Stainless steel emerged in the early twentieth century, and its exact origins are debated. The most widely held view credits Harry Brearley, and the term "stainless steel" was coined in 1911.
Brearley was trying to develop a more wear-resistant steel for gun barrels on behalf of Firth-Rixson, Sheffield. Testing samples in a friend's cutlery factory, he found that those containing more than 10.5% chromium resisted attack by vinegar, a common test for cutlery. The name "stainless steel", rather than "rustless steel", followed in 1911.
Similar accounts come from manufacturers in Germany, Sweden and the USA, linked to a wide range of applications including razor blades. Any of these may have a valid claim to the invention, but for most people it is the creation of the "stainless" prefix that carries the greater significance.
Milestones for stainless steel
- 1919-1923 - Stainless steel was adapted to the manufacturing of tools, surgical scalpels and cutlery in Sheffield
- During the early 1920s a variety of nickel and chromium combinations were tested. Stainless steel was referred to as '18/8', which indicated the percentage of chromium and nickel in the steel.
- 1925 - A stainless steel tank was used to store nitric acid, which established this metal's resistance to corrosion
- 1926 - The first surgical implants made of stainless steel were performed
- 1928 - The hygienic aspect of stainless steel was demonstrated when the first stainless steel fermenting vessel was used to brew beer. The food and beverage industry has widely used this metal ever since.
- 1930 - The first stainless steel train was built in the USA
- 1931 - The first stainless steel aircraft was created
- 1935 - Stainless steel kitchen sinks came into wide use, and type 430 stainless steel (a ferritic chromium alloy) was used to make a wire 0.1mm in diameter for voice recording machines
- 1954 - The first stainless steel underwater TV camera was manufactured
- 1966 - France completed the first tidal power station
- 1980 - Stainless steel was used to construct the longest movable flood barrier in the world, on the River Thames, UK
- 2010 - Global production of stainless steel reached 31 million tonnes, and 11 million washing machines with stainless steel drums were produced