Editing Plowshare (section)

{{refimprove|date=July 2024}}
{{Short description|Agricultural device}}
{{Other uses|Ploughshare (disambiguation)}}
[[Image:Old plough schema.svg|thumb|200px|Components of a simple drawn plow: 1) beam; 2) three point hitch; 3) height regulator; 4) coulter (or knife) 5) chisel 6) plowshare 7) moldboard
]]
[[Image:Rosenauerův mlýn - otka.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Instrument for cleaning a plowshare used at a mill near [[Horažďovice]], [[Czech Republic]]]]

In [[agriculture]], a '''plowshare''' ([[Differences between American and British spellings|US]]) or '''ploughshare''' ([[Differences between American and British spellings|UK]]; {{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|l|aʊ|ʃ|ɛər}}) is a component of a plow (or [[plough]]). It is the cutting or leading edge of a [[moldboard]] which closely follows the [[coulter (Agriculture)|coulter]] (one or more ground-breaking [[Nail (fastener)|spikes]]) when plowing.

The plowshare itself is often a hardened [[blade]] dressed into an integral moldboard (by the [[blacksmith]]) so making a unified combination of plowshare and moldboard, the whole being responsible for entering the cleft in the earth (made by the coulter's first cutting-through) and turning the earth over. 

In well-tilled terrain the plowshare may do duty without a preceding coulter.

In modern plows both coulter and plowshare are detachable for easy replacement when worn or broken.