Slowhand Bob, 24229 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 It started with the purchase of Piettas shiny '51Navy in .44 and it just plain looks like stainless. The literature doesnt specify but several fokes have assured me that it was not stainless but just high polished and said I could verify this with a magnate. Well after seeing a long period go by, in which I think at least some sort of discoloration should be showing up on these bp guns I decided to try the magnate. Sure nuff thet dang magnate stuck right to those pistols BUT THEN I tried it on the stainless Bond Arms sitting there and it stuck tighter than a tick on a dogs, well tight anyways. A quick circle around the house proved that accept for a couple of kitchen pots the magnate stuck to every stainless labeled knife, gun, etc item I tried. Who ever was claiming that a magnate is the way to check for stainless needs to go back and check that theory again. It does work pretty well at finding aluminum though!
Partner Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 300 series stainless steel is non magnetic and cannot be hardened in a heat treat process. 400 series stainless has carbon in it so it can be heat treated. It is magnetic
Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 Who ever was claiming that a magnate is the way to check for stainless needs to go back and check that theory again. It does work pretty well at finding aluminum though! Yup. I've been telling folks that for years. Some Stainless is magnetic, some is not. Just for the fun of it a few years ago I tried the old magnet test on some stainless guns. Smith & Wesson stainless was magnetic. Uberti Stainless was not magnetic. I used to keep a little extendable wand type magnet in my tool box at work to fish out stainless hardware that had been dropped in inaccessible places. The magnet would pull out stainless nuts and washers just fine. It did not grab stainless screws so well. It would grab them, but not hold onto them as well. Different alloys. P.S. It took me a little while to find my old materials selector handbook. ALL steel has some carbon in it, including Stainless. 300 series carbon content runs from as little as .03 up to around .15 percent of the total. 400 series carbon content runs from around .08 up to almost 1 percent. What determines whether or not Stainless will be magnetic is how the crystal structure is formed.
Olen Rugged Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 ... The literature doesnt specify but several fokes have assured me that it was not stainless but just high polished and said I could verify this with a magnate... Depends on the magnate. A real estate magnate like Donnie Trump is slippery as all git out, but a software magnate like Billy Gates will git all over ever thang till it don't work no more. Olen
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 The Pietta '51 Navy (I've got a couple in .44 caliber) ARE just a polished steel, not stainless. But, they hold up well with proper cleaning. Just pretend they are blued steel and clean and protect as you would for a blue gun. Almost all stainless steel guns (and knives) are a 400 series steel or similar composition that is both strong and heat treatable. AUS6 knife blade alloy, for example. The "chemical service" steels you find in some water pumps, acid handling systems, etc. are 300 series (the cheap stuff, 302 alloy number, the highly-corrosion resistant stuff - 316 is an example). Since those steels just handle corrosion, rather than high strength applications, they don't contain the carbon content needed for magnetism. So, I can see that you HAVE been thoroughly confused by the rule of thumb. What I've found about most rules of thumb - there are usually four exceptions (fingers) that go along with each thumb. Good luck, GJ
Utah Bob #35998 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 Depends on the magnate. A real estate magnate like Donnie Trump is slippery as all git out, but a software magnate like Billy Gates will git all over ever thang till it don't work no more. Olen Exactly. Then ya got your Astors, Rockefellers, Carnegies and William Randolph "You supply the pictures and I'll supply the war" Hearst. I understand some of them had magnetic personalities and some did not.
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 they don't contain the carbon content needed for magnetism. OK, now I'm waiting for some wag to come on and say, hey, if I let my brass get carboned-up enough, can I pick it up out of the gravel with a magnet? Good luck with that one, GJ
Slowhand Bob, 24229 Posted February 10, 2011 Author Posted February 10, 2011 HMMMM, I did not think to check BUT my head is really slick and shiny, most fokes even tell me it is really hard also. Let me go find thet magnate again!
Adirondack Jack, SASS #53440 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 Think of it this way. The most corrosion resistant steels are gummy, hard to machine, and unsuitable for uses like guns and knives that need to be sharp or hard. Think of boat props, marine hardware, and maybe a divers knife, all mean to deal with salt water. They won't be magnetic. Stain "resistant" steel strong enough for use in a gun, knife, strong bolt, etc will be less impervious to rust, and yes, will be magnetic.
Buck D. Law, SASS #62183 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 OK, now I'm waiting for some wag to come on and say, hey, if I let my brass get carboned-up enough, can I pick it up out of the gravel with a magnet? Good luck with that one, GJ If they can come up with a dust magnet, why can't they come up with a brass magnet?
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