OP
OP
jeninga75
Sous Chef
Thank you for all your responses 
A lot of good info and advice, I appreciate it.
A lot of good info and advice, I appreciate it.
Stainless steel question
- Thread starter jeninga75
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Chief Longwind Of The North
Certified/Certifiable
Yup! Your interpretation is correct. Steel does indeed rust, just not as quickly as raw iron. But wait, carbon steel rusts very quickly as well.
Oh, and I wasn't trying to be a pain, just trying to shed a little more light on the subject, and strengthen Andy's position a bit, as he was just cpompaining that his stainless steel tools were far from stainless. Unfortunately, I do have a tendency to go on and on.
Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
Fisher's Mom
Executive Chef
Goodweed, you and Buzz certainly enlightened me about ss and steel in general! There's nothing like a lively discussion between learned men when both are true gentlemen.
jeninga75,
This is my advise on this: Whenever possible, buy MADE IN USA gear.
It is very clear there are numerous grades of SS. Many USA companies shift production overseas and send materials specifications thinking this is good enough, there is way more than that. Because of this, customer's kitchens are the labs where thegear they sell is tested. A company may produce a great product here in USA, this is due to years of development, testing and fine tuning. By switching production overseas, the material composition control to ensure identical performance is much harder because there are factors the company can't control anymore, like raw material supplier, material recycling grade or material additives that are not part of the material specification. To make matters worst, steel is in short supply making harder to find an exact grade of material (at the appropriate price) for certain application.
I am not dissing overseas manufacturers; there are exceptions to this rule (also European manufacturers have very high standards), but IMHO, this is probably the cause for seeing those the rust spots several ppl mentioned here.
As an example: I have rust on my kitchen sink stainless steel drain. Believe me, I never put the thing in the dishwasher! LOL
This is my advise on this: Whenever possible, buy MADE IN USA gear.
It is very clear there are numerous grades of SS. Many USA companies shift production overseas and send materials specifications thinking this is good enough, there is way more than that. Because of this, customer's kitchens are the labs where thegear they sell is tested. A company may produce a great product here in USA, this is due to years of development, testing and fine tuning. By switching production overseas, the material composition control to ensure identical performance is much harder because there are factors the company can't control anymore, like raw material supplier, material recycling grade or material additives that are not part of the material specification. To make matters worst, steel is in short supply making harder to find an exact grade of material (at the appropriate price) for certain application.
I am not dissing overseas manufacturers; there are exceptions to this rule (also European manufacturers have very high standards), but IMHO, this is probably the cause for seeing those the rust spots several ppl mentioned here.
As an example: I have rust on my kitchen sink stainless steel drain. Believe me, I never put the thing in the dishwasher! LOL
buzzard767 said:
LOL - I've followed it ... I just wanted to remind you guys to play nice before it escalated to something else ... I didn't want to see a good "spirited" thread go sour.
justplainbill
Executive Chef
Generally the higher the Chromium content the more rust resistant the steel. However I have VG-10 and ATS-34 knives that are more prone to staining than my CPM-S30V. Years back junk yards wouldn't pay as much for magnetic stainless as they would for the stuff that wouldn't hold a magnet. I have a FA Kirk (Sheffield) carving fork clearly marked as stainless which rusts easily and is pitted. A magnet strongly holds onto this fork. For some cutting applications factors like the ease of sharpening and / or edge retention can make some lower chromium steels (like M-2) attractive. I have several 35+ year old Dexter 9" high-carbons that are a pleasure to sharpen and use to break down meat. To me the Dexter high-carbons are to knives what Griswold cast iron was to cookwear.
Chief Longwind Of The North
Certified/Certifiable
Wow! I hit the mother lode on stainless steel information. I give to you this link that explains the properties and types of stainless steel far better than I can. It is not inclusive of every stainless steel recipe, but, after reading it, will open your eyes about what to look for in Stainless Steel cookwear, and cutlery. It will, in fact, give you more information than you need, and is very easy to read and understand. It will also teach you how to care for your SS, Things that I certainly didn't know.
Stainless Steel
The link is not comercial in nature and so should be acceptable here.
Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
Stainless Steel
The link is not comercial in nature and so should be acceptable here.
Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
SS cutlery will form rust spots if you don't wipe the excess moisture off after washing which I usually don't. I normally place it point down in the dish rack in the sink. Before I knew better I would lay them on thier sides on a dish towel. A sure way to get rust spots.
I don't mean just the cheap cutlery. One of my worst spotted pieces is a Henckels 5 Star santoku.
At one time I worried about little things like rust spots but no longer. Life's too short to sweat the small stuff.
I don't mean just the cheap cutlery. One of my worst spotted pieces is a Henckels 5 Star santoku.
At one time I worried about little things like rust spots but no longer. Life's too short to sweat the small stuff.
Millylovesfood
Assistant Cook
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2007
- Messages
- 1
Higher quality knives do stain
My understanding is that really high quality knives can stain if put in the dishwasher. The sharpness and sharpenability of a knife depends on its carbon content, the higher the carbon, the easier it will be to sharpen and the sharper it will get, but it will also be susceptible to rust. Even though it is technically 'stainless steel' it may fall on the lower end of the spectrum. But no problem. Just wash and dry your high quality knife by hand. If there is a little rust, just scrub it off with an sos pad....
My understanding is that really high quality knives can stain if put in the dishwasher. The sharpness and sharpenability of a knife depends on its carbon content, the higher the carbon, the easier it will be to sharpen and the sharper it will get, but it will also be susceptible to rust. Even though it is technically 'stainless steel' it may fall on the lower end of the spectrum. But no problem. Just wash and dry your high quality knife by hand. If there is a little rust, just scrub it off with an sos pad....
Chief Longwind Of The North
Certified/Certifiable
Read the link in my previous post. It takes all the guesswork out of this. I know I learned some new things.
Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
Rob Babcock
Head Chef
I'll tell you one thing that will rapidly rust and stainless steel- bleach! A few days in bleach water will rust about any knife made of metal.
