Method for switching off a rotational speed limit in an internal combustion engine

The invention relates to a method for controlling the speed of an internal combustion engine (8) in a hand-held implement (1), such as a free cutter. The internal combustion engine (8) drives a working tool (4) via a coupling (6) closed by the engine speed (n). A spark plug (23) controlled by an ignition device (24) is arranged in a combustion chamber (22) of the internal combustion engine (8). When the internal combustion engine (8) is started, a rotational speed suppression circuit (33) is active and defines a control variable (37) as a function of the instantaneous speed (nist) of the engine (8), and operating parameters of the engine (8) are adapted to change the instantaneous speed (nist) according to the magnitude of this control variable. The switch-off of the rotational speed suppression circuit (33) is provided when the control variable (37) of the control lies outside a predetermined bandwidth of the absolute magnitude of the control variables (37).