When I trim our front hedges, I always put the cord over my shoulder to prevent cutting through it, however I had a slight accident yesterday!
I put the 14" trimmer down to answer the phone & when I resumed, I was still preoccupied with the conversation, picked it up, pressed the button & lever without thinking! Sparks flew as I cut right through the cord (2nd time in two years), I yelled & threw it down!
My husband has since rewired it, but I wondered if anyone uses a cordless one? If so, have you found it as good as a corded one & how long can use it for before recharging it?
I think the honest answer is that perhaps phones are best left indoors and not taken out into the garden, especially when you are doing dangerous jobs - best to concentrate on the job in hand rather than be distracted by a phone call, which is why I never take our cordless phone into the garden. . We have a Phillips cordless phone which stays in its holster most of the time. It's three years old and after a couple of hours if we forget to put it back we start losing the sound so I'm not ravingingly enthusiastic about it.
Hopefully you had a circuit breaker plugged in with the appliance?
I would suggest that you just go ahead a use a cordless one as that is far better than killing yourself over a hedge. If you buy a good one it will be ok - take a look at some online reviews to see which one would suit your needs.
Cordless hedge trimmers are fine, so long as you get a decent make. Have a look at Bosch.
Two batteries are useful along with a quick charger - keep one on charge while youre cutting and then switch them over. The batteries can also double up to use with other rechargeable tools such as jigsaws, planers etc if you buy the same make and same voltage.