For me, this is the perfect manual lawn edger for areas near wood fence and concrete foundation. Tried many other manual tools, including telescoping hedge shears, but found nothing as effective or fast. To use it as edger, I knee down, hold this sickle at about 45-60 degrees angle over ground, then swing away from my feet (instead of towards). Pretty fast and effective that way. Sharp enough to cut grass quickly and lightweight.

This sickle won't quickly produce ruler straight sidewalk edge though. For that, telescoping hedge shears would work better, but they take more effort and time to use.

I don't like to use or maintain powered lawn tools, due to their noise, pollution and maintenance requirement. For center areas of my lawn, I use and like a Fiskars
18 in. Manual Push Reel Mower.

Pros: It is a lightweight and easy to use tool, even for a small older woman like myself.

Cons: Not sharp enough to cut through tall, tough briars, which is the purpose for which I bought it. Partner sharpened it but the edge is still not sharp enough to cut completely through them, which makes them bend and then snap back at you, so wear protective gloves, clothing and goggles if you plan on cutting tough briars, and actually I would just buy another tool for that, because this one does not do a good job!
Does not cut through young saplings well either. Will cut through smaller dead brush with no problem.

The last sickle I owned was the traditional style which connected the blade to the handle via a couple of rivets. That one is weak by design, and the blade started to bend, and eventually it developed a stress crack at the same area because needed to bend the blade back straight. So when I set out to replace it, I wanted to find one that would not have the same design flaw. And this Zenport, with it's straight blade to handle connection with two heavy duty rivets is a much better solution. The lack of a sharp bend ensures the forces are distributed and does not result in a stress crack at the joint.

I purchased this longer handle version first, and it is great because you get an additional 6 inches of reach; but for close work, it's a little unwieldly, so I bought the shorter handle version.

Be sure to use a class 5 cut resistant glove when working with this sickle because the edge is super sharp!

G & F 1670M Cut Resistant Work Gloves, 100-Percent Kevlar Knit Work Gloves, Make by DuPont Kevlar, Protective Gloves to Secure Your hands from Scrapes, Cuts in Kitchen, Wood Carving, Carpentry and Dealing with Broken Glass, 1 Pair,Medium

I used to use a machete in each hand to clear berry vines and other various weeds, but now I use this tool in my off- hand. It cuts through stuff well and the sickle shaped blade and long handle allows me to manage vines as I swing a 22 inch machete or a long reach woodmans pal around.

This sickle is extreamly sharp and it cuts the things I purchased it for. I would purchase it again if needed. However I think it will work out for me very well.and last a long time.