Curious about steel

[atkin68]

When I first received the Jackson Egi I'm currently working on, I was struck by how light it felt in the hand. I was also struck by the way it behaved when filed. Just didn't feel like other SS cases I'd worked on. I'm much further along now and I'm working two different projects and I decided to try and age both with various improvised methods. Most recently I was putting them in a bath of hydrogen peroxide and then adding a splash of bleach and dipping the cases and then letting them dry and repeating. One is the Egi from Jackson, the other is an Invicta case. They've both been getting the same treatment for a few days, but look at the difference:

https://postimg.cc/2b3stFJ5
https://postimg.cc/XGhR6BSk
https://postimg.cc/JHk9r7RV

Edited by mod to include pics




I do understand there are different formulations of SS, but I'm curious if those who know more of the nuances have any input on why the Jackson case is reacting and the Invicta case is not. BTW, I also put an older Jackson 6152 in the same mixture and it reacted more like the Invicta.

The other thing is the weight. When I saw this, I put them both on the kitchen scale and found the Egi case to weigh only 30% more than the Invicta. I would have expected it to weight nearly 2X as much or more.

I realize Jackson makes a Ti case for this watch, but that's not what I ordered and I don't know anything about titanium except I would not expect that I'd be able to shape/file it with the tools I have.

Would love any thoughts on this from the group.

Dave

[nje2791]

I don’t see the pictures either.

[atkin68]

Sorry guys, I'm still figuring the pics out. Can you see them now?

[Tanukjaju]

Sorry guys, I'm still figuring the pics out. Can you see them now?

I’ve modified it to include pics. You can edit your original post to see the code.

[Tanukjaju]

I think you hit the nail on the head.... different types of steel... I suspect one is a 316L while the other is an easier to machine grade of steel that isn’t as corrosion resistant

[atkin68]

Thanks all for the input. I suppose since I'm trying to age this case that in some sense the poorer steel is an advantage. Having fun with the process. I have a display caseback on the way from [mention]Kp0y[/mention], a lovely unitas 431 from [mention]blueradish[/mention], my bubble plexi is ready, and today I received a killer camo leather strap for it from [mention]Vesire[/mention]! I need to get a CG lever worthy of the build still, and also a crown that will fit the 431 stem.

[Emilio]

Just to be sure, which version is this, 52mm, 60mm?

[Sejoler]

Hard to tell just from the pics and too little information to go on, but if I had to guess, my first bet would be that the EGI is most probably 304 SS. In my work, I've dealt with both 316 and 304 stainless (and also a few cases of 316L, though not too many). If you were to hold two pieces of clean, fresh-from-the-factory steel, where one was 316 or 316L and the other was 304, the 304 would almost always have a slightly brownish or yellowish tint to it whereas the 316 would be white-ish or blue-ish. It could be that whoever sold the stainless steel to Jackson (or whoever makes the cases for him), sold them 304 instead of 316L. At least for the batch this case came from.

Bottom line, I think the EGI is actually 304 SS, not 316 or 316L. Technically, it is still stainless steel, though in aggressive environments I have not found it to remain unstained (or unreactive).

[atkin68]

Just to be sure, which version is this, 52mm, 60mm?

60mm. I don't think Jackson ever sold a 52mm, but maybe I'm wrong.

[atkin68]

Hard to tell just from the pics and too little information to go on, but if I had to guess, my first bet would be that the EGI is most probably 304 SS. In my work, I've dealt with both 316 and 304 stainless (and also a few cases of 316L, though not too many). If you were to hold two pieces of clean, fresh-from-the-factory steel, where one was 316 or 316L and the other was 304, the 304 would almost always have a slightly brownish or yellowish tint to it whereas the 316 would be white-ish or blue-ish. It could be that whoever sold the stainless steel to Jackson (or whoever makes the cases for him), sold them 304 instead of 316L. At least for the batch this case came from.

Bottom line, I think the EGI is actually 304 SS, not 316 or 316L. Technically, it is still stainless steel, though in aggressive environments I have not found it to remain unstained (or unreactive).

Makes perfect sense. The Invicta case, another Jackson 6152 case, a spare buckle I threw in - have all been totally untouched by the same solution which is discoloring the Egi case and bezel.