Steel is an alloy – that is, a metal made from blending so-called alloying elements into a base metal – and it provides a quite literal backbone for modern industry. Steel is composed of primarily carbon and iron, with other trace elements that can give steels unique properties from each other. One class of steels is known as the stainless steels, which utilizes chromium to reduce the usual corrosion experienced by most iron-based materials. This article will explore the most common stainless steel, 304 steel, and will investigate its physical, mechanical, and working properties. Designers will gain a better understanding of what this material is, how it works, and where 304 steel is applied in industry so that they can potentially select this material for use in their own projects.