SAE 304 stainless steel SAE 304 stainless steel SAE 304 stainless steel is the most common stainless steel. The steel contains both chromium (between 18–20%) and nickel (between 8–10.5%) metals as the main non-iron constituents. It is an austenitic stainless steel. It is less electrically and thermally conductive than carbon steel and is essentially non-magnetic. It has a higher corrosion resistance than regular steel and is widely used because of the ease in which it is formed into various shapes. The composition was developed by W. H. Hatfield at Firth-Vickers in 1924 and was marketed under the trade name “Staybrite 18/8”. It is specified
SAE 304 stainless steel by SAE International as part of its SAE steel grades. Outside of the US it is commonly known as A2 stainless steel, in accordance with ISO 3506 for fasteners. In the commercial cookware industry it is known as 18/8 stainless steel. In the unified numbering system it is UNS S30400. The Japanese equivalent grade of this material is SUS304.. It is also specified in European norm 1.4301. 304 stainless steel has excellent resistance to a wide range of atmospheric environments and many corrosive media. It is subject to pitting and crevice corrosion in warm chloride environments and to stress corrosion