440B Stainless: The Balanced Choice for Industrial Precision
While 440C often steals the spotlight in the stainless-steel family, its close cousin 440B offers a fine balance of performance and practicality – and savvy manufacturers are taking notice. With slightly lower carbon content than 440C, 440B stainless steel delivers solid hardness and good corrosion resistance, making it a go-to for applications that demand both strength and stability without overengineering the material.
At Toolman Special Steels, we’re proud to be one of the trusted stainless steel 440B exporters in India, supplying precision-grade bars and blanks to industries across Europe, the USA, Japan, Turkey and beyond.
Why Choose 440B?
440B sits comfortably between 440A and 440C in terms of carbon content and performance. Here’s what makes it stand out:
- Carbon content: Around 0.75-0.95%
- Chromium content: Around 16-18%
- Hardness: Up to 56–58 HRC after heat treatment
- Good edge retention and polishability
- Moderate to high corrosion resistance in industrial environments
This makes it ideal for parts that require wear strength without the ultra-brittleness that sometimes comes with high-carbon stainless.
Typical Applications of 440B Steel
440B is particularly useful in applications where corrosion is a concern, but where 440C's extra hardness is not necessary:
- Knife blades: cutlery and mid-range tactical.
- Valve components: and pump shafts
- Precision mechanical parts
- Food industry components
- Tooling inserts and bearing races
440B is particularly useful in applications where corrosion is a concern, but where 440C's extra hardness is not necessary.
440A vs 440B vs 440C – What's the Difference?
| Grade | C Content | HRC Max | Corrosion Resistance | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 440A | 0.6–0.75% | ~55 | Highest | Entry-level blades, high corrosion |
| 440B | 0.75–0.95% | ~58 | High | Balanced industrial use, knife blades |
| 440C | 0.95–1.2% | ~60 | Moderate | High hardness, wear-heavy components |
Toolman Special Steels: Exporting Precision Worldwide
We supply 440B stainless steel in a variety of formats:
- Hot rolled and cold drawn rounds, flats and blocks
- Annealed or hardened condition as required
- Tight tolerances and custom length options
- Certified with MTCs and ultrasonic test reports
Our clients span across automotive, industrial, food processing and engineering sectors and we ensure every batch is lab-tested and export-compliant.
Why Global Clients Rely on Toolman
- ESR (Electro Slag Remelting) Options available for cleaner microstructure.
- In-house testing Composition testing, hardness certification, and UT.
- Consistent stock availability for large or recurring orders
- Seamless port handling and global logistics network
Whether you need cut blanks for blade production in Europe or precision shafts for industrial machinery in Japan, Toolman is your go-to stainless steel 440B exporter from India.
Let’s Work Together
Looking for reliable, export-ready stainless steel in 440B grade? Partner with Toolman Special Steels to get quality that travels well and performs even better.
About Toolman Special Steels
We are a manufacturer-exporter from India, specializing in tool steel and stainless rounds, flats, and blocks. Our mission? To bring precision-grade metallurgy to makers and machinists across the world.
👉 Email us at indiatoolman@gmail.com
📞 Quick response. OEM-friendly MOQ. Export-optimized.
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