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High-quality honing and finishing tools
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Over 60 years of experience
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3100 tools in stock
Honing tools · Ø 4-457 mm · standard sizes in stock

Flex-Hone® honing brush in your bore size

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Whether it's an engine cylinder, a hydraulic bore or a cylinder liner: the individually suspended abrasive globules produce a cross-hatch and plateau finish – in practice in 10-45 seconds per bore, in a drill chuck, in the CNC spindle or on a cordless drill.

  • Centers itself and compensates for wear – no setup, no honing machine
  • Cross-hatch with defined roughness: grits 20-800 (SC/AO), diamond for coatings
  • Standard sizes in stock in Germany – availability and dispatch date shown right on the product

Enter the nominal size in mm – we will show the matching size.

mm
Unsure about material, coating or tolerance? Request a tool recommendation
Already know your size? Straight to the size selection →
60+ years of experience
ISO 9001 certified production
3,000+ tools in stock
30 days payment terms on invoice

Best-selling Flex-Hone® honing tools – in stock

Grit 180 is the standard for ring seating and plateau finish; 240 for a finer target roughness. Silicon carbide (SC) for cast iron and steel – for aluminum, choose aluminum oxide (AO).

A plateau finish without investing in a honing machine: tools from €15.60 net.

Sizing: order the nominal size of your bore – the oversize is built into the tool. In-between size (e.g. 86 mm)? Choose the next larger standard size (89 mm).

All prices net plus VAT · Shipping within Germany from €5.90.

Flex-Hone oil (1 l)
Goes well with it: Flex-Hone oil (1 l) – 8.95 € net
See all sizes and grits in the shop →
Selection criteria

Series and diameters: from 4 to 457 mm

Bore Ø Series Price example (net)
4-76 mm BC – standard, 39 sizes from €15.60 (8 mm) · €29.05 (38 mm/180 SC)
83-118 mm GB – standard, long €57.35 (83 mm/240 SC) · €57.60 (89 mm/180 SC)
119-203 mm GBD – heavy duty Choose your size in the finder →
over 203 mm GBD / segmented design on request – a drawing is all we need

All prices net, plus VAT and shipping. Diamond versions (Nikasil/hard chrome) from €20.15.

Tool finder

Enter your bore diameter – the right Flex-Hone in 30 seconds

If diameter and material are settled, the finder leads straight to the matching Flex-Hone®. For coated bores, series production or drawing parts, the technical enquiry is the safe route.

  1. Enter the bore diameter
  2. Select the material
  3. Specify the target finish – get a directly orderable recommendation
Rotating Flex-Hone honing tool in a CNC spindle

Runs in any spindle.

No setup, no fixture – chuck it, oil it, hone.

How Flex-Hone® works – and why it centers itself

Each abrasive globule is mounted individually on a flexible nylon filament. The tool is always used slightly oversized relative to the bore: the filament preload creates a low, even contact pressure, and the globules “float” on the bore wall.

As a result, the tool aligns itself to the bore, compensates for its own wear and needs neither a honing machine nor a fixture. For identification: shaft color = abrasive, end marking = grit – so the tool cabinet stays organized.

Flex-Hone honing tools in various diameters, from the miniature tool to the large version
One design, every size: the same mechanism works from 4 mm to 457 mm bore diameter.

The right size: order the nominal size

The Flex-Hone tool comes larger than its nominal size from the factory – this oversize creates the working pressure. So you simply order the nominal size of your bore: 51 mm bore → 51 mm Flex-Hone. If your measurement falls between two standard sizes (e.g. 86 mm), take the next larger one (89 mm). Rules of thumb like “add 10-20% oversize” lead to buying the wrong size with this type of tool.

Diagram: the order size is the nominal bore size – in-between sizes are rounded up to the next standard size
  1. The tool comes slightly oversized from the factory (dashed) – the contact preload is built in. That is why you order the nominal size: Ø 50 mm bore → 50 mm tool.
  2. Measured an in-between size (e.g. 86 mm)?
  3. Order the next larger standard size (89 mm) – never round down: an undersized tool builds up no contact pressure.

How to choose grit and abrasive

The grit determines the target roughness, and the abrasive has to match the material – both must be right. Grits 60-120 clean up glazed or burred surfaces, 180-240 is the standard for ring seating and plateau finish, and from 320 upward it becomes fine finishing work for sealing and guide surfaces.

For the abrasive, the rule is: silicon carbide for cast iron and steel, aluminum oxide for uncoated aluminum – and for hard coatings such as Nikasil or hard chrome (above 50 HRC), diamond only.

Honing Nikasil cylinders: the diamond solution →
Macro shot of a honed bore wall with a uniform cross-hatch pattern
The grit decides the finish: a uniform cross-hatch with plateau share, exactly what ring seating and oil retention need.

What Flex-Hone does – and what it does not

Flex-Hone is a finishing tool: it improves surface, cross-hatch and edges, but corrects neither size nor geometry. Scoring, grooves you can feel or oval bores go to rigid machining first – after that, Flex-Hone takes care of the finish. Important: always work with oil or emulsion. Running dry cuts tool life drastically; correct lubrication extends it many times over.

Two bushings compared: matte starting surface on the left, mirror finish after honing with a diamond Flex-Hone on the right
Exactly what a finishing tool delivers: starting condition (left), after honing with a diamond Flex-Hone (right) – surface refined, size and geometry unchanged.
Related topics

Matching applications and guides

FAQ

Technical

Questions about tool, material and process

Can I run the honing brush in a corded or cordless drill?
Yes – that is one of its core advantages. The tool runs in any drill chuck and centers itself in the bore. Guide values by bore diameter: 25 mm → 900-1,000 rpm, 76 mm → 600-900, 150 mm → 350-600 – never above 1,200 rpm. Feed the tool into and out of the bore while it is rotating.
How long should you hone?
In practice 10-45 seconds per bore; on pre-honed surfaces, 5-12 in-and-out strokes are usually enough for the plateau. Honing longer improves nothing – it only costs tool life.
Does the honing brush change the bore size?
No – nothing that matters for the size: material removal is concentrated on roughness peaks and edges – size and form correction are the job of the upstream rigid machining. That is exactly why the tool is safe to use even in tight tolerance bands.
Which oil goes with it?
A low-viscosity honing oil keeps the removed material in suspension best; mineral or engine oil and the 8-10% coolant emulsion from your CNC also work. Not suitable: WD-40 (evaporates) and solvents such as brake cleaner (they attack the adhesive bond of the globules). A matching honing oil in a 1-liter container is in the product block under “Goes with it”.
Buying & advice

Terms, delivery and B2B handling

What does a honing brush cost?
Standard sizes start at €15.60 net (small BC series); common engine sizes are €57-61 (83/89 mm, grit 180-240). Diamond versions for coated cylinders from €20.15.
Do you ship from stock?
Yes – over 3,000 tools are in stock in Germany; the exact dispatch date is shown in the stock line on each product. Business customers order on account with 30 days' payment terms.
What does shipping cost?
Within Germany from €5.90 net per shipment; the exact amount is shown in the cart before you order. All prices are net plus VAT.
Question not covered? Send us your part, bore size and a photo – you will usually get an answer within 24 h.
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