This chapter presents the history of stainless steel and provides an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. This book covers a broad spectrum of historical events, many of which have not been touched upon in other works on stainless steel. It includes the discoveries of the various metallic elements that are used in the various alloys of stainless steel and discusses numerous experiments conducted during the 19th century with iron-base alloys containing chromium and carbon.

This chapter briefly describes the early discoveries of the key ingredients of and alloys of stainless steel that occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries and the advancement that happened in the early part of the 20th century. The key ingredient and alloys covered include iron-chromium alloys, acid- and weather-resistant alloy, ferrochromium, martensitic stainless steel, chromium-nickel austenitic stainless steels, and ferritic chromium stainless steel. Information on the early discoverers and pioneers of stainless steel is also provided.

This chapter presents the usefulness of martensitic chromium stainless steels discovered in England and America, the usefulness of ferritic chromium stainless steels discovered in America, and the usefulness of chromium-nickel stainless steels discovered in Germany. It also provides a short note on the usefulness of chromium-silicon steels.

In 1924, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) organized the symposium "Corrosion and Heat Resisting Alloys, and Electrical Resistance Alloys." It was the beginning of a major role that ASTM played in the history of stainless steel. This chapter provides information on the papers presented at the 1924 symposium. It also describes the role of ASTM in stainless steel standardization after the 1924 symposium.

This chapter provides insights into the work of a stainless steel pioneer, Harry Brearley. It explains how Brearley's early life and experience led him to become a self-trained chemist and metallurgist.

This chapter examines the early literature on stainless steel to gain an understanding of the state-of-the-art of stainless steel as it progressed through the first 37 years after the discoveries made in Sheffield and Essen.

This chapter describes the making of iconic structures such as the Chrysler Building. It also describes the discoveries of the Nirosta (18-8) stainless steel that was used for the construction of the Chrysler Building. The chapter presents William Van Alen's description of 18-8 stainless steel for the Chrysler Building. It provides information on the opening ceremonies for the Chrysler Building, Van Alen's vision, and the exterior of the building.

This chapter discusses the work of a famous stainless steel pioneer, Edward G. Budd. The discussion covers his early years, his automobile body business, the arrival of novel kind of stainless steel in America, Earl Ragsdale's shot weld patent, the world's first stainless steel airplane, the world's first stainless steel rubber-tired train, the Flying Yankee, the Mark Twain Zephyr, the development of the Budd Company in the war years and postwar years, and a review of the Budd Era.

This chapter presents the history of the Gateway Arch.

This chapter presents a brief description of the three-step process: melting, decarburizing, and alloying. It also discusses the following processes: wild process, rustless process, and Linde Argon-Oxygen decarburization process.

This chapter provides a detailed discussion on microstructure, properties, and applications of two classes of stainless steel: duplex stainless steel and precipitation-hardening steel.

Stainless steels have a wide variety of applications for household products, food-handling equipment, major appliances, medical equipment, and industrial equipment. Stainless is also featured in many architectural designs and monuments. Many of the most important applications of stainless steel can be found in the transportation industry, where both the cutlery martensitic and the chromium-nickel austenitic stainless steels have been used. This chapter provides a detailed discussion on these applications.

This chapter is a review of the restoration of a fleet of stainless steel railcars in Canada.

This chapter presents the history of Plummer's classification system of stainless steels. One classification of Plummer's system is tabulated. The example shows the code number, the trade names and the producer of each alloy.

This chapter presents the Unified Numbering System (UNS) for metals and alloys.

This chapter presents the early classes of stainless steel. These include martensitic alloys, austenitic alloys, and ferritic alloys. It also presents stainless steel trade names. The chapter describes standardized designation for type 304 stainless steel by various specification organizations.

This appendix features images from the front and back covers and inside the covers of the book The History of Stainless Steel .

This appendix contains bibliographies related to the history of stainless steel.

This appendix is a timeline of events related to the discovery, development, and commercialization of stainless steels.