Battle of the Brush Blades: Finding the Best for Clearing Overgrown Areas

Overgrown brush and small trees can quickly get out of control. Having the right brush cutter blade can turn a back-breaking chore into an easy task. I put 8 popular rotary brush blades through grueling testing to see which cuts through brush the fastest and holds up best.

The Contenders

I purchased all blades myself for unbiased reviews. Here are the models compared:

• Blue Cat ELE
• Renegade Hybrid
• Euros
• Oregon 20 Tooth
• Forester
• Echo
• Husqvarna Grass
• Steel 80 Tooth

Key specs for each blade:

Brand	Price	Teeth	Weight	Hardness
Blue Cat	$10	–	336g	5
Renegade	$15	68 carbide	328g	8-9
Euros	$17	6 blade	400g	6
Oregon	$20	20 tooth	339g	6
Forester	$24	20 chainsaw	534g	7-8
Echo	$36	80 tooth	507g	5
Husqvarna	$43	3 blade grass	582g	6
Steel	$43	80 tooth	364g	6

Let’s see how they performed in testing.

The Tests

I put the brush cutter blades through the following tests using a 30cc straight shaft trimmer:

Cutting Grass

Observed mulching performance on thick grass. Better discharge is better.

Cutting Brush

Timed cutting 1″, 2″ and 3.5″ trees. Faster times win.

Impact Resistance

Measured damage after hitting steel pipe and concrete. Less damage is better.

Cutting Damaged

Retested cutting ability after intentional damage. Faster times still win.

The Results

Here’s how the brush blades compared in each test:

Cutting Grass

The Husqvarna mulched and discharged grass clippings the best. The other dedicated brush blades performed poorly on grass.

Cutting Brush

Brand	1″ Tree	2″ Tree	3.5″ Tree
Renegade	0.8 sec	0.9 sec	7 sec
Oregon	0.9 sec	1 sec	5 sec
Forester	0.25 sec	0.6 sec	1 sec
Steel	1 sec	2 sec	10 sec
Echo	2 sec	8 sec	30 sec

The Forester was the fastest cutting through all thicknesses. Renegade and Oregon followed closely.

Impact Resistance

The Husqvarna sustained almost no damage. Renegade, Forester, Oregon and Steel blades experienced moderate damage to teeth. Echo sustained the most damage.

Cutting Damaged

Brand	Cut Time
Renegade	4 sec
Forester	7 sec
Oregon	8 sec
Steel	11 sec
Echo	22 sec

Even damaged, the Renegade still cut 2″ trees fastest. Carbide tips made a difference.

Final Rankings

1. Renegade
2. Forester
3. Oregon
4. Steel
5. Echo
6. Blue Cat
7. Euros
8. Husqvarna

The Verdict

The Renegade Hybrid is my top pick for best brush cutter blade. The carbide teeth sliced through brush insanely fast and resisted impact damage better than other brands. It’s a bargain at only $15.

Forester chainsaw-style teeth shredded brush nearly as quickly as the Renegade. It’s also easy to sharpen. The heavy 534g weight requires a powerful trimmer though.

Oregon and Steel offer good all-around performance for fair prices. I’d choose them over lightweight bargain blades for cutting anything thicker than grass.

Echo blades are quite expensive given their mediocre cutting speed and poor impact resistance. I don’t recommend them.

Euros, Blue Cat and Husqvarna are only suitable for grass in my opinion. Don’t expect them to handle thick brush well.

Let me know if you found this brush blade comparison helpful! I welcome your feedback ideas in the comments.