Razor wire

Razor wire — concertina and flat-wrap blade strip on a high-tensile core wire

Concertina build Flat-wrap build Galvanised or stainless steel High-tensile core wire Supplied in coils Sizes confirmed per order

Razor wire is a blade strip — a flat steel tape with sharp edges formed along it — closed onto a high-tensile core wire, which carries the tension so the blade strip does not have to. Because the cutting edges run along the tape rather than at intervals, the whole length of the wire presents an edge, and that is what separates it from barbed wire, where short barbs are twisted onto the strand at a spacing.

Two builds are supplied. In the concertina build the wire is closed into a helix and compressed into a coil, which is hung in a ring above the fence so that it springs open if it is disturbed. In the flat-wrap build the coil is stretched and laid flat along the top of the fence line, wall or gate, so it covers a run rather than a single ring. Both are supplied in coils and are cut and fixed on site by the installer to suit the line they are protecting.

The blade strip is galvanised or stainless steel, and the core wire is high tensile. Galvanised is the usual choice for a general perimeter; stainless steel is chosen where the wire will stand in coastal air or an aggressive industrial atmosphere and the owner wants to avoid the maintenance that a coated strip needs. Barbed wire is supplied as an alternative where the requirement is lighter or where razor wire is not acceptable on appearance or safety grounds — around a school, for example, or a boundary in public view.

The typical application is as a topping, not as a fence on its own: above a welded mesh panel, above a Y-post fence where the angled head carries it, above a masonry wall, and above or on a gate leaf. The manufacturer's site prints no figures for this product, so blade dimensions, coil diameter, core wire diameter and the fixing brackets are confirmed per order — tell us the fence or wall it goes on, the run length and the destination port.

• Build: blade strip closed onto a high-tensile core wire, supplied in coils.
• Concertina: the wire is formed into a helix and compressed into a coil, hung as a ring above the fence.
• Flat-wrap: the coil is stretched and laid flat along a fence line, wall top or gate.
• Blade strip material: galvanised or stainless steel.
• Core wire: high tensile.
• Alternative: barbed wire where the requirement is lighter or razor wire is not acceptable on appearance or safety grounds.
• Blade dimensions: confirmed per order.
• Coil diameter: confirmed per order.
• Core wire diameter: confirmed per order.
• Fixing brackets: confirmed per order — tell us the fence, wall or gate the coil is going onto.
• No certification is claimed for this product; the standard your project follows governs acceptance.