Stub guard for a sickle cutter system

A sickle cutting apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of stationary knife guards arranged to be mounted along a cutter bar;
• a sickle bar mounted in transversely extending position and arranged to be driven for reciprocating movement relative to said knife guards;
• the sickle bar having a plurality of knife blades mounted thereon for movement therewith;
• each of the knife blades having a cutting surface for passing across the knife guards and an opposed surface;
• each of the knife blades having on first and second sides first and second side cutting edges converging toward a forward tip of the knife blade;
• each knife guard comprising a base portion arranged to be mounted on the cutter bar and at least one guard finger mounted on the base portion so that the guard fingers are arranged to be mounted in a row along the cutter bar;
• each guard finger having an upwardly facing ledger surface with opposed side edges thereof arranged to provide first and second shearing edges which cooperate with said side cutting edges of said knife blades;
• and a plurality of hold-down members arranged to be mounted along the cutter bar;
• each hold-down member comprising a base mounting member arranged to be attached to the cutter bar;
• each hold-down member comprising at least one hold-down finger thereon carried on the base mounting member arranged to be at positions spaced longitudinally of the cutter bar so as to be cantilevered forwardly from the cutter bar to a position of a front tip of each hold-down finger located at a spacing in front of the sickle bar above the ledger surface of a respective one of the guard fingers;
• the guard fingers and hold down fingers thus forming cooperating overlying pairs between which the knife blades pass in the cutting action;
• the guard fingers having no portion elevated above the ledger surface thereof in front of the tip of the blade;
• wherein the guard fingers and blades have lengths from the cutter bar arranged such that a forwardmost tip of the guard finger is forward of the tip of the blade;
• wherein each knife blade has a front point portion in front of the side cutting edges which front point portion has side edges converging to front apex;
• wherein each knife blade comprises a blade body which has between the opposed surface and the cutting surface a constant thickness with each side cutting edge being beveled from the opposed surface to the cutting surface of the knife blade defining a cutting edge at the cutting surface;
• wherein the front apex of the front point portion has an apex surface generally at right angles to the cutting surface and the opposed surface;
• and wherein the apex surface of the front point portion is not beveled so as to define the thickness of the blade body at the front apex of the front point portion being equal to said constant thickness of the blade body.