These figures relate to the chromium and nickel contents of the steel, respectively.
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&#;18/8&#; is probably 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. in the European BS EN standard.
It is an &#;austenitic&#; type of 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.) grade . In practice the &#;10&#; does not indicate an actual higher Ni content and is purely a marketing ploy.
&#;18/0&#; is a &#;ferritic&#; stainless steel type, which is attracted by a magnet (like pure iron). This steel is known as &#;430&#; in the AISI system or 1. 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 optimistically said to be 18% but is nearer 17%.
The austenitic and ferritic &#;18/8&#;, &#;18/10&#; and &#;18/0&#; stainless steels cannot be hardened by heat treatment and so can only be used for knife handles, forks and spoons.
Hardenable martensitic types of stainless steel, like the ferritics, contain only chromium, but with additional carbon. This enables them to respond to hardening heat treatments 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 resistance of cutlery made in this way should however be adequate for normal tableware use.
Cutlery manufacturers may choose to limit &#;life&#; statements or guarantees on these lower cost pieces.
More information can be found on cutlery at the Cutlery and Allied Trades Association website.
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When looking to buy cutlery, particularly stainless steel cutlery, you will likely have noticed numbered gradings such as 18.10 and 18.0 within the product descriptions. These numbers and fractions relate to the percentages of materials used within a given cutlery piece. The specific materials used here include chromium and nickel alloys which are added to stainless steel to improve its overall quality.
Simply put, the higher the grade, the higher the rust resistance, durability and lasting shine.
For example, chromium is represented by the number 18, meaning this cutlery range contains 18% of the material. Similarly, the number 10 or 0 represents the percentage of nickel found in a cutlery piece.
When bonded with stainless steel, chromium helps protect cutlery from many corrosive substances found in food. At the same time, nickel provides extra resistance from rust and corrosion while offering a high finishing sheen. Understanding cutlery care and use will also help you to maintain your cutlery pieces for years to come.
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