440 steel was around a long time ago. As you can see below, that a steel that would be known today as 440-C has been around since 1904.
Just prior to World War I, modern 440 grade stainless steel was discovered. So it is definitely not a new steel by any stretch of the imagination.
"In 1904, Leon Guillet published research on alloys with composition that today would be known as 410, 420, 442, 446 and 440-C."
Source of this information is the Stainless Steel Industry of North America.
It was Ernest Stuart, the cutlery manager of Mosley's who first referred to the new knives as "stainless" after in experiments he had failed to stain them with vinegar. "Corrosion resisting " steel would be really the better term, as
ordinary stainless steels do suffer corrosion in the long term in hostile environments.
Other claims have been made for the first invention of stainless steel, based upon published experimental papers that indicated the passive layer corrosion resistance of chromium steel or patented steels with a 9% chromium content intended for engineering purposes. Brearley's contribution was that having come to a conclusion by purely empirical means he immediately seized
on the practical uses of the new material.
Within a year of Brearley's discovery, Krupp in Germany were experimenting by adding nickel to the melt. Brearley's steel could only be supplied in the hardened and tempered condition; the Krupp steel was more resistant to acids, was softer and more ductile and therefore easier to work. There is no
doubt that but for Brearley's chance discovery, the metallurgists at Krupp would have soon made the discovery themselves. From these two inventions, just before the First World War, were to develop the "400" series of martensitic and "300" series of austenitic stainless steels.
Sourced from the International Stainless Steel Forum.
