Cutting edge wear

bflobil · Apr 3, 2019

I've been running a blade for several years and have noticed the center portion of the cutting edges wears a bit faster than the outer ends. I do some road maintenance, some flat blading, general dirt moving etc. My solution to this is to swap cutting edges side to side so I can get full use of them. Is this wear natural and inherent in how graders work or is there something I can do to resolve it?
On another note...I'd like to hear from everybody about cutting edge preferences. I am thinking a bit about trying the Sharqedges and curious about cost and longevity. Shoot me your thoughts.
Thanks

JPV · Apr 3, 2019

Swapping them a couple times throughout there life is the only way I can get them to wear evenly. I have tried everything I can think of technique wise and nothing really works for me. There is a thread on here for sharq edges, some good input there already.

bflobil · Apr 3, 2019

I usually don't work with really hard surfaces so I can get by with one swap before I wear the blades totally out. It does seem strange to me that the center wears faster....I would have guessed the outers to wear faster due to cutting. I just read through that thread on the sharqedges...pretty good info there too.
Thanks

cuttin edge · Apr 3, 2019

We just cut them with a straight edge and a torch. In 5kms of fine grading for asphalt, especially in quarry material, it's not uncommon to have to cut them at least twice.

bflobil · Apr 3, 2019

LOL. I'm to cheap to cut them straight. It doesn't usually take me to long to swap them. Most of my work doesn't have to be sub/inch precise. I am also vigilant about wire brushing the moldboard clean so the edges bolt on true. I swing the blade out so the edges are up and then just transfer them to the pickup tailgate so I don't have to strain my back as much as setting them on the ground.

grandpa · Apr 3, 2019

I use these and love them. https://www.blackcatwearparts.com/products/grader/#cutting-edges

cuttin edge · Apr 3, 2019

I worked for another company one fall after I was laid off for the winter. They wanted me to fine grade a half mile of road for a late paving job. Their grader man had gotten hurt and couldn't finish the job. The grader had a new set of blades, but they were up about an inch in the center. I asked their mechanic to cut them. Can't do it he said, it will ruin them, have to put new ones on. I said we cut them on my grader all the time. Ruins them he says takes the temper out of the steel. I have never bent or broken a set of cut blades I said. Nope, you're getting new ones. Good thing you guys don't do a lot of asphalt prep I said. You would be changing a lot of blades

cuttin edge · Apr 3, 2019

grandpa said:
I use these and love them. https://www.blackcatwearparts.com/products/grader/#cutting-edges

Do you have any trouble with them breaking the carbide on big rocks? We had them for plowing snow and they were great, but unless you were working with crushed material, they would break if you hit ledge

bflobil · Apr 3, 2019

grandpa,
I looked up the site...
Which blades are ya running and what is the majority of the work being done with them? Pros and cons?

grandpa · Apr 3, 2019

I use the carbide ones and if you look they have a carbide welded to the leading edge protecting the carbide thats imbedded in the middle. Cutting Edge I try not to make a habit of putting them into big rock, but they will chip, but only when they are mostly worn out. They also stay true for along time. We usually move them around when they are half worn out. I have them on a machine that blades hard township gravel roads and can get a little more than a years service out of a set and that machine runs pretty steady. Just put a set on an M series, but haven't got enough hours on it to make a determination yet.

bflobil · Apr 3, 2019

grandpa said:
I use the carbide ones and if you look they have a carbide welded to the leading edge protecting the carbide thats imbedded in the middle. Cutting Edge I try not to make a habit of putting them into big rock, but they will chip, but only when they are mostly worn out. They also stay true for along time. We usually move them around when they are half worn out. I have them on a machine that blades hard township gravel roads and can get a little more than a years service out of a set and that machine runs pretty steady. Just put a set on an M series, but haven't got enough hours on it to make a determination yet.

Do ya happen to know the cost for the 7' long ones?

Cat 140M AWD · Apr 4, 2019

I run one grader with the sharq edges on it also have two other graders with the double carbide edges on them I’m on my third year with the double carbides doing township road maintenance well worth the money.

DBDLS · Apr 4, 2019

Our company has been experimenting with various edges for more wear life. They seem to have settled on the double carbide strips inserted in the bottom. They last forever but once the middle sections of carbide go the wear in the center of the blade is extreme. I tell them they should just trim the end sections to get the blade straight again but they just throw 7 inches of good blade away. It is very frustrating to operate 24M graders with long edges all the time. I always wondered why Kenna Metal didn’t do an extreme wear grader blade with the whole of the consumable front coated in KenCast. Would probably last forever.

Jonas302 · Apr 4, 2019

Seem to remember around $100 per foot for double carbide might have changed though We usually get 2000 hrs of road grading out a set by that time the boards are wore so thin the bolt heads wear off and there will be quite a bit of chipping and missing chunks at that point then we torch the carbide off and straiten them up and use to plow snow

tinnerjohn · Apr 6, 2019

I'm new to grader. Can you old hands enlighten me on the various applications for a straight blade and the slotted blades? I understand the scarifier blade with rotating carbide bits, run those on the road drag, wondering if there is any benefit to the slotted cutting edge vs. straight?
Running gravel roads with occasional stretches of worn out chip/seal and MC 30 dust control.

Jonas302 · Apr 6, 2019

We use the carbide teeth where we used to use serrated blades , mixing , hard cutting, ice The slotted steel baldes wear Fast

cuttin edge · Apr 6, 2019

We used to use the slotted or scarifier edges for ice. The government graders used to use the penetrator edges, the ones with rotational tips like a milling machine. But they seemed to get away from them

Silveroddo · Apr 7, 2019

I run standard cat cutting edges and trim them once or twice over about 160-200 miles of road. I've tried freshening them up on asphalt but never had much luck with it so the torch comes out. I think a guy would be ahead running carbide, but I deal with to many rocks to make it seem worthwhile.
I've never really dug into technical hardness specs or the reason for it, but I've tried several other brands and aftermarket systems (not the shark system though) and Cat cutting edges seem to last longer by a measureable amount.

Grader4me · Apr 7, 2019

cuttin edge said:
We just cut them with a straight edge and a torch. In 5kms of fine grading for asphalt, especially in quarry material, it's not uncommon to have to cut them at least twice.

I have them cut all the time as well. I do agree that once cut it does take the temper out of the steel somewhat as they wear down alot quicker. Having said that tho ..why not get the most out of your blades rather than changing them when the center wears down. Center wears out quicker for a couple of reasons. When grading a road the sides arent as compacted as the travel portion so the center of the blade is cutting harder. When moving the windrow the blade is center thus creating more friction on the center of the blade. Not much you can do to prevent center wear.

Cutting edge wear

bflobil

Well-Known Member

JPV

Senior Member

bflobil

Well-Known Member

cuttin edge

Senior Member

bflobil

Well-Known Member

grandpa

Senior Member

cuttin edge

Senior Member

cuttin edge

Senior Member

bflobil

Well-Known Member

grandpa

Senior Member

bflobil

Well-Known Member

Cat 140M AWD

Senior Member

DBDLS

Well-Known Member

Jonas302

Senior Member

tinnerjohn

Member

Jonas302

Senior Member

cuttin edge

Senior Member

Silveroddo

Senior Member

Grader4me

Senior Member