The Formed Barb™

The most important of all felting needle developments has been the Foster Formed Barb™. The Foster Formed Barb™ is simply the best barb design available. It is designed to last longer and interlock fibers better than any other barb design.

The Foster Formed Barb™ is also designed to minimize fiber damage. Needle punched nonwovens create fabric strengths through barbs repeatedly penetrating a fibrous web and mechanically reorienting these fibers into a strong fibrous mat. Because needle punching can be detrimental to the fibers being used, it is important to utilize a barb shape which is designed to minimize fiber damage.

For this reason Foster Needle has designed the Foster Formed Barb™ so that only rounded and smooth edges engage fibers. Unlike other barb types, there are no sharp jagged surfaces to cut and otherwise damage the fibers. The result is a needle punched fabric with superior tensile strength.

The Foster Formed Barb™ is put on almost every needle Foster Needle produces, and is available in a variety of kickup designations.