What’s the Difference Between Razor Wire and Barbed Wire?
If you’re not in the fence business, you probably don’t spend too much time thinking about fence materials, and some get even less attention than others.
Razor wire is a less commonly used product, which might explain why some people think they’re the same thing as barbed wire. However, they’re not. Here’s what the difference between razor wire and barbed wire is, what each one is used for, and how to make sure you get the right one for your project.
What Is Razor wire?
Razor wire is a high-security fence product that is made by wrapping a pre-cut razor strip around a central core wire. This strip does not wrap all the way around the core wire, and as it is wrapped, the razor “blades” on the strip are bent so that they are at 90 degrees to the central core wire.
Razor wire comes in a variety of configurations, including short barb, medium barb, and long barb, and individual strands of razor wire are used to make other kinds of razor wire products like BTC coils, flat wrap razor wire, razor mesh, and more.
Razor wire can be made from galvanized steel or stainless steel and sometimes a combination of the two.
Because razor wire has a continuous metal strip wrapped around the core wire, the wire itself becomes stronger, and it’s harder to bend or cut.
What Is barbed wire?
barbed wire is a fence product that is made from wire that is wrapped around one or two central wires at regular intervals, usually between 4 and 6 inches.
The barbs can be single (with only two points sticking up) or double (with four points.)
The barbs on barbed wire don’t necessarily all face the same way, and there is no continuous metal strip wrapped around the wire, so it doesn’t add rigidity to the barbed wire.
Barbed wire is available in galvanized and PVC-coated options.
What Is the Difference Between Barbed Wire and Razor Wire
As you can see from the explanations above, although they do similar things, there’s a huge difference between how barbed wire and razor wire are made and what they look like up close.
If you look at barbed wire, you can clearly see the wire that is wrapped around the core wire to produce barbs, and you can also clearly see the razor strip wrapped around a core wire.
Razor wire is stronger and more rigid than barbed wire, but barbed wire is more malleable and easier to work with.
What Are Barbed Wire and Razor Wire Usually Used for?
Barbed wire is often used for agricultural fencing, although it is sometimes also used to add some fence top security to commercial fencing.
Razor wire is almost always used for high-security fencing, and sometimes, it’s used along with barbed wire, which can be tied to an extension above a fence, and then razor coils can be tied to that barbed wire.
Is Barbed Wire or Razor Wire Cheaper?
Barbed wire is cheaper than razor wire because it’s easier and cheaper to make, and it typically uses less steel per completed foot of product.
How Is Barbed Wire and Razor Wire Sold?
Barbed wire is usually sold in spools that have over a thousand feet on them. When you’re buying razor wire, it depends on the type of razor wire you’re buying.
Unclipped razor wire is also sold in rolls, while BTC or razor coils are sold in completed coils that have a finite maximum stretch, and razor mesh is sold in sheets that are usually 6 meters or about 20 feet wide.
Do You Need Barbed Wire or Razor Wire?
Since razor wire is usually only used on much higher security projects, if you’re looking for anything other than high-security fencing, you’re probably better off with barbed wire.
Razor wire is even illegal in some parts of the world unless you have government permission to use it, so even if you wanted to install razor coils, you might not be able to get permission to do so.
