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The most important of all felting needle developments has been the Foster Formed Barb design. It is the barb or barbs on the blade of the felting needle which carry and interlock the fibers during the stroke of the needle and the penetration of fiber web. Therefore, it is easy to understand the relationship which the barb design and shape can have on fiber damage and nonwoven physical properties.

Standard barb design and tooling prior to the Foster Formed Barb was, and still is, referred to as conventional barbs or cut barbs. These are manufactured with chisel-like tools which free flow the displaced metal into flat surfaces which engage the fibers with sharp and often jagged edges.

In total contrast, the Foster Formed Barb is manufactured so that only rounded surfaces engage the fibers. No sharp or jagged edges are possible. This absolutely minimizes any fiber damage caused by the barb itself.

The result is a nonwoven fabric with significantly less fiber damage and much higher physical properties. Additionally, the controlled formation of the barb allows for longer useful barb life. This is possible due to the precise concentration of the displaced metal into the rounded fiber engaging surface.