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Offline WD45

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Surgical stainless
« on: December 16, 2003, 01:22:57 AM »
What is this stuff ??? I see a lot of knives that have no numbers on the blade but say " surgical stainless steel ".  What does that equate to in real terms ?  Is a knife made or this stuff any good ?
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Offline Joel

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Surgical stainless
« Reply #1 on: December 16, 2003, 04:11:03 AM »
Based on the answers I saw to the same post question at CKD Forums...."surgical stainless" refers to steels approved by the FDA for use in surgical instruments.  No such thing as a particular type steel.  One surgeon/knifemaker replied that during surgery that day, he had used scalpels that were either unmarked or marked 316(300 series steels are non-martensetic steel<they can't be heat treated/tempered> often used to make bolsters/guards/liners etc.).  Most of the blades he had used that day were actually heated ceramic, since they cauterize as they cut.  Scalpels are throwaways, and only have to be sharp for a whiile.......another common steel is 420(junk).  It's a marketing ploy and PURE BS!!.  Anytime a maker uses a quality steel, he marks it as such.
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Offline Naphtali

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Surgical stainless
« Reply #2 on: December 16, 2003, 04:21:01 AM »
It is a generic term that means "hardenable stainless steel" that, further, has been demonstrated to be chemically unreactive with [human] tissue, blood, etc.

"Demonstrated" means that a specific Food and Drug Administration testing procedure has been passed.

"Unreactive" means, for example, having used the steel in a surgical procedure, skin and tissue at the procedure's site will not become inflamed because of the steel. Analogy: Some people are unable to wear jewelry made from metal with a nickel content.

Parenthetically, I had a friend whose plating company used their proprietary chrome plating to render surgical instruments unreactive.
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In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell

Offline WD45

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Surgical stainless
« Reply #3 on: December 17, 2003, 03:06:38 AM »
Appreciate the info :-)
Those are the thoughts that were in the back of my mind and are now confirmed...
Sure sounds good though doesn't it.
I'll put that one in the horse traders dictionary....

Surgical stainless steal : Junk or any stainless that will lok good when
                                    polished and hold an edge for a minimum of 10
                                    minuets or a max of 20 inches in cutting length
                                    and will not cause infection if cut while
                                    attempting actual use
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