In the wild, the honey badger is known for long, razor-sharp claws that let it burrow into hard ground within minutes—and enough ferocity when using them that it can face down apex predators from poisonous vipers to lions.
In metalworking, the new brush from Osborn that bears the animal’s name is just as aggressive in welding cleanup, providing twice the life span and cutting force of the previous industry-leading model.
Built with two sets of wire knots on a unique face plate and nut, the Honey Badger Double Stringer Bead Brush essentially melds two brushes into a single wheel, enabling it to clean both sides of a welding root, or hot pass, at the same time.
“If a traditional single-stringer bead brush isn’t powerful enough to clean a surface effectively, it may take longer to complete the task or require additional tools or cleaning products,” says Matthew Berry, a marketing representative with Osborn. “The Honey Badger’s double-stringer design and aggressive bristle pattern may help remove stubborn grime and debris more quickly and with less effort.”
A common failing of wire brushes is that heavy use can cause their bristles to wear down or break off over time, reducing effectiveness, but the Honey Badger pushes back with durable construction and a unique bristle pattern that may help it last longer, Osborn says. That also reduces the risk of flying wire fragments when using a worn brush.
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Designed for the pipe fitting, welding and metal fabrication industries, the Honey Badger was unveiled at the FABTECH 2022 trade show in Atlanta in November, where prospective customers could apply for a chance to test it.
Osborn teased the animal that gave the brush its name at the show, displaying a metal honey badger mascot and referring to the device in promotional materials as a “beast.”
Found largely in Africa and Asia, honey badgers—despite the name—are more like weasels than badgers, standing no more than a foot tall and weighing from 11 to 35 pounds. The creature reportedly won a spot in Guinness World Records as the world’s most fearless animal in the early 2000s.
A Game Changer for Wire Wheel Users
The Honey Badger brush is the latest in decades of innovations from Osborn, which began operations in 1887 as an industrial brush maker and has since grown into the world’s leading provider of surface treatments and finishing.
Developments along the way have included building a new brush-manufacturing facility in Indiana in 2004 and adding test robots at research and development centers there and in Burgwald, Germany, in 2011.
Today, Osborn’s welding brushes include dozens of options that can tackle tasks from removing slag in manual metal arc welding to clearing away silicate debris in tungsten inert gas welding and eliminating thermal bluing in stainless welding.
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In addition to the Honey Badger, premium options include the TY Encapsulated brushes, whose wires are encased in a specially formulated elastomer that supports the tips, providing maximum work with minimum pressure, Osborn says.
The TY brush’s aggressive cutting makes it well-suited for heavy deburring, surface blending and plastic flash removal.
The TufBrush, meanwhile, advertises the tightest knot in the industry, with 32 knots and 30 TufWire strands per knot.
Knots are an important consideration in choosing brushes, since they enhance the wire’s strength to provide additional cutting power. While brushes are available in multiple shapes, the wheel is a popular choice because of its versatility. It can be used to clean metal before, during and after a welding job.
Early feedback on the Honey Badger has been overwhelmingly positive, Osborn says.
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