clip of a patio edge.
Do I still need eye protection?
You need boots, gloves and eye protection when you strim. That is RHS mowing guidance, because the line throws stones and sap. A palm shear does not throw line, and you still keep the free hand away from the teeth. One WORKPRO review describes a cut toward a gloved finger. Gloves are not a licence to touch the blade.
What about a manual edging shear?
It is the tool RHS describes for the overhang: long handles, blades upright, after every mow in the growing season. It will not shape a shrub, and it will not clear a bank. If your only job is a crisp lawn edge and you dislike charging batteries, the hand shear is the closer match than any listing in this set.
Can one 2-in-1 replace both tools?
No. The second head is a shrub blade around 120–200 mm, for soft growth. It is not a line and it is not a brush-cutter blade. Reviewers who tried thick stems, long grass or a proper hedge said the shear was the wrong tool. Keep the 2-in-1 for the fringe and the small bush. Keep a strimmer for the rough patches.

Related pages

Cordless grass shears

Best cordless grass shears: a condition on each pick

Cordless grass shears buying guide for a UK garden

How to use cordless grass shears: charge and blades

Cordless grass shears for lawn edges after you mow

Sources

Blade scope is IEC 62841-4-5:2021 and the BSI edition current on 12 February 2024. Vibration duties are the HSE page for the Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005, and INDG480 is the horticulture note that covers hedge trimmers and strimmers rather than these shears. Marking and lithium waste are GOV.UK. Lawn edges and rain are the RHS. Prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk captures dated 22 October 2026. They are not a lab test.

  1. IEC 62841-4-5:2021, grass shears up to 200 mm (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. BS EN IEC 62841-4-5:2021+A11:2021 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. HSE, Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. HSE INDG480, vibration in horticulture (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK, UKCA and CE marking in Great Britain (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK, batteries and electrical waste (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. RHS, how to maintain lawn edges (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. RHS, electricity in the garden (retrieved 22 October 2026)