BRUSH-CUTTER BLUES

My friend Debby had a ton of brush cutting to do in the woods behind her house. “Debby, you have to borrow my commercial-grade brush cutter. It cuts brush like a razor cuts hair!” I bragged. Before she came to get it, I installed a new blade to really impress her.

The following week, she let me know that she wasn’t at all impressed with my top-of-the-line tool. She had worked her tail off for three sweaty hours on a 90-degree day without getting very much brush cleared. I was puzzled—until I noticed that all the teeth were nearly ground off the brand-new blade. You guessed it. I’d installed the blade upside down and the teeth were facing backward. I couldn’t let her buy me a new $30 blade, even though she offered.