When shopping for stainless flatware you will often see the numbers 18 8 or 18 10 or 18 0 or even 13 chrome.
Stainless steel 18 0 vs 18 8.
18 8 304 stainless steel contains 18 chromium and 8 nickel.
Chromium is used in stainless steel to provide durability as well as resistance to rust and corrosion while nickel is used to give flatware its luster.
18 8 is probably the most commonly used stainless steel and contains 18 chromium and 8 nickel.
At first glance on the flatware packaging it may look like 18 10 but a closer inspection may reveal that it is actually only 18 0 flatware.
18 0 contains a negligible amount of nickel 0 75 and therefore has a reduced corrosion resistance is more likely to rust than 18 8 or 18 10 but still high quality 18 0 is also referred to as type 430 is part of the 400 series and unlike 300 series stainless steel is magnetic.
18 0 contains limited nickel and is therefore slightly less resistant to oxidation while 18 10 provides the highest amount of nickel producing the greatest resistance to rust and longest held polish.
18 10 stainless steel flatware and 18 0 stainless steel flatware is made up of chromium and nickel.
All of these numbers refer to the percentages of chromium and nickel found in the stainless steel alloy.
Its more for utility than the other two types of stainless steel.
These numbers are often very confusing so let s look at the details behind these numbers.
The 18 8 name has been pretty much replaced in the states at least by several other designations.
The 18 8 and 18 10 designations are older terms and refer to the amount of chromium and nickel alloyed with the iron to comprise the stainless steel.
18 8 stainless steel works well with items like crowd control poles and bun pan racks things that need to be strong but not necessarily attractive.
Compositions of 18 8 18 10 and 18 0 these figures relate to the chromium and nickel contents of the steel respectively.
Flatware typically comes in 18 10 18 8 18 0 and 13 0 compositions.
301 stainless steel has 16 18 cr and 6 8 ni 302 stainless steel has 17 19 cr and 8 10 ni.
18 10 304 stainless steel contains 18 chromium and 10 nickel.
The 18 refers to the chromium content which gives flatware its rust resistance.
18 10 stainless steel as well as 18 8 and 18 0 are fractions explaining the percentages of chromium and nickel alloys respectively added to stainless steel to reduce rust and enhance shine and durability.
The most common type of composition found in rental situations restaurants and catering functions is 18 10 and 18 0 and is what the basis of this blog post is on.
18 0 420 stainless steel contains 18 chromium and 0 nickel.
