Electrophotographic marking system with blade cut angles for longer blade life

An image forming machine comprising:

• a moving surface;
• a blade held in contact with the moving surface in a counter direction for removing particles on the moving surface and having a free end with at least a first plane defining a working surface and a second plane, the first plane being adjacent to the second plane defining blade cut angle which is greater than 93 degrees and less than 95 degrees between each other to increase blade life and reliability, the free end further defining a blade tip having an edge between the first plane and the second plane and further defining a trailing edge between a third plane and the first plane;
• a blade positioning mechanism connected to the blade to move the blade into a working position wherein only the edge of the blade tip engages the moving surface to remove particles therefrom;
• a controller to cause the blade positioning mechanism to rotate the blade in defined increments within a position to create a minimum blade load so as to remove particles from the moving surface;
• and
• wherein the blade cut angle limits blade edge wear when the blade tip engages the moving surface by reducing tucking stresses.