Jaws of Life
David A. Dodson

Black & Decker's Alligator Lopper

I have a love/hate relationship with my chainsaw. It's definitely my go-to tool when it comes to major projects like taking out large trees. Unfortunately, due to lack of an alternative, I'm also forced to turn to it for smaller tasks like storm damage, trimming thicker limbs and cutting down smaller trees, saplings and chutes. Though extremely useful for tree removal, I often find a chainsaw to actually be overkill and a bit dangerous for smaller jobs that require precision and control. Let's face it, when you wake up one morning an find a 3 ½ inch diameter limb that's fifteen or twenty feet long down in the back yard, you aren't going for your bow saw when you can make a few minutes work out of it with your chainsaw. And that's when you get hurt because the limb rolls or gives way too easily and the saw slips, resulting in a strained back, pulled muscle or much, much worse. If only there was another choice. Well wish no more, for those sawdust savants at Black and Decker have you covered with their Alligator Lopper. Lightweight and safe and easy to use, the Alligator Lopper is the perfect solution for those branches and smaller trees that are really not worth firing up the chainsaw over, but would still take all day with a hand saw. The big idea: Using scissor-like action, the Alligator Lopper's rugged aluminum jaw grabs and holds logs and thick branches while an electric chainsaw blade makes an effortless and controlled cut.

Sounds great on paper, but how well do they work in the real world. Amazingly well. We used the Alligator Lopper in situations ranging from trimming live limbs to sectioning fallen branches to cutting down tight clutches of small trees and were simply blown away at the ease and convenience of this tool. Running off of 110 A.C. power, there was nothing we could throw at the four and a half amp saw that it couldn't cut through. Weighing in at a svelte six and a half pounds, it was nothing to use the lopper on above ground limbs and tree trunks, and the aluminum jaw kept the blade from skipping around when we started a cut. The Alligator Lopper's side-to-side cutting action also proved ideal for slicing fallen branches, since it prevented the chain from striking the ground when the cut was complete. This also made the job go much faster since we didn't need to continually prop up the part we were cutting; we simply grabbed the branch with the jaws and cut right through.

Scissor-Like Cutting Action

Also worth mentioning are the myriad of safety features that are integrated into the Alligator Lopper. First off, they use a pair of switches (one in each handle) to activate the blade, so it won't start until you have both hands secure and are ready. Likewise, if you let go of either handle during the cut, the blade shuts down. Secondly, the aluminum jaw serves as a guard, protecting you from the cutting blade. It also uses a spring-loaded aluminum guard on the outside of the blade that allows the chain to pass through whatever you are cutting, and snaps back over the blade when the cut is complete. Lastly, the familiar scissor-like cutting action and the control offered by the gripping jaw are flat out safer and easier to use than an unwieldy chainsaw that relies mostly on gravity, brute force and God's grace to make safe cuts.

I felt so comfortable with the Alligator Lopper's safety, that I let my wife use it to take down and cut up several small diameter trees in our yard. She had no problem handling the task, thanks to the security of the gripping jaw during the initial felling and the side-to-side cutting during the dissecting. She's even volunteered to cut firewood with it.

Keeping the proper tension on the six-inch chain is a snap thanks to the Alligator Lopper's auto chain tensioning system. Simply loosen the bar retainer bolts with the wrench (included) and the bar automatically takes out the slack and adjusts the chain's tension perfectly. Replacement chains will be available at major retailers.

Bottom line is if you have trees in your yard, you need to get Black and Decker's Alligator Lopper. It is the ideal solution for small to medium cutting and trimming tasks that simply don't merit dragging out the chainsaw. It is also the perfect companion tool to the chainsaw when those major projects do come around. For about one hundred dollars you can get the Alligator Lopper wherever tools are sold or from one of the dealers listed at www.BlackandDecker.com.