All About Pocket Knives

Hi! I use a lot of these brass wire wheels. I've been getting them from harbor freight but they're so cheap and don't hold up well. I'm looking for better quality. Anybody got any ideas? I know they're out there because I've had some I just can't remember where I got them from. Thanks Kasey

You can try McMaster Carr
here is a link. https://www.mcmaster.com/wire-wheels

Tom

What type of rotary tool are you using, a Roto-Zip, Dremel tool or Foredom?

I usually buy the ones from eBay to use with my Foredom, they work okay, though I do lose a bristle once in awhile.

Due to the RPMs of the Dremel I expect these would not work as well for a Dremel.

I have a Roto-Zip and the RPMs on it is so high and I have not yet found a wire brush that will work on it. I turn it on and the bristles are gone before I ever touch the work with the tool! It is scary fast!
I don't know much about the Roto-Zip, I bought it at an estate sale with no instructions, so I don't know how fast it turns but it is very very fast, so fast that it throws the brass wires out of the Dremel tool brushes.

I use both steel and brass in my Dermal and it works just fine. I use it on low speed. Does a fantastic job of cleaning up tang stamps.

orvet wrote:What type of rotary tool are you using, a Roto-Zip, Dremel tool or Foredom?

I usually buy the ones from eBay to use with my Foredom, they work okay, though I do lose a bristle once in awhile.

Due to the RPMs of the Dremel I expect these would not work as well for a Dremel.

I have a Roto-Zip and the RPMs on it is so high and I have not yet found a wire brush that will work on it. I turn it on and the bristles are gone before I ever touch the work with the tool! It is scary fast!
I don't know much about the Roto-Zip, I bought it at an estate sale with no instructions, so I don't know how fast it turns but it is very very fast, so fast that it throws the brass wires out of the Dremel tool brushes.

I've had a bunch of different ones. I use a rotary tool everyday. The bristles from the harbor freight wheels are always falling off. I come in the house covered with metal splinters and that's not to convenient.

Just try ANY other brand besides HF, should be readily available in other hardware stores, i.e., True Value, ACE Hardware, or whatever is in your AO. Big box stores (Lowe's, Home Depot, Menards) choices may or may not be better quality than HF, but, they're all inexpensive enough to give a shot til ya find what works for you

The brass wire wheels I get from eBay all shipped from China of course, but they seem to be decent quality for use at lower speeds with a Foredom which uses lower speed and more torque. The lower speed does not seem to cause the wheels to lose an inordinate amount of wires but they can lose a few if I turn it on high speed. With a Dremel they lose a few more bristles because it relies more on the speed of rotation than on torque.

Not sure if the ones I get on eBay are any better than Harbour Freights but they are pretty inexpensive. It would be good if someone wanted to do a comparison between the brushed from different sources and see which ones hold up better.

orvet wrote:The brass wire wheels I get from eBay all shipped from China of course,

Bingo

I also agree that much of the durability of those wheels will be a direct result of the speed used

I've had others that didn't break nearly as much and we're much more durable at same speed. I think they may have come in a kit I purchased. In the town I live in there's not much to choose from. Lowe's or Walmart and there's not much to choose from. They sell 1 at a time for like $3 each.

Check Amazon, and note customer reviews, perhaps