Both box and rear blades are tremendously versatile tools and you can use them for a ton of landscaping tasks and other yard work.
Nonetheless, each has its unique strengths and weaknesses and will be more efficient in certain jobs than others.
Here is a complete box blade vs. rear blade comparison to help choose the right attachment for your residential or commercial needs.
Box blade vs. rear blade: What is each attachment built for?
To clear up things, we shall open this discussion with a brief look into the duties each implement is intended to perform right off the bat.
What is a box blade designed for?
A box blade is used primarily engineered to help you accomplish jobs like spreading a pile of soil (or gravel), light-duty ripping, grading, or even backfilling where necessary.
Most are slotted for scarifier teeth to help dig into and easily break up the earth.
This allows you to apply a marvelous finishing to the driveway or road you have been working on.
I should also add that box blades are particularly brilliant when it comes to leveling, scraping, and of course, moving the soil until an area is perfectly level or sloped (for drainage).
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What is a rear blade purposed for?
Rear blades are excellent and economical for a variety of landscape grading and cleanup applications on small farms, building sites, and elsewhere.
But they’re perhaps more popularly used for snow removal – blades do a really pretty job plowing snow.
I have also seen owners use the tool to move loose stuff including rocks and roots with mixed results.
Note that a back blade lacks ‘wings’ and scraped dirt may fall off the sides.
Another notable difference is the absence of scarifiers meaning a rear blade won’t effectively dig up and loosen hard and compacted ground.
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Box blade vs rear blade: How to choose
The decision on the tool to use come down to one question: the nature of the task at hand.
Here is a rundown of how each attachment tends to perform when deployed on various jobs.
· Leveling
As mentioned previously, the box blade walks away with the prize when pitted against a rear blade as far as leveling is concerned.
You see, you can dig up some soil to fill in uneven spots thanks to the scarifiers then smooth over remaining unevenness with the two interchangeable cutting edges.
Wheel weights and possibly hydraulic cylinders might be essential for a smooth operation.
· Snow removal
When winter comes, your secret weapon could be a rear blade.
That’s because you can angle the blade to push the snow – even those massive pile ups- back and away from the yard.
The box blade can only watch in awe here.
Be sure to add chains to the tractor for traction especially if you’re tackling a huge build-up.
How often to replace mower blades
· Grading (virgin land)
For reasons you can easily guess by now, a box blade will be priceless if you’re making a brand new driveway on virgin ground.
The scarifier shanks will excavate the earth and literally tore the sod to shreds with a few passes.
Again consider adding weights and going for a more powerful tractor for safety and quicker results respectively.
I also love that a box blade allows you to grade in reverse, the fact that you need to exercise extra care while doing so notwithstanding.
- Moving materials from point A to B
The key here is the distance that you want to move dirt and gravel to.
Now, if you’re driving them to not far off, a rear blade would do just fine.
They’re, however, defeated by box blades in moving and processing heavier materials in particular over farther distances because they’re unable to stockpile much material.
This makes box blades a safer bet when preparing a larger area for an upcoming lawn.
Suffice to say that you may not like the working speed- both are guilty of slow movements.
Box blade vs rear blade: What else should you know?
Keep in mind the following as you ponder which implement to order:
· The learning curve question
Overall, you’re likely to find the learning curve for a rear blade much smoother than for a box blade.
That’s not surprising considering the expansive capabilities of a box blade.
The good news is that you will eventually get the hang of either attachment with practice.
· The issue of weight
The box blade is also traditionally heavier and will apply more down-force.
This helps it pull materials along with significantly more force than a rear blade.
Having said that, a top-quality, heavy-duty rear blade will perform as well as the box blade in some jobs.
· You have alternatives
You might be aware that other tools could be better for selected chores.
A roller is, for instance, outstanding for smoothing because it’s easier to pull than blades.
Rollers are also kinder on the grass.
Similarly, a grader blade wins hands down for tougher road maintenance tasks.
You move more gravel, more efficiently, and in less time if you pick one of the best heavy grader blades in the market.
As you can see, either implement will fit the bill all the time.
It’s thus upon you to decide which of the attachments will best serve your needs whether you’re a professional farmer or a weekend warrior.
Review our box blade vs rear blade analysis if you are still sitting on the fence.
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