Best edger

If you want a neat line between your lawn and features such as beds, borders, paths, and the drive, add an edger to your garden toolkit. Whether you choose a manual design or an electric version, it will make creating boundaries in your outdoor space a simple task; we’ve included both types in our selection. Take a look at our pick of the best around.

If you want to save space in your shed and swap two tools for one, this edger would be a great choice because it doubles as a grass trimmer. It’s an electric design, saving you the effort of edging manually. You don’t need to charge it up or worry about running out of power since it just plugs in. (The cord is a generous 10 metres long, allowing you to cover plenty of ground.) Switching between edging and trimming modes is straightforward, just press a button and twist the head to the correct orientation. Be aware that its 3.1-kilogram weight won’t necessarily suit all users.

Looking for a simple way to create a neat division between flower borders and the lawn? This edger is just the ticket. It’s made with a mirror-polished stainless-steel head that resists rust and minimises soil adhesion to make cutting through the earth easier. This means it's less work to clean, too. It features a tread, so it’s more comfortable when you’re pressing down with your foot. The aluminium shaft ensures the design is also light for less fatigue; it weighs just 0.66 kilograms. This edger is 93 centimetres in height, but taller gardeners might prefer it to be a little longer.

It’s easy to end up with a lot of long-handled gardening tools to tidy away but opt for this edger, and you can avoid the muddle. It clicks into place on a handle that’s also suitable for other tools in the same range, cutting down on the space your toolkit requires. It has a sharp blade that slices through the earth easily, and it’s self-sharpening to spare you a task. Bear in mind that using it with a D handle in the Multi-Change range is preferable as a straight handle won’t provide the correct grip.

This edger is another of our choices that just performs the desired function, no extras. That still makes it a sound option, though, as it will do what you need efficiently, and doesn’t cost much either. It’s made from durable carbon steel, and a wide tread on the blade offers extra foot-powered leverage to slice through the earth easily and comfortably. It isn’t heavy to transport and should prove convenient for users of most heights.

For tidying a garden with stony ground or lots of old growth, this edger is a great choice. It’s designed to help you create precise edges when the soil makes things difficult. Ripsaw teeth allow you to cut through the large roots you find beneath the soil, while the smaller ones can be sliced with the inverted V-shaped blade tip. I like its ergonomic handle because it makes efforts on difficult ground more comfortable. It’s made from carbon steel for durability.

It could be worth investing a little more to add this edger to your selection of garden tools. It’s another of our choices that is a trimmer as well, cutting down on the amount of equipment that needs shed storage. Swapping between the two functions is straightforward, simply requiring rotation of the trimmer head. I like the fact that the edger's shaft is telescopic, so different family members can set the height to suit. The front handle can be adjusted as well to make working comfortable for each user. It has a wheel kit that adds support if preferred, but this can be removed if it isn’t needed.

Our verdict

For the tidiest boundary lines in your plot, get yourself an edger. Our favourite is the Flymo Contour 500E electric grass trimmer and edger. Powered by electricity, it makes creating edges easy, and you can roam far and wide in the garden thanks to a long cable.

For super straight and tidy lawn edges without a big spend, take a look at the Draper 88797 lawn edger. The durable carbon steel design will cut through the earth easily to make a defined border on every grassed area.

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