Hard metal pikes are efficient solutions for removal of packed snow and ice from road surface or their profiling. Also in summer time they are used for profiling gravel and forest roads. Pikes have insert of tungsten carbide inside which is resistant to friction wear and hit to obstacles. Installation of pikes is done into special holder with self-locking them inside. Such holder is installed instead of wear blade.
Depending on model, shape of the pike can we sharp or obtuse, and is chosen depending on working tasks and purposes in each case. By the way similar hard metal pikes are used into road milling machines of leading producers in the world and just have bit different size.
It should be noted that during work with sharp pikes with too high pressure there might be small furrows left on the asphalt surface. But it's proven that such small furrows absolutely don't influence at strength and lifetime properties of such road surface and are just visual by-effect.