Garden tool and parallel position sensing system

A garden tool, comprising:

• a shaft extending along a linear direction;
• a power supply configured to selectively transmit energy to a motor;
• a blade assembly positioned at the shaft;
• a blade position sensing system positioned at the shaft, the system comprising:
• a driveshaft coupled to one or more blades of the blade assembly, the driveshaft operably coupled to the motor to selectively rotate relative to a threaded shaft and translate along the linear direction, the driveshaft and the threaded shaft coupled to one another at a threaded interface, and wherein linear translation of the driveshaft angularly translates one or more blades of the blade assembly;
• a magnet coupled to the driveshaft;
• a proximity sensor positioned in magnetic communication with the driveshaft, wherein a change in distance between the proximity sensor and the driveshaft changes an output voltage by the proximity sensor;
• a controller configured to receive a signal corresponding to the output voltage from the proximity signal, the controller configured to selectively discontinue transmission of energy from the power supply to the motor based on the signal corresponding to the output voltage.