The Tipton Carbon Fiber cleaning rod takes the best features of stainless steel and rubber coated rods and combines them for a superior cleaning product. Stainless steel can scratch your barrel if used improperly and coated rods can get small particles imbedded is the coating causing scratches. Carbon fiber retains the strength of steel but wont pickup or imbed small particles that can damage your barrel. The carbon fiber rod rides in two ball bearings in the handle. This allows the rod to spin with the rifle when cleaning, even under pressure. The handle and cleaning rod can withstand "reasonable" taps with a hammer should you encounter an extra tight patch in the bore. Rifle and handgun rods are threaded for #8-32 accessories, except for .17 and .20 caliber rods which are threaded with #5-40 threads. Shotgun rods are threaded with 5/16"-27 accessories.