The cutting edge of the sickle blades (plain or serrated) is subjected to high impact and friction which results into abrasive wear. Improper material and heat treatment by manufacturers results in to frequent resharpening or replacement of sickle blades. This study focused on appropriate bulk hardening treatment on BIS recommended 80 C 6 grade steel for serrated sickles mainly to optimize mechanical and micro structural features in terms of wear rate of the steel. Four bulk hardening methods were imparted on selected steel to evaluate their mechanical properties and microstructure features and their effect on wear rate determined through dry sand rubber wheel abrasion test. The austempering with lower bainite formation produced lowest wear rate at 50N and 99N loadings. The field trials on austempered (lower bainite) serrated sickle blade showed 3–4 times life extension for harvesting wheat and soybean crops compared to plain edge sickle.
Sickle, Bulk hardening, Heat treatment, Wear rate, Abrasive wear
