If you plow snow on delicate surfaces, you need a flex edge snow plow. But what is a flex edge plow you ask?
A flex edge snow plow is a plow with a cutting edge that adjusts to the contours of surface you are plowing. This can be achieved in one of two ways:
- Flexible Cutting Edges
- Sectional Cutting Edges
While most people plow using a straight hard steel cutting edge, this can be problematic if you are plowing surfaces such as gravel or dirt roads or streets with manhole covers. Those unforgiving straight edges have tendencies to gouge unpaved surfaces and catch the lips of manhole covers – all of which create headaches for both the plow operator and the client.
That’s where flex edge snow plows come to the rescue.
What is a Flexible Cutting Edge?
A flexible cutting edge is one made of pliable material such as rubber or plastic. It will bend and flex with the substrate as pressure is applied.
Rubber cutting edges are the original flexible cutting edges and are often used on fixed snow pusher and municipal trucks. They are inexpensive, quiet, low vibration, easily retrofitted and good for slush and light snow. However, rubber is ineffective for tougher jobs such as icy conditions and heavy snow and can really struggle to scrape all of the way down to the substrate.
The most popular plastic for snow plow cutting edges is polyurethane. Polyurethane cutting edges are regarded as the flexible cutting edge of choice for gravel roads and last significantly longer than rubber options. They too are a quiet option that resists gouging due to the flexibility of the material and perform better on ice than a rubber cutting edge does.
What is a sectional cutting edge?
Sectional cutting edges fall in to the “flex edge plow” category due to their ability to adjust to height changes in the road, driveway, parking lots and more.
Sectional cutting edges are also known as “live edges” or “floating edges.” This refers to the cutting edges’ ability to lift up in small sections to accommodate bumps or crowns and then drop back down again for wheel depressions or potholes. A live edge plow limits the amount of snow left behind when straight blades would be unable to make contact across the entirety of the cutting edge due to hills and valleys within the plowing surface.
Where flexible cutting edges are made of pliable materials, floating snow plow edges are still able to utilize rigid material such as steel or carbide for maximum scraping ability no matter the snow conditions. They are able to scrape heavy, dense snow just the same as light, fluffy snow or slush. Sectional cutting edges are also able to take care of ice just as well, if not better than, straight steel cutting edges.
How do you install flexible and sectional cutting edges?
KAGE Innovation offers both poly cutting edges and sectional cutting edges that feature a universal bolt pattern common in the snow plow market – known as a “Highway Punch” or “DOT Punch.” This means any plow with this common bolt pattern can quickly and easily swap cutting edges with the same pattern by removing the bolts from the old cutting edge and replacing with the new edge by using the same bolts and holes.
In the event the bolt pattern on your snow blade does not utilize the standard highway punch, both KAGE cutting edge options can be drilled to fit your existing bolt pattern. It will just take a little more work.
KAGE Innovation’s sectional cutting edge, The AdvantEdge, offers sections 18 inches and 24 inches in length utilizing either Hardox steel or carbide cutting edges. With these two sizes of sections, you can make put together a sectional cutting edge system to fit any size plow. The AdvantEdge can even be mounted to snow pushers with fixed sides, that traditionally required rubber cutting edges.
No matter which form of flex edge snow plow you prefer, KAGE is happy to help you out!
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