17/4 stainless steel?

Q

quantum24

Joined
Oct 28, 2004
Messages
11
I hope it is ok to post this Q here, i figured you all might be able to help me out.

I'm looking to get a pair of pliers for saltwater fishing, the pair im looking at are made of 17/4 stainless and then "titanium coated". first, does anyone know anythnig about this steel, and second what about titanium coating as a finish. BTW, these are browning pliers, i didnt see that any of there knife blades use this steal/finish so i assume its not appropriate for blades.

My main concern is corosion resistance, i really dont want to drop 250 for a pair of all titanium pliers but also dont want to have to replace pliers twice a season. thanks for any help
 
If I remember right, 17-4 is a low carbon stainless, with very high corrosion resistance. The titanium coating might be titanium or a titanium nitride (or similar). Either way it should have high corrosion resistance. You won't have to worry about rust.
 
17-4 is a precipitation hardening stainless steel originally developed by Armco. If you look at potential alloy compositions with a Delong Diagram it is the most corrosion resistant material you can design and still have it hardenable by martensitic transformation. The alloy is used in many applications including high strength propeller shafting for commercial boats like ferry's and work boats. It still will not be as corrosion resistant as its non magnetic ( non hardenable ) cousins like 304 and 316.
Coatings can be a can of worms with respect to corrosion resistance. Most coatings regardless of how they are applied can have breaks or holidays where the base metal can be exposed to the environment. Depending on the relitive potential of the coating with respect to the base metal a galvanic cell can be created that would accellerate corrosion. If the coating is more noble and the base metal less so then you get a high current density at the holiday and rapid pitting can occur. Multi layer coatings will generally help this as the holidays tend to occurr in different areas in different layers resulting in a less porous coating that will offer protection.
 
Crompal, great reply! It is amazing what one learns in this forum. Just put lots of "zincs" all over the boat and replace them frequently.
 
Thanks, it sounds like these should do well.

Crompal that was a pretty specific reply, thanks, but in respect to "It still will not be as corrosion resistant as its non magnetic ( non hardenable ) cousins like 304 and 316", do you still think these pliers in 17/4 will survive in a saltwater environment (i dont know anything about 304 or 316). thanks again
 
As long as you understand that 17-4 will corrode in salt water and you treat the tool with respect it can offer you good service for a long time. If you clean and dry it after each use it should work well. My current company sells hundreds of tons of 17-4 for use in marine environments. The alloy is also approved for sour gas service by NACE ( National association of Corrosion Engineers)
If you leave it in salt water in contact with more noble materials it will corrode. If you allow it to be covered with marine life like barnicles then you can set up crevice corrosion conditions and it will pit rapidly. Treat your tool with respect and the 17-4 should last a lifetime.

RTB
 
17-4 can be hardened to HRc 43 max. The 'titanium' coating if gold colored is titanium nitride. It does about as well as the 300 series especially below max hardness.
 
DGG said:
Crompal, great reply! It is amazing what one learns in this forum. Just put lots of "zincs" all over the boat and replace them frequently.
Click to expand...
Sure, just ignore my reply. I feel so unloved. :grumpy: I told him what he wanted to know, didn't I? You guys are just impressed by technical jargon. :)
 
THANKS LARRIN, i actually placed my order after your first post, the others just increased my confidence in my purchase.:)
 
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