steel wool
Sign in to saveAlso known as wire sponge, iron wool, wire wool, steel wire wool, steel wire
bundle of very fine and flexible sharp-edged steel filaments
~3 min read
Encyclopedic overview
A piece of steel wool Soap-impregnated steel wool pad for household cleaning Steel wool, also known as iron wool or wire sponge, is a bundle of very fine and flexible sharp-edged steel filaments. It is the most common type of wire wool and is often the type meant when wire wool is mentioned. It was described as a new product in 1896. It is used as an abrasive in finishing and repair work for polishing wood or metal objects, cleaning household cookware, cleaning windows, and sanding surfaces.
Steel wool is made from low-carbon steel in a process similar to broaching, where a heavy steel wire is pulled through a toothed die that removes thin, sharp, wire shavings.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “steel wool” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.