in Germany working the land in the traditional way, with horse and plow.]]In agriculture, a plowshare (or ploughshare) is a component of a plow (plough). It is the cutting or leading edge of a moldboard which closely follows the coulter (one or more ground-breaking spikes) when plowing (ploughing).The plowshare itself is often a hardened blade dressed into an integral mouldboard (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 ploughs both coulter and plowshare are detachable for easy replacement when worn or broken.
Anatomy
In the anatomy of birds, the plowshare bone is the pygostyle or vomer.
Swords vs. plowshares
The plowshare is often used to symbolize creative tools that benefit mankind, as opposed to destructive tools of war