Stainless Steel 18/10, 18/0, and Grades 304/430: Which One Where

Stainless steel is a material a buyer almost never chooses consciously: the spec just says “stainless steel,” and the factory decides the rest. The difference between grade 304 and its cheaper counterpart 430 or 201 is invisible in photos and in the first months of use — new steel shines the same either way. It shows up after six months to a year: a restaurant’s prep sink, a hood near the sea, or a bar counter by the pool develops orange pitting corrosion spots that no cleaning removes. Below is a breakdown of what the numbers 18/10 and 18/0 actually mean, how grades 304, 316, 430, and 201 differ, and what to lock into the spec when ordering kitchen equipment, furniture, and fixtures from a Chinese factory.

What the numbers 18/10 and 18/0 mean

A designation like “18/10” or “18/8” is not a steel grade number — it is a trade shorthand for chemical composition that stuck historically for cutlery and cookware:

• The first number (18) is the percentage of chromium in the alloy. Chromium forms a thin passive oxide film on the steel surface that protects the metal from oxygen and moisture. The higher the chromium content, the more damage-resistant that film is.
• The second number (10, 8, or 0) is the percentage of nickel. Nickel does not protect against corrosion directly so much as it forms the steel’s austenitic structure: non-magnetic, ductile, holding a polish better, and noticeably more resistant to acids (lemon, vinegar, tomato, salt) in household and commercial contact.
• 18/0 means the alloy has little to no nickel. This is a ferritic steel — typically grade 430. It is magnetic, cheaper to produce, but loses its protective film noticeably faster in salty or acidic environments.

Practical takeaway: 18/10 is the retail name for steel in the austenitic family (usually 304), and 18/0 is the retail name for the ferritic family (usually 430). If a factory’s spec just says “stainless steel” without a grade, it could equally be 304, 201 (covered below), or 430 — visually indistinguishable until corrosion appears.

Stainless steel grades: 304, 316, 430, 201

Behind the trade labels 18/10 and 18/0 sit specific grades under the international AISI system. For furniture, kitchen equipment, plumbing fixtures, and finishes on HoReCa and residential projects, four grades come up in practice.

AISI 304 (austenitic, 18/10)

The base and most common food-grade stainless. Contains roughly 18% chromium and 8–10% nickel.

• Pros: resistant to acids, salt solutions, household chemicals; non-magnetic; holds a mirror polish and welds well without losing corrosion resistance.
• Cons: costs more than ferritic grades; under prolonged contact with high-concentration chlorine (industrial, not household) and without maintenance, pitting is possible over time, though noticeably slower than with 430 or 201.
• Where it fits: commercial kitchen tables and sinks, hoods, cookware, cutlery, sinks, shower system components — anywhere with regular contact with water, acids, and cleaning agents.

AISI 316 (austenitic, molybdenum-alloyed)

The same family as 304 but with 2–3% molybdenum added, which sharply raises resistance specifically to chlorides — that is, salt.

• Pros: the best corrosion resistance among common grades; withstands sea air, a pool’s salt chlorinator, and surf spray without pitting for years.
• Cons: noticeably more expensive than 304 (typically 25–40% more); for most indoor spaces, an excess margin of durability that does not pay for itself.
• Where it fits: pool equipment with a salt chlorinator, beachfront bar counters and railings, outdoor furniture and hardware on coastal villas and hotels — anywhere standard 304 eventually develops localized corrosion from salt.

AISI 430 (ferritic, 18/0)

A nickel-free steel with roughly 16–18% chromium.

• Pros: 20–35% cheaper than austenitic grades; magnetic (sometimes useful — for example, for panels with magnetic mounts); adequately resistant in dry rooms without aggressive contact.
• Cons: noticeably worse than 304 in resisting acids and salt; under constant contact with moisture and chlorine (a sink, a pool area, a coastal climate) it rusts over time, especially along welds and machined edges.
• Where it fits: decorative, unstressed elements — appliance cladding panels, cabinet doors with no direct water contact, interior hardware in dry rooms.

AISI 201 — passing itself off as 304

A separate grade worth flagging is 201 — a lightweight austenitic steel where part of the nickel is replaced with manganese to cut cost. Visually and to the touch, 201 is almost indistinguishable from new 304, but it holds up noticeably worse against corrosion and welds poorly without staining at the seam. The issue is not the steel itself (it is legitimate and used, for example, in unstressed decorative elements) — it is that some factories supply 201 labeled as 304 in the spec, counting on the buyer not testing the metal’s composition until the first rust appears.

Comparison table: stainless steel grades

Where stainless steel holds up and where it inevitably rusts

The grade choice should be tied not to the type of item but to actual operating conditions — humidity, salty air, and acid contact.

• Commercial kitchens in restaurants and hotels. Tables, sinks, shelves, and hoods must be 304 only — constant contact with water, salt, vinegar, citrus juice, and aggressive dishwashing chemicals gives 430 or 201 no chance of avoiding rust within 1–2 years. For more on outfitting a commercial kitchen, see equipment for hotels and restaurants from China.
• Plumbing fixtures and shower systems. Faucets, shower heads, floor drains, and grab bars in a bathroom contact water daily — 304 is needed, and for projects on well water high in salts or near the sea, 316. See more on choosing faucets and fixtures in sourcing bathroom fixtures from China.
• Pool equipment. Handrails, ladders, jet fittings, and pump housings on a pool with a salt chlorinator sit in constant contact with salt water — here 304 pits over time, and 316 is the sensible choice. See more on the pool equipment itself in filters, pumps, and chlorinators for pools.
• Beachfront villas and hotels. Even elements without direct water contact — outdoor light fixtures, facade hardware, decorative panels — suffer from salty air. For outdoor use near the sea, standard 430 should be ruled out entirely.
• Furniture hardware and decor in dry rooms. Table legs, cabinet handles, decorative inserts with no water contact can be ordered in 430 — the price difference is justified where there is no real load on corrosion resistance.
• HoReCa cutlery and cookware. Here the 18/10 marking is the de facto industry standard: cheaper 13/0 or 18/0 lines lose their shine and streak quickly in a restaurant dishwasher under heavy use.

What to lock into the factory spec

• The AISI grade, not just the 18/10/18/0 notation. A phrase like “18/10 stainless steel” without stating 304 in the contract leaves the factory room to maneuver — require the exact AISI grade (304, 316, or 430) stated for every item in the spec.
• A mill test certificate for the metal batch. This is a document from the steel mill confirming the actual alloy composition of a specific batch of sheet or tube, not a general claim of grade from the factory.
• Metal thickness in mm, separate from the grade — a thin 304 sheet deforms under impact just as easily as a thick 430 sheet; the difference shows up in corrosion resistance, not bending strength.
• Surface finish class (brushed, mirror polish, satin/hairline finish) — it affects both appearance and how visible the first signs of corrosion will be if the grade was chosen wrong.
• A separate line item for welds — poor welding or using filler wire of a different grade at a joint between two 304 parts creates a localized galvanic couple that rusts first, even if the base metal was chosen correctly.

How to verify a factory has not swapped the grade

You cannot rely purely on a factory’s good faith — 201 or 430 is 20–35% cheaper than 304, and the temptation to save on an invisible parameter exists for any manufacturer. Basic protection is built in three layers, similar to how vetting a supplier in China generally works:

1. A certificate for the metal batch before production starts — required as a contract condition, not a formality.
2. A quick test at the pre-shipment inspection. A magnet quickly filters out crude substitution: 304 and 316 are practically non-magnetic, while 430 and 201 are noticeably magnetic. This is not a lab method, but it reveals an obvious mismatch in under a minute. For more on the mechanics of the inspection itself, see quality control on goods in China.
3. Batch acceptance against a reference sample. As with fabric or furniture hardware, for large metal orders it is worth approving a “golden sample” with the steel grade and thickness fixed, against which the whole batch is checked before shipping.

Stainless steel care: why the grade does not eliminate maintenance

Even a correctly chosen 304 or 316 grade does not work as a “forever” guarantee without basic care — corrosion resistance drops as chlorides and abrasive residue build up on the surface.

• Chlorine-based chemicals. Household products with chlorine (bleach, some cleaning gels) attack the passive film even on 304 under prolonged contact without rinsing — after cleaning, the surface should be rinsed with clean water and wiped dry rather than left to air-dry with the solution on it.
• Metal scouring pads and abrasives. Hard metal scrubbers leave microscratches and particles of ordinary (non-corrosion-resistant) iron embedded in the surface, which become their own rust source — so-called “induced contamination.” Stainless steel needs non-abrasive sponges or brushes with stainless or nylon bristles.
• Standing moisture in seams and gaps. Water that constantly pools in countertop joints, under faucet gaskets, or in poorly ventilated pool-area recesses eventually breaks down the protective film even on quality steel — such zones need a slope and drainage designed in from the start, not reliance on the metal grade alone.
• Periodic passivation. On high-load projects (a commercial kitchen, seaside equipment), it is worth chemically passivating the surface every 1–2 years — a treatment that restores and strengthens the protective chromium oxide film, especially at ground weld areas.

Mini case: a restaurant sink that rusted within a year

A restaurant owner in Phuket ordered a commercial prep sink and work tables through an intermediary who cut costs by placing the order with a factory without a precise steel-grade spec — the contract just said “stainless steel, 1.2 mm thick.” For the first six months there were no issues: the surface shone, staff cleaned it with ordinary chlorine-based kitchen chemicals. A year in, orange pitting corrosion spots appeared at the sink’s seams and in areas of constant contact with salty water (the kitchen used local water high in salts), and no polishing removed them. An independent magnet check of a sample, followed by lab analysis, found that the factory had supplied grade 201 instead of the 304 agreed in negotiations, relying on the fact that the written spec never pinned down the grade explicitly. Replacing the kitchen’s work zone with certified 304 cost the restaurant repeat spending on production and installation that a strict grade clause in the contract from the start would have avoided.

HS codes for stainless steel products

Stainless steel products are not declared under a single code — classification depends on the item’s form and purpose:

Duty and VAT rates depend on the specific code and the importing country, so the steel grade and HS code should be fixed in the spec in advance — check current codes and rates against the official classifier for your jurisdiction; an error in the code leads to cargo delays at customs and extra storage costs.

Ordering stainless steel equipment and furniture through Dream View

Guangdong and Zhejiang are the main manufacturing clusters for commercial kitchen equipment, plumbing fixtures, and furniture hardware in stainless steel that supply markets across Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. Sourcing direct from the factory saves up to 60% compared to buying finished equipment from a local dealer at the same steel grade — one of the categories inside overall equipment sourcing for hotels and restaurants from China. Dream View works on a fixed 10% commission: we lock the exact AISI grade into the spec, require a mill test certificate for the metal batch before production starts, and check markings with a quick test at the pre-shipment inspection so that 304 in the contract does not turn into 201 in the warehouse.

Ordering kitchen equipment, plumbing fixtures, or furniture hardware in stainless steel and not sure which grade fits your project? Write to us at orders@dreamviewchina.com or submit a request on the services page — we will match factories and lock the steel grade into the spec before production starts, free of charge.