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Concept
String trimmer
Summary
A string trimmer, also known by the portmanteau strimmer and the trademarks Weedwacker, Weed Eater and Whipper Snipper, is a garden tool for cutting grass, small weeds, and groundcover. It uses a whirling monofilament line instead of a blade, which protrudes from a rotating spindle at the end of a long shaft topped by a gasoline engine or electric motor.
String trimmers are commonly used for cutting low foliage near obstacles or on steep or irregular terrain. Most professional-grade line trimmers can accept attachment blades to be used as brush cutters for more dense vegetation.
The first brush cutter was produced in Japan in 1960 by Echo. The U.S. string trimmer was invented in the early-1970s by George Ballas of Houston, Texas, who conceived the idea while watching the revolving action of the cleaning brushes in an automatic car wash. His first trimmer was made by attaching pieces of heavy duty fishing line to a tin can bolted to an edger. Ballas developed this into what he called the "Weed Eater", since it chewed up the grass and weeds around trees.
The word "strimmer" is correctly a trade name for a particular make of string trimmer, but it is often used as a generic for any string trimmer. From it has been backformed the colloquial verb "to strim".
The terminology used to refer to string trimmers varies by country and sometimes state:
South Africa — Line trimmer or brushcutter
Australia — whipper snippers
UK / Ireland - Strimmer, Grass trimmer or brushcutters
A string trimmer works on the principle that a line spun fast enough on its center stiffens by centrifugal force; the faster the hub turns, the more rigid the line. Even round-section nylon line is able to cut grass and slight, woody plants quite well. Some monofilament lines designed for more powerful cutters have an extruded shape, like a star, that helps the line slash the material being cut; the line is thus able to cut quite large woody plants (small shrubs) or at least girdle them effectively. These lines make solid disks less necessary for tough jobs.
Official source
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