Cutlery Stainless Steel Grades

These figures relate to the chromium and nickel percentage of the stainless steel. '18/8' is the most commonly used stainless steel and contains 18% chromium and 8% nickel. This steel is also known as '304' (in the American AISI grade designation system) or 1.4301 in the European EN 10088 standard. It is an austenitic stainless steel and so is not (or only very weakly) attracted by a magnet.

'18/10' is a designation used on some cutlery and holloware as an alternative to '18/8'. This designation is claimed to indicate a better quality steel than '18/8', and is essentially the same as the '304 (1.4301) grade .

'18/0' is ferritic stainless steel, which is attracted by a magnet like pure iron. This steel is known as '430' in the AISI system or 1.4016 in the European standard. It is used where corrosion resistance is not too demanding as an alternative to the '18/8' 304 type. The chromium content is around 18% but there is no nickel addition.

Applications for these gradesThe austenitic and ferritic '18/8', '18/10' and '18/0' stainless steels be hardened by heat treatment. Hardenable martensitic types of stainless steel, like the ferritics, contain only chromium, but with additional carbon. This enables them to respond to hardening heat treatment and so they can be used for knife blades. The best quality table knives are made in two pieces using a martensitic blade and an austenitic (18/8 or 18/10) handle, bonded together.

Less expensive cutlery is often made as single piece martensitic knives, forks and spoons. This steel is not as costly, as it does not contain the nickel of the 18/8 - 18/10 types, but consequently has lower corrosion resistance. The corrosion resistanceof cutlery made in this way should however be adequate for normal tableware use. utlery manufacturers may choose to limit 'life' statements or guarantees on these lower cost pieces.

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