In a single screw extruder mixer head for mixing high viscosity linear polyolefins materials employing a plurality of alternate longitudinal mixing and wiping barriers, the improvement of providing longitudinal radially-stepped regions on the opened bevelled leading edge portions of the outer surface of the wiping barriers to act as hydrodynamic wedges to the passage of polyolefin material passing between the surfaces and the inner walls of the extruder barrel; and radially-stepped opened bevelled leading edge portions of the outer surfaces of the wiping barriers and the outer circumferential surfaces of full diameter of the mixer head supporting an outer coating of gall-resistant material.