I purchased a four-foot Howse box blade about a year ago; it has the hinged rear blade. The implement is heavily built and I was able to purchase it new at a good price. I would caution anyone considering the purchase of any Howse implement to only buy one that is on the dealer's lot and can be inspected closely before purchase. The welding and positioning of parts during assembly varies from excellent to absolutely horrible. Although I have never welded anything, I am convinced that I could do as well on my first attempt as what I observed on some of the implements on the dealer's lot. Some of the welds perched on top of the join; I swear that if I knocked it off with a hammer the joint would be loose. Other welds were burned in so far on 1/4 inch steel that the metal bulged on the bottom side and there appeared to only to be about 1/8 inch of metal in the joint. I was lucky in that the dealer had just received a shipment of several four-foot box blades and I was able to choose the best of the lot. Even then, the paint was so bad that I painted it soon after purchase. I don't claim that my Howse blade is equal to a Land Pride, but the price was a little more than half that of the Land Pride and the Howse is heavily built and works well. With careful selection you probably can come up with a good one. This lack of quality control is a shame, because I've seen a number of old Howse box blades and they looked great.