Pocket Chainsaw

Supreme Products is selling something called the Pocket Chainsaw and it looks like the perfect item for some around the yard pruning, camping trips, and any other time when a full-sized chainsaw isn't practical.

The Pocket Chainsaw is light, weighing only 5 oz. It comes with a little storage can that can fit in your pocket. The can is circular, so if you carry the tool around a lot you might be able to get one of those cool Skoal circles in your jeans.

The website shows a movie of the Pocket Chainsaw cutting through a 4" limb in under 10 seconds.

At Amazon

Clean-Up Leaves, Terrify Children

If you find picking up leaves difficult, why not strap on some giant, yellow Muppet claws to make things easier? That seems to be the idea behind Helping Hands For Yard Clean-Up. These bright yellow hand extensions (14" wide, 12" tall) are apparently capable of picking up two to three times as many leaves as your pathetic, flesh-colored out-of-the-box hands.

We use the "one hand, one rake" method of scooping leaves and even though we have little doubt that the Big Bird claws are better, if anyone ever saw us wandering around the yard wearing those things...

At Improvements

Black & Decker Cultivator

We just heard about this little garden tool and thought it was worth a mention. It's called the Cultivator and it looks like a nice item for someone with a small garden and no interest in hand-tilling.

The 18-Volt tool is setup like a string trimmer, but instead of a cutter at the end, it has two oscillating tines that are capable of turning soil and rooting up weeds. The tines can be removed if you find yourself in a cramped space where only one can fit. The Cultivator can turn soil up to four inches in depth and is capable of cutting a path seven inches wide. It also has a telescoping handle.

The reviews over at Amazon are all very positive. People seem to agree that the tool is lightweight, powerful, and has a long lasting battery.

The Cultivator comes with a battery and a charger and sells for just a hair under $100.

At Amazon

Scotts 20-Inch Push Reel Mower #2000-20

Other than having an excuse to take our shirt off and display our E.T. physique to the neighbors, we really don't like mowing the lawn. Not only is it straight up drudgery but we always have trouble starting the damn thing.

So if you're like us, you might want to check out Scotts Push Reel Mower. At 20", it has a wider cutting path than most push mowers. It also has 10-inch wheels, five blades, and nine cutting heights between one and three inches.

The best thing about this mower is that there is no engine. We find lawn mower engines to be second to none when it comes to frustration. Just think, no pull cord to start it up, and no pretending that you know what you're doing by taking apart the carburetor.

The Scotts push mower sells for about $120. Any worthwhile gas mower is going to cost at least twice that amount and probably more. Also with the price of gas the way it is, even the little amount that goes into your mower could be a savings.

At Amazon

Ryobi One+ 18 Volt Cordless Chainsaw

Earlier in the week, we told you about Ryobi's new electric start String Trimmer and now we're going to say something about their new cordless chainsaw.

The saw has a 10" bar and a push button oiler. It is compatible with Ni-Cd or Li-Ion batteries. It's also light for a chainsaw, weighing just over 5.5 lbs.

When you think about it, 10" isn't a whole lot of bar for a chainsaw. We doubt that anyone is going to be felling any mighty oaks with this tool, but it would probably be a nice item for someone who wants to do some serious pruning or a little bit of brush clearing.

Chainsaws are unbelievably dangerous tools and the fact that the gas ones need so much maintenance has probably kept some people away from them. But now that they are as easy to use as a cordless drill, we worry that they might fall into the hands of someone who isn't aware of the incredible danger of the tool. We just hope that anyone buying this chainsaw has a complete understanding of just how dangerous it is and how it only takes a split second of inattention and you're a goner.

The Ryobi cordless chainsaw is available at Home Depot and costs anywhere from $60 to $80, which sounds to us like a good price for the tool.

At Home Depot

Ryobi Touch Start Gas Trimmer

It looks like Ryobi has some pretty nice looking lawn and garden tools coming out this spring. To us, the most interesting is their new Touch Start Gas Trimmer. Apparently, it's the first electric start trimmer on the market. We found that hard to believe, but then we did some research we couldn't find any other trimmers with the feature, so it looks like it's true. We're not sure what's taken so long for the innovation, but it sure is a nice option to have, especially for that first start-up of the season. If you're looking to throw out your shoulder, the Ryobi also has the traditional pull-start system as well.

In addition to the electric start, the Ryobi has a two-string head, a telescoping shaft, and a low-emission engine. It comes with a shoulder strap and a two-year warranty.

The Ryobi Touch Start Gas Trimmer will be available next month (May '08) and will cost in the area of $170. That price puts it right in the middle of the very high-end trimmers and the very low-end trimmers, which is pretty much standard for Ryobi. Our guess is that this is a nice trimmer and that it's going to be quite popular this summer.

Available exclusively at Home Depot.

Toro Ultra 12 Amp Electric Blower/Vacuum

With Spring just about here, we've been in the market for a nice electric leaf blower. Our research has led us to this Toro; it has some cool features and for what you get, the price is right.

Like a lot of electric blowers, the Toro does double duty as a vacuum as well. But this one also has a shredder function that turns leaves and debris into mulch. According to Toro, the shredder can convert 16 bags of leaves into a single bag of minced organic material.

The variable-speed Toro comes with a bag, a shoulder strap, and two nozzles.

It also looks like this product has a large number of satisfied customers. Over at Amazon, there are 176 customer reviews with an average of 4.5 stars. The consensus is that it's light and powerful. The Toro sells for about $70, which puts it right in the middle of the other 12 amp electric blowers out on the market.

At Amazon

Gardening Products for the Insane

We can't imagine that anyone would ever look at a blowing leaf pile and think, "I bet if I encased that pile in a crunchy corn syrup-like product, it wouldn't be able to blow away." We also can't imagine that enough people would approve of the idea in order for it to make it to market. But it's out there and it's called Toro's Leaf Lock.

This Old House has info on Leaf Lock and almost 20 other bizarre gardening products over at their site. Check it out here.

Ten Tips for Spring Yard Care

Lawn care is one of those things that if you fall behind early, you're doomed for the rest of the summer. So even though it still might seem a little too cold to start thinking about how much you hate mowing the lawn, now is the time to start.

We did some looking and found this article that gives some advice for what to do in the first stages of spring to ensure that you get off on the right foot.

Read: 10 Tasks to Consider Before the Mowing Season

Leatherman Hybrid Gardening Multitool

Spring is almost here, even up here in the Northeast, and it's time to start replacing all the gardening tools that you left out all winter. Courtesy of Leatherman, you can do this with one single purchase. Their Hybrid Gardening Multitool looks like a winner for any yard worker.

The tool is constructed like any other Leatherman, with the whole thing folding up into a pocket sized unit. Because of the nature of it, it's a bit larger than their regular models, but only by 3/4".

The Hybrid Gardening Tool contains:

Continue reading: "Leatherman Hybrid Gardening Multitool"

Gutter Sense

We put cleaning gutters right next to scraping paint on our list of things at the bottom of Home Improvement Hell. So we're always on the look out for anything that makes either of these tasks easier. For paint scraping, we were pretty satisfied with the Wagner Paint Eater, but what about those leaf-filled gutters? Well, a small company called Segal MFG., INC. has created an interesting tool called Gutter Sense that looks like it might take the pain out of the dreaded yearly chore. And if not the pain, at least the ladder-work.

Continue reading: "Gutter Sense"

Black & Decker Alligator Lopper 4.5 Amp Electric Chainsaw

This is a new one to us. Is it a chainsaw? Is it a set of loppers? Is it a weapon from Duke Nukem 3-D? We guess it’s a combination of A and B, but we’re not sure. With the Alligator Lopper, it appears that Black & Decker has created a tool that is essentially a lightweight, electric chainsaw with an interesting look and some nice safety features.

The Alligator has a set of scissor jaws that grab and hold onto the branch while the small chainsaw blade between them makes the cut. With this setup, the blade not only stays far away from your face but the jaws also act as blade guards, greatly reducing the chances of injury.

Continue reading: "Black & Decker Alligator Lopper 4.5 Amp Electric Chainsaw"

Fiskars Garden Bucket Caddy

If you’ve been doing any serious gardening this year, you’re probably already sick of lugging your hand tools around with you each time you move a couple feet to the next plant, or maybe you’re one of those people who leave your tools all over the lawn so they can get rained on. If either of these situations describes you, Fiskars has the solution. Their little Garden Bucket Caddy is a perfect way to tote around a selection of gardening tools with the added bonus of having a 5 gallon bucket at your disposal for weeds or more tools.

The Garden Bucket Caddy comes with a seed pocket to keep seeds nice and dry as well as a spot for a cell phone and a beverage holder. A few of the pockets have no bottoms to accommodate loppers or shears.

Continue reading: "Fiskars Garden Bucket Caddy"

Lawn Care Websites

As spring progresses, a lot of you are turning your attention to the bare patch of dirt that you refer to as the “back yard.” You have dreams of turning it into something as lush as a rainforest, but you just don’t know exactly how to do it. Since we’re in the same boat, we did some research and found these two helpful sites on the subject of lawn care; YardCare.com and All About Lawns.

Continue reading: "Lawn Care Websites"