A handheld work apparatus has a device for starting an electric drive motor via an actuating element which can be displaced in a handle counter to an actuating force and acts on a transmission element. The transmission element is shiftable from a rest position into an operating range, wherein the transmission element actuates a switching element and starts the motor. For shifting from the rest position into an end position, a shift force is applied. The shift force forms at least a portion of the actuating force. To keep the actuating force low after the motor is switched on, the displacement path of the transmission element is divided into a first segment and a second segment which includes the operating range. The shift force to be applied to the transmission element rises on the first segment of the path and, after a maximum, decreases on the second segment.
