LEXICONMachine components
Dozer blade
Also called: Bulldozer blade, cutting edge, moldboard
The curved steel plate at the front of a bulldozer that cuts and rolls material ahead of the machine, fitted along its base with a bolted, replaceable cutting edge of abrasion-resistant steel.
What it does
The blade's curve is functional: it lifts material as the machine advances so the load rolls forward rather than piling and stalling. Types differ by task — a straight blade for fine grading, a universal blade with side wings for moving volume, a semi-U as a compromise. The bottom edge takes almost all the abrasion, so it is a separate bolted strip in hardened steel, replaced periodically while the moldboard behind it lasts for years.
Why it becomes an object
A cutting edge is the clearest wear record in the whole trade. It arrives as a straight bar of known section and leaves worn to a curve, thinner at the centre where most material passed and asymmetric if the operator favoured one corner. The abrasion runs in one direction and is visible as fine parallel scoring. Because the edge is a simple rectilinear component, that record is easy to read against the original geometry, which is still present at the bolt line.
