cutting a large hedge?

You need a chain saw and a hedge trimmer. The chainsaw will take care of the thicker stuff and the hedge trimmer can do the smaller stuff. Keep in mind, if you take that much of the hedge down, you're gonna have large gaps and holes that take years to fill in.

I agree with the other poster that said to have somebody do it for you, good power tools are quite expensive, for something good like STIHL, you're probably talking a minimum of 6 or 7 hundred for both, so it's probably significantly cheaper (and safer) to have a pro do it

If it is a privet hedge you can cut it to within 10" off the ground. Yes, it will take a few years to recover, but it is almost invincible. I just had my azalea and laurel cut by 1/2 which isn't even that severe. It will take a year or 2 to grow back but that is fine by me. Get someone with experience to hack them back to where you want them. It is better in the long run to hire than to buy a tool you will only need every 10 years. I do much of my own gardening but hire someone to clean and trim yard.

You could hire a petrol hedge trimmer but only if you have arms like superman. If you buy a good lopper it will cut through 1" dia. branches with ease. Anything thicker will need a bow saw. I don't recommend a chainsaw for hedges. Far too easy to have an accident.

you'll have to do it with a chainsaw. if you don't want to spend $500 to buy one, you could hire someone to take it down that far then you can easily do the yearly maintenance with hedge trimmers once it's down to the height you want.

"Meet our smallest, lightest chainsaw:

The new MS 150 C-E pruning professional"

http://www.stihl.co.uk/meet-our-smallest-lightest-...

http://www.stihldealers.ca/search.aspx/Lloydminste...

A plant should never be cut back more than 25% or it may be damaged.

A chainsaw will do it, but really, you should do it a couple feet at a time or you might kill it.