Stainless steel that’s used around salt water needs to especially corrosion resistant so it doesn’t rot out. Different compositions will prevent rusting to various degrees. Not-so-fun fact: Just because something is stainless steel, that doesn’t mean that it can’t rust. You’ll see a lot of this in kitchens knives, tables, utensils, anything that comes into contact with food. If you scratch off the barrier, a new one will immediately form. The chromium creates a super thin barrier when it corrodes which slows rust. This is basically just steel with a noticeable amount of chromium. This is the steel that is specifically focused on corrosion resistance. Technically this is a kind of alloy steel, but there are so many types in such massive quantities that it usually gets its own category. It’s generally considered the workhorse of the metal world. Each of these elements will modify the metal’s properties in different ways.įor example, alloying steel can give extra strength to high-performance gears, more corrosion and wear resistance to medical implants, and increase the amount of pressure that pipelines can handle. This is an extremely common type of metal because it’s generally still very cheap to make.Ĭommon alloying elements for steel include manganese, vanadium, chromium, nickel, and tungsten. This changes the properties and essentially makes the metal customizable. Alloyed steel is made by adding other elements in the mix.
![winner cut plug tin winner cut plug tin](https://www.prices4antiques.com/item_images/medium/46/42/58-02.jpg)
Think of it as genetically modified steel. Less carbon means cheaper, softer, and easier to produce.Ĭarbon steel is most commonly found as a structural building material, in simple mechanical components, and in various tools. The three general categories are low, medium, and high carbon steel. This is the basic steel, good ‘ol carbon and iron, although some other very small amounts of other elements might be added.
![winner cut plug tin winner cut plug tin](https://p1.liveauctioneers.com/924/163760/82780575_1_x.jpg)
Here’s an overview of the main types: Carbon Steel There are actually a lot of different kinds of steel.
![winner cut plug tin winner cut plug tin](https://dygtyjqp7pi0m.cloudfront.net/i/30290/26439730_2.jpg)
If you were to stack elephants one on top of the other to form a really peculiar bridge to the moon (not actually possible), it would still not be as heavy as the weight of the steel that’s made each year. An average African elephant weighs about 5 tons. This ratio is usually around 99% iron and 1% carbon, although that ratio can vary a bit.įun fact: There was over 1.8 billion tons of steel produced worldwide in 2017 (half of which was produced in China). Steel, by definition, is simply iron (the element) mixed with carbon. This is hands down the most common metal in the modern world.