Our knife of choice for cutting turf is a snap blade X-Acto knife with 18mm black Olfa blades. If you are installing up to a patio or garden edge, it’s safe to remove just the outer tuft along with your factory edge. If you are cutting to prepare for a seam, always remove the outer three tufts and the factory edge. When your two pieces of grass are laying side-by-side, the joining blades want to be standing vertically, not leaning towards each other.
When trimming out your project to a patio edge or garden edge, you want to make sure you have enough blade sticking out of your knife to be cutting the backing before the blades. With your knife in one hand, grab the side of the grass being removed and pull it back to expose the backing.
When cut, the backing should be tight to the patio edge without touching and your gap should be no bigger than 1/8 inch.
With a saw like motion, reach forward and down with the blade and in an upward motion pulling back, simply cut the backing away losing very few blades.
Cutting up to a wall or fence requires a bit more patience, but with a sharp blade and steady hand, you will make quick work of your cuts. Folding the turf back, press it tight to the corner and place your blade against the backing where it lands closest to the wall. Lift the turf up, cut 6 inches at a time, then lay it back down to check the fit. Take your time, you don’t want the backing tight against your edges.
Relief cuts are essential when cutting around corners, trees or posts. Start from the furthest outward point and cut through from the backing out to the edge of the grass. Remove any excess grass so that your next cut is more manageable.
Similar to cutting against a wall or a fence, fold the turf back, eyeball the point where the backing meets the object and make small outward relief cuts. This allows you to then cut from point to point, fitting your grass to the objects exact curvature. Take your time around curves and angles so that there are no voids when you are finished cutting. A sharp blade will give you a clean cut with out fraying the edge of the backing.
When you’re finished with your cuts, the grass should lay loosely around any objects without touching them. This will make for a beautiful, more natural look around stone, block trees, or whatever perimeter you may have on your install site.