How to Cut Metal Garden Edging| 7 Easiest Way With Pro Tips

Are you installing metal edging in your garden or around the flowerbed but at a loss how to cut metal garden edging perfectly?

While retaining your favorite lawn side flowerbed or paving the way in the lawn, you feel the necessity of landscape edging. But the more crucial part of any landscape edging is to cut the edge in the proper way than installing it. And when it is about metal edging, many fall into confusion.

No worries. After today’s guide, cutting the garden edge will be much easier for you because we will show you some straightforward ways on how to cut metal edging

How to Cut Metal Garden Edging?

When it comes to metal edging, you mean the sturdy landscape edging. Right? In that case, you can use either steel or Aluminum.

Moreover, you can use steel edging as steel is preferable over Aluminum for its sturdiness and durability.

Let’s start with the steps for cutting steel garden edging strips.

How to Cut Steel Garden Edging Using a Hacksaw

Well, the easiest process to cut the edge is using a hacksaw, especially when you are doing the DIY landscape edging. Let’s show you the fundamental steps from cutting the metal edge to preparing the land and placing them.

Things You Will Need Here

• Hacksaw
• Safety gloves
• Steel/Aluminum strip
• Measuring tape
• Wooden block
• Soft mallet hammer
• Spikes
• Shovel

You can try the Craftsman 12 Inch Hacksaw with a solid metal frame is much popular among different lawn owners.

Steps for how to cut metal edging are as follows-

Step-1: Wear the Safety Gloves & Goggles for Eye Protection

Wear the safety gloves at first. Whether your garden edging is of steel or Aluminum while cutting, you may give your finger go through the cuts or swollen for holding.

Step-2: Mark a Line Measuring 1 Inch from the Bottom

Take your Aluminum or steel garden edging strip. Take the measuring tape and mark a line keeping 1/2 inch from the bottom that will be the soil. It is for the exact scoring while you cut the edging so that it does not become smaller on one side and larger on another.

Step-3: Cut All Through the Line

Now, take the hacksaw and cut it all through the edging to score the line. You can also cut V-shaped on the corner where you need to bend the metal. It will help in bending and creating a corner loop accurately.

Pro Tips: Must wear gloves before cutting as these metal edges are sharp enough to cut fingers.

Step-4: Prepare your Garden Edging

It’s time to get down to start making the edging. Take a garden hose or rope and mark the edging line along with the spot. You can take the help of others to hold the rope for you in place. Or you can also use spikes to keep the rope/hose hold in place.

Step-5: Take a Shovel & Start Cutting the Edge

Now, get the shovel and start cutting the edging. Simply stab on the soil and push with your legs for a deep cut. And keep doing this right along the marked edge with the hose or rope.

Pro Tips: Make sure to use the square-shaped or V-shaped shovel for a quick and effective cut. Some recommend the half-moon-shaped one, but that does not seem to cut way deeper. If needed, remove the excess grass and roots along the cut edge.

You can also use the Fiskars D-Handle Square Spade recommended by some lawn care experts.

However, do you need a cheaper alternative? You can use Rhino Folding Shovel with Multifunctioning recommended by some home garden owners.

Step-6: Place the Metal Edging

Now, place the metal edging gradually along the bed area that you made. Put a wooden block on the metal edge and push using the hammer to place it into a minimum depth.

Keep on placing all the bed areas in this way. Where the cornering comes, you need to bend it. Place the wooden block on the metal strip and bend to make a straight 90° angle.

At the end of the edging, secure the edging by sliding an overlap. Make sure to overlap a minimum of 2 to 4 inches of sliding to secure the edging. Put spikes at the bottom cut of the metal edges where the bed area is not level ground.

Pro Tips: While inserting the spikes, make sure to insert them at a 45° angle.

Step-7: Backfill the Top Soil & Make It Even

After placing the metal edging all the way, backfill using rake or leg. If possible, replace the topsoil and make the bed area and the siding even by pressuring with your leg.

And your evenly arranged metal garden edging is done.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Ques: What is the best way for landscaping edging?

Ans: You can use metal, wood, plastic, stone, brick, concrete, or blocks for landscaping and making your lawn or garden beautifully garnished.

 Ques: What is the difference between edging and trenching?

Ans: Most know the two as the same thing in a different name. There is a slight gap between these two. Edging can be done using metal, wood, stones, or others, but trenching make the edge smooth and safe with no bricks or stones for mowing without damaging the mower.

Ques:  Do you need edging for flowerbeds?

Ans: Of course. For flowerbeds, it is a must for edging. Edging will not only keep your flowerbeds safe and arrange from the grass weeds but give a flourishing look to your landscaping.

Final Words

To sum up, we can say that you won’t have any further issues regarding the garden metal edging after this guide. Also, you don’t need to look for other ways to cut metal garden edging.

We have vividly described all the methods for how to cut metal landscape edging and how to install metal landscape edging step by step. Just go through the write-up thoroughly and get the gist.