On Sat, 30 Aug 2003 18:46:41 GMT, ff wrote:

an Musicant wrote:
:
:I've always found that MOST stainless steel has little or no attraction
:to a magnet. How reliable is this test?
:
:Is there quality stainless steel that IS drawn to magnets?
:
:Why is most stainless steel not attracted to magnets?
:
:While we're on the subject of stainless steel, what are it's general
:properties aside from not rusting due to oxidation? Is or can it be as
:hard as tool grade steels? Are there some neat links where I can find
:out about different kinds of steel? This has always been a facinating
:topic to me.
:
:Dan
:
:
:Austenitic stainless steel is not magnetic. It has to do with the grain
:structure. If you heat
:any steel up to its austenitic phase it will lose is attraction to
:magnets. Other grades of
:stainless like martensitic and precipitation hardening stainless are
:attracted to magnets.
:They are both hardenable by heat treatment too.
:
:Fred

I assume, then, that when this austenitic phase steel cools below a
threshhold temperature it will once again be attracted to magnets?