Actually is nickel since we use this brush on our young cat. On receipt of this brush and given its appearance I still had a moment of doubt about its effectiveness. But on the first pass is the miracle happens, tufts of hair that collect. Although for now the cat is still not in agreement, except that this time it was worse. Since it's mandatory daily passage and the amount of hair removed is now much more reasonable proof of the effectiveness of this brush in frequent use. Finally the price may seem excessive, but it is the price to pay to finally have a healthy home almost hair and a cat that does not stifle all 4 mornings because of its hairballs.