'Eu sou muito probre pobre para comprar ferramentas baratas' is apparently a popular phrase in this part of rural Portugal -
Translated, it means 'I'm too poor to buy cheap tools (1)'
I think every culture has their own version of this phrase - 'buy it once, buy it right' is one UK version, and this is a philosophy I've long subscribed to myself.
I'd much rather spend $1000 on something that's going to last me a lifetime rather than $500 and have to have to replace it every 5 years.
It's a philosophy that makes total sense when it comes to peasant agriculture, which is basically what you have on the Spanish/ Portuguese border, especially with the dry, dusty, incredibly hot erosion-inducing summers you get in this part of world.
You need tools which are quality so they can endure, and stand up to the climate, tools that will last you if not a lifetime then do you several good years reliable service rather than conking out after a few months.
Hence why I spent 500 EU on a Stihl Strimmer, well really it's a 'Brush Cutter' - but that lacks alliteration.
It's efficient
And that's maybe an understatement - even with my amateurish grasp of the technique, I've managed to strim about a hectare of grass land in next to no time - TBH it's not the strimming that takes the time, it's the checking for stones etc first and the clearing up afterwards.
But the real beauty of the sthil isn't for grass, it's for brush, hence 'brush cutter' - this thing will take out anything with a stalk up to half an inch thick (it would probably do more but I side with caution) and it's been great the last couple of days clearing out my 10 metre fire-safety strip on the edge of my land.
Compared to hand sawing or pulling out the material, this is at least three times as fast, I know because I've done a comparison!
I think I'll get about 10 years out of my Stihl
It's hard to estimate the lifespan of a brush cutter as use rates vary so much but from what I can glean from forums I should expect several hundreds of hours of use out of the machine, and with regular servicing I expect a decade.
Massive savings over 10 years
The Stihl may have cost me 500 EU, but that's only 50 EU a year over 10 years, and given that I'll probably need to strim/ brush cut over 2HA about twice a year, that's a lot of money saved compared to what it would cost me to get someone in to do it for me - at least a few hundred EU a saved, even with the cost of fuel and maintenance.
I actually went onto Facebook to get some advice, and the Stihl cam out as one of the top recommendations -
My next level up
According to the guy who has just started helping me clear the land and has done land clearance for 20 years, his dream machine is a 4 stroke Honda, but they are another price-leg up from my 2 stroke stihl ({he has a similar model to mine, just a bit larger)
I did get a couple of Honda recommendations from my initial Facebook query, but they were just too steep, at around 700 - 800 EU.
But if I've got the money in 10 years time, that will certainly be an upgrade I'd consider!
(1) At least according Google Translate, so that's probably approximate