Saddle bum
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bonj said:Isn't the term 'carbon steel' tautological?
It's a generic term. It means "plain carbon steel" with no chrome or other fancy elements that make it into stainless steel. In metallurgy, stainless steel is defined as an iron-carbon alloy with a minimum of 11.5% chromium content, by weight.
A typical composition for Stainless Steel flatware is 18% chromium and 10% nickel, commonly known as 18/10 stainless and it is known as Austenitic stainless steel. It normally contains a maximum of 0.15% carbon.
Hence flatware made from non-stainless is called "carbon steel".
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