Almost every individual has some items made of stainless steel in their house, whether it is a piece of décor, a couple of hardware, or a kitchen appliance. Most people understand what stainless steel looks like or what it is. However, one thing that surprises them is finding out there are a couple of forms of stainless steel.  

Stainless steels can be combined with other metals to form a much more durable alloy. This includes tungsten rods and much more. Today, we’re going to discuss some of the most common types of stainless steel. 

Duplex 

This type of stainless steel is a complex metal. It is partly ferritic stainless steel and partly austenitic stainless steel. It’s one of the most durable stainless steels in the market. For those who don’t know, it almost doubles the durability of ferritic stainless steel or regular austenitic. It is most commonly utilized for heavy machinery and in industries that need super resistance and strength to stress corrosion cracking. This metal alloy is resistant to corrosion generally. However, it is known for its corrosion-resistance properties. 

 

Precipitation Hardening 

This type of stainless steel is durable stainless steel. 17-4 stainless steel is one of the most popular precipitation-hardening stainless steel. It’s exactly made out of 4% nickel and 17% chromium. It is alloyed with niobium, molybdenum, titanium, aluminum, or copper. This type of stainless steel metal is extremely resistant to corrosion. It is almost the same as the next stainless steel we’re going to mention. Aside from that, it is hardened to higher durability compared to other forms of stainless steel. This form of stainless steel is common and usually found in the metalworking industries, aerospace, and chemical processing because of its corrosion-resistance and great strength.  

Austenitic 

This type of stainless steel is made to be non-magnetic. An excellent example of a day-to-day application for austenitic stainless steel is a stainless steel oven. There’s a high possibility that your oven is not magnetic compared to your stainless steel fridge. However, it still functions and matches the same. This type of stainless steel is steel alloyed with low amounts of carbon and high levels of nickel and chromium. This form of stainless steel is one of the most popular because of its superior malleability and great corrosion resistance.  

Grade 304 Stainless Steel 

The most popular type of stainless steel. Due to its versatility, this type of stainless steel is commonly utilized in Marlin Steel’s custom wire basket designs. This type of stainless steel is known for its excellent tensile strength, even among steel alloys. The combination of corrosion resistance, heat resistance, and high tensile strength makes this type of stainless steel best for a huge range of applications.  

Grade 420 Stainless Steel 

Grade 420 stainless steel also has excellent tensile strength. This is particularly true if annealed. The tensile strength of this stainless steel increases much more when stress relieved and hardened. Though it isn’t chemically resistant, it still has excellent resistance to food compounds, some alkalis, water, mild acids, and a lot of other things.