3 Things That Determine Which Grader Blade You Need

One thing you might find yourself doing, whether you live down a dirt road or work as a grader, is maintaining a road. That can mean reshaping it after it develops serious potholes or periodically scrapping it to ensure you don’t get ruts. Either way, you will want to ensure you have the correct tool for the job. That means getting the right blade for the task. That probably sounds like a much easier task than it is.

There are so many different options out there when it comes to blades for your grader. However, not every edge you can put on your grader will get the job done. Using the wrong one can make your job more complicated than it needs to be. Fortunately, a variety of factors affect whether or not a blade will be suitable for the task at hand. Consider these three factors to help you decide which edge you need for the job. 

1. Road Conditions

If you go online, you will see that blades come with flat edges, serrations, and more. There can be so many that you feel overwhelmed and don’t know which to pick. Getting suitable grader blades is all about your road conditions. Think about how much traffic they get. Think about if they get potholes a lot. Think about how often you need to maintain them. 

If you find yourself frequently trying to fix potholes and other issues, you probably need something more serious, like a shank ripper, to break up the compacted ground. Otherwise, a standard serrated blade should do the trick. To cut out occasional imperfections, you’ll want thin yet durable blades. Routine road maintenance can even be done with a flat edge. However, flat-edge blades should still be heavy-duty, even when you use them infrequently. 

2. Moisture Levels

Fixing a road is much easier when it has a high moisture content. The water is a lubricant, allowing your blade to cut through potholes and other imperfections easily. However, some blades are not designed to grade in wet conditions. If you want to work in these moist conditions, find a blade that isn’t going to make your ground clump up as you work, such as serrated blades.

Additionally, you will want materials that can handle the extra moisture levels. Always be sure you know what materials your blades are made of because some cannot tolerate water in the ground without rusting. If you want to minimize the amount of rust you encounter, go with something like a carbide-tipped blade. 

3. Duration

Finally, the amount of grading you have to do determines the wear life of the blade you purchase. Each cutting blade you can buy for your road grader has a specific wear life. The longer the product is designed to last, the more it will cost. The cheaper the blade, generally, the shorter its life expectancy. 

However, it would be best to consider how much time you plan to spend grading. For example, if you grade the roads daily, you should invest in one of the more expensive yet longer-lasting blades. It will save you time and money because you can work longer without swapping blades and will not have to keep purchasing new ones. 

There are a lot of blades designed for fixing and maintaining roads. However, they all work under different conditions. Therefore, if you want the best results, you should always keep different types of blades on hand. That gives you a serrated edge handy for fixing and cutting the road when it gets potholes. Then, you can easily swap to a flat-edged blade for regular maintenance.