Quote:
Originally Posted by 037
904L has a tensile strength of 485 MPa where 316L is 490 MPa. That makes 904L 1% softer if we're using "soft" in metallurgic terms. That 1% difference isn't worth all the hype spread on the Internet.  |
Tensile strength doesn’t necessarily give the complete story as to the “hard vs. soft” of the two alloys. Many scales can be used, but for this instance, let’s use the Brinell.
) 316L has a Brinell hardness of 146
) 904L has a Brunel hardness of 122
This dispels the internet hype that 904L is harder therefore more scratch resistant. Better corrosive properties, but not harder.