410 stainless steel and 304 stainless steel are both a type of stainless steel and are commonly used in various stainless steel products, such as tableware such as bowls, chopsticks, knives and forks. When people buy tableware in offline or online stores, they often struggle with these two. Which material is better? Today, I will share with you which of these two materials is better as tableware?
In fact, these two types of tableware materials have their own advantages and disadvantages, and you should choose according to your needs. 304 stainless steel has better oxidation resistance and corrosion resistance, and is more widely used. It is more suitable for daily tableware, pots, thermos cups, etc.; 410 stainless steel has better strength and hardness, and better thermal conductivity. If If you want to choose the material of cutlery and pots, 410 stainless steel is better.
If you are choosing tableware, it is recommended to choose 304 stainless steel because it has better corrosion resistance; for Western-style knives and forks, etc., due to cutting raw meat and other reasons, it is recommended to choose 410, which has a higher hardness. Stainless steel cutlery. If purely based on price, it is cheaper to choose 410 stainless steel material, but in fact, 304 material is also very cost-effective.
From the comparison table below, you can see the differences and connections between the two materials. If you do not have a thorough understanding of the contents of this table, please read on for a detailed comparison!
Comparison table of stainless steel 304 and 410
1. Material composition and corrosion resistance
304 stainless steel contains 17%-19% chromium and 8%-10% The nickel element; while 410 stainless steel contains 0.15% carbon and 11.5%-13.5% chromium, without nickel. 304 stainless steel has a higher chromium content than 410, so its corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance and high temperature resistance are much stronger. For example, common foods and environments will not corrode 304 stainless steel, while 410 stainless steel is relatively easy to corrode. This is very important for tableware. Choosing tableware made of 304 material will have a longer service life, and the appearance will not change much after long-term use, and it will not be easily corroded.
304 stainless steel tableware
2. Strength and hardness
410 stainless steel is in the form of martensitic, semi-martensite, while 304 stainless steel is austenitic Body shape, so 410 stainless steel has higher strength and hardness than 304 stainless steel. Therefore, 410 stainless steel is mostly used in the automobile transportation industry and is not afraid of collisions, while 304 stainless steel is mostly used in daily life scenes, such as pots, pans, cups, etc. Especially for tableware, 410 stainless steel is mostly used for Western-style tableware such as knives and forks, and is suitable for cutting raw meat and other ingredients, while 304 stainless steel is mostly used for Chinese-style tableware and chopsticks, and the hardness requirements are not that high.
410 stainless steel Western-style tableware
3. Thermal conductivity
410 stainless steel is one of the most commonly used martensitic stainless steels, and is similar to austenitic (such as AISI304 and Unlike AISI316), martensite has good thermal conductivity, while 304 stainless steel has poor thermal conductivity. This leads to the fact that the bottom of many pots and pans is often made of 410 stainless steel, while 304 stainless steel is rarely used.
4. Price and use
410 stainless steel is generally used for bolts, nuts, pump parts, tableware, rulers, etc. It is a general-purpose steel and cutting tool steel. 304 stainless steel has the characteristics of corrosion resistance, high temperature resistance, good processing performance and high toughness. It is widely used in the industrial and furniture decoration industries and the food and medical industries, and can be used to make equipment and machine parts that require good comprehensive performance. 304 stainless steel has a wide range of uses. Most of our commonly used pots, pans, cups, etc. use this material.
When used as tableware, the price of 410 stainless steel is often relatively lower than that of 304 stainless steel because it contains more rare metals. For example, a four-piece Western-style set made of 410 stainless steel from a brand on JD.com costs 19.9 yuan, while a two-piece set made of the same tableware made of 304 also costs 19.9 yuan, which is about half cheaper on average.
5. Suggestions and Precautions
If you are faced with these two materials when choosing tableware, most tableware is recommended to be made of 304 stainless steel because of its corrosion resistance. Better; when it comes to Western-style knives and forks, due to cutting raw meat and other reasons, it is recommended to choose 410 stainless steel knives and forks with higher hardness. If purely based on price, it is cheaper to choose 410 stainless steel material, but in fact, 304 material is also very cost-effective.
Another thing to note is that when choosing stainless steel food utensils, you must choose food-grade stainless steel, which has the GB 4806.9-2016 mark. GB 4806.9-2016 is the national standard for stainless steel tableware, which clearly stipulates what standards must be met for stainless steel that comes into contact with food.