A grill brush with no bristles at all
The Kona Safe/Clean cleans the grate with wound wire coils instead of bristles. Kona is a US brand; according to the manufacturer, the brush was developed in the USA and came onto the market in 2017. We have not handled the brush ourselves. This page is based on the Amazon catalogue data, Kona’s product page, the instruction article of 23 April 2026, the policy and About pages of the Kona shop, and the product images.
The risk that Kona’s note about the missing bristles refers to is documented. In July 2012, the CDC (the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) published six cases from Providence, Rhode Island, in its weekly report MMWR: patients between 31 and 64 years old who had bristles from grill brushes lodged in the throat or abdomen. The report says nothing about the Kona. The injuries ranged from punctures in the throat tissue to perforations of the digestive tract that forced emergency surgery; the CDC recommended carefully inspecting the grilling surface for bristles before grilling and considering other cleaning methods.
Kona advertises that there are no bristles to wear out and fall off. A broken wire, however, would also be a foreign object on the grate with a coil brush, so we would take a quick look at the grate before grilling with this brush too.
Design: coils, handle, dimensions
Kona describes 3 rows of cleaning coils on the head. That probably means the Amazon phrase “3 brushes in one”: three rows on the same head, not three brush heads. The offer is a single piece (Amazon lists quantity 1), and a scraper is mentioned neither by Amazon nor by the manufacturer. For replacement, Kona’s instruction article points to buying the whole brush. Kona sells a wooden scraper only as a separate product.
In the product photo, the coils appear as tightly wound wire helices lying next to each other in rows. Twisted metal stems lead from the head to a black handle with the Kona logo; Amazon also gives the colour as black. The Amazon title names rust-resistant stainless steel as the material. The Amazon text also contrasts the brush with nylon brushes: it does not melt and has no sharp edges. With stainless steel coils, melting on the grate is not an issue anyway. In images on the manufacturer’s page, the handle carries the label “Flex Grip Handle”, and at the end there is a hanging loop (“Hang Loop”).
Kona gives the length as 18 inches (approx. 45.7 cm, label in the product image). Amazon gives a length of 17.5 inches (approx. 44.5 cm) and a weight of 0.75 lb, which is approx. 340 g; in the brush’s data record, the Kona shop gives a shipping weight of 337 g.
In detail: cleaning with steam
Kona builds the cleaning around steam. Water that hits metal above 100 °C evaporates quickly and expands strongly in the process; according to Kona’s description, this steam loosens grease and burnt-on residue. That requires a hot grate. The product page lists four steps: preheat the grill, have a small container of water ready and dip the brush often while brushing, work in the squares bounded by the crossbars (rather than sliding across the crossbars as with a wire brush), and tilt the brush slightly backwards depending on the bar diameter.
The instruction article in the Kona shop of 23 April 2026 adds figures. The head should go fully into the water before every pass. You brush back and forth in sections of 4 to 6 inches (approx. 10 to 15 cm), dip again after each section, and for heavy buildup such as cheese or sticky marinades Kona recommends 2 to 3 passes per section. For stubborn residue, the lid should stay closed for 5 minutes so that the grate reaches its maximum temperature; then dip and brush, preferably several short passes rather than one hard one. Cleaning is easiest straight after grilling, while the grate is hot, in about 60 seconds.
The angle depends on the bar shape. With triangular bars, which Kona often sees on Weber grills, the brush is tilted slightly to match the flank. With round or oval bars, the handle should not lie straight behind the head but be angled to 5 or 7 o’clock. On flat bars, as are common with cast iron, the brush lies flat, and you brush in short, firm strokes along the bar.
Neither text contains a warning about the steam. As a general rule, not a statement from Kona: water on hot metal evaporates abruptly and rises, so keep your face and forearm away from above it. We would place the container stably and within reach, so that dipping does not require leaning over the grate.
Which grates is the Kona suitable for?
According to the manufacturer’s page, it is compatible with porcelain (enamelled), ceramic, infrared, Weber cast iron and Char-Broil. It is not recommended for small portable grills and for thin round stainless steel grate bars.
The Amazon title lists porcelain, ceramic, steel and cast iron, and the bullet point says “Recommended for all grill types”. We follow the manufacturer’s page, because it draws the limits explicitly.
For comparison: Rösle says its steel bristles are recommended only for stainless steel grates. That applies to bristle sets, and we do not transfer it to a coil brush. It does show, however, how differently manufacturers answer the question of brush versus grate type. Which material your grate is made of and how to care for it is covered in the guide Grill grate guide.
The wire brush in the same house
Besides the Safe/Clean, Kona sells the wire brush 360 Clean, 18 inches, with a black handle or a wood-grain handle. The manufacturer advertises it as a tool 60% stiffer than conventional brushes; for the Safe/Clean it states 125% stiffness. In the US shop, the Safe/Clean cost US$22.95 on 5 October 2026, and the 360 Clean with a black handle cost US$14.95 on 6 October 2026 (promotional price, regularly US$20.95). The Amazon text presents the Safe/Clean as an alternative to the Kona 360 Clean for people who want no bristles.
On performance, Kona writes on the 360 Clean product page that it removes burnt-on residue more effectively than bristle-free or nylon brushes. The Safe/Clean is bristle-free, so the manufacturer itself sees its wire brush as better for crusts. Kona has published no measured values for the cleaning performance of the Safe/Clean, we know of no independent measurement, and the percentage figures for stiffness are advertising with no basis for verification.
Our assessment, derived from Kona’s advice to brush straight after grilling: the longer residue sits on the grate, the more likely you are to notice it.
What else is worth considering?
In the Grill accessories catalogue, a brush is included not only with the Kona but also in the Rösle set, in two cutlery sets from Burnhard and in the DUSH Pace. We have a manufacturer statement about bristle-free design only for the Kona. For the Burnhard brushes we have no documented information on the construction, so we put only two brushes with documented construction next to the Kona: Rösle with stainless steel bristles and DUSH with brass bristles. The fourth entry in the table is not a cleaning tool.
| Model | The difference | Price | Our score | Choose this if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kona Safe/Clean grill brush (this one) | Bristle-free, 3 rows of coils | approx. €32 | 8.8 | you want no wire bristles on the grate and like working with steam |
| Rösle BBQ Premium 3-piece | SlideX brush with 3 rows of stainless steel bristles, replaceable bristle set; tongs and gloves in the set | approx. €46 | 8.9 | you also lack tongs and gloves and metal bristles are not a dealbreaker for you |
| DUSH PACE pizza oven brush | Brass bristles plus a stainless steel scraper on the head, wooden handle | approx. €11 | 7.8 | you mainly clean a pizza stone or pizza oven and want a scraper on the same tool |
| Petromax Fire Pot ft6 with feet | Cast iron Dutch oven, 5.5 l capacity, no brush | approx. €75 | 9.0 | you already have a cleaning tool and are looking for accessories for braising over embers |
The prices are rounded guide values from the respective reviews and change. The score is our editorial assessment, not a measurement result.
Price, replacement and warranty
On Amazon, the brush cost approx. €32 on 6 October 2026. The amount changes; what counts is what Amazon shows when you buy.
For its SlideX brush, Rösle sells a replacement Steel bristle set for €10.95 (Rösle shop, as of 6 October 2026). With the Kona, if the head is worn out, the only option is a new brush for approx. €32. Kona advertises that it does not bend and lasts five times longer.
On the warranty, two texts stand side by side that do not say the same thing. In the product text, Kona promises a limited manufacturer’s warranty of 10 years. The shop’s policy page gives no duration for it, and its terms are narrower: merchantable quality under normal use is warranted, and normal wear is not covered. For manufacturing defects, the original buyer can send the goods to Kona’s location in the USA, Kona repairs or replaces them, and each side bears its own shipping costs. A product that is defective within 4 weeks of delivery is replaced by Kona free of charge, including shipping. Replacement products and products not purchased are not covered, and Kona excludes further warranties. The policy does not say whether these terms also apply to a purchase through Amazon.de; there, plan on the statutory warranty rights against the seller, which apply to purchases in Germany independently of the manufacturer’s warranty.
What the manufacturer does not state
Kona does not say anywhere where the brush is made; the only documented statement is “developed in the USA”. What the handle is made of and whether it is non-slip cannot be gathered from the product text or the images; there it is called only “Flex Grip Handle” and “Comfort Grip”. The heat resistance of the handle and a maximum operating temperature for the coils are also missing. How the coils themselves wear or break is not described by the manufacturer, and it does not quantify a service life in grilling seasons or cleanings either.
Much else around it also remains open. How you clean the brush itself and whether it may go in the dishwasher is stated nowhere; the only thing described is dipping it in water during use. We did not find an operating manual as a PDF or a data sheet; the instructions consist of the product page and a blog article. Kona writes that the brush was tested in the USA, likewise by third parties and in practical use; we did not find reports on this. A CE or other EU conformity statement is missing.
When the Kona suits you and when it does not
Start with the grate. If it is on Kona’s list, the basic requirement is met; for a small portable grill or thin round stainless steel bars, the manufacturer itself advises against it.
Then comes the effort: Kona reckons on about 60 seconds straight after grilling, and for heavy buildup and stubborn residue on considerably more (2 to 3 passes per section of 10 to 15 cm, 5 minutes with the lid closed). If you are willing to brush for 60 seconds after every grilling session and have the water container within reach, the Kona is the right choice. If, on the other hand, you have to loosen the crusts of a whole season, first plan on a different method, for example from the guide Cleaning a burnt-on grill grate, or go straight for the wire brush.
On cost, at approx. €32 for the whole brush the Kona is approx. €14 below the Rösle set at approx. €46, which in return brings tongs and gloves. Our assessment: that favours Rösle if your grate is stainless steel and metal bristles are not a dealbreaker for you. For the drawer, the length of approx. 45 cm is what counts.
