Stainless Steel vs. Zinc Alloy for Durability and Heavy Duty?
Stainless Steel vs. Zinc Alloy for Durability and Heavy Duty?
(OP)
Hello everyone. I have a kitchen utensil, mainly garlic press but it looks and feels not durable compared to the one you can find in store which feels heavy and durable in hands. I have a doubt that mine is made of stainless steel because doesn't look as smooth. I could show picture if you could tell me type of material but at this time I wanted to know abiut difference between stainless steel and zinc alloy materials. What is better from quality and durability standpoint? Is zinc alloy material or just plating and what material is more valuable? Thanks.





RE: Stainless Steel vs. Zinc Alloy for Durability and Heavy Duty?
Some of the alloys are fairly strong, but nothing like a stainless steel.
I really doubt that it is stainless.
There is a wide range of die cast alloys.
Castability, density, strength, and appearance are all a function of the alloy and process selected.
While it might be nice to make the tool in stainless, it may be too difficult and the price may be far too high.
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Plymouth Tube
RE: Stainless Steel vs. Zinc Alloy for Durability and Heavy Duty?
Here is a garlic press from Ikea that uses stainless steel handles and zinc castings for the ram and holder.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/0008916...
Here is another one with both stainless and zinc components:
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/oxo-steel-garlic-pre...
This high-end one uses all stainless construction:
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/rosle-garl...
And one more that is all zinc:
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/oxo-garlic...
RE: Stainless Steel vs. Zinc Alloy for Durability and Heavy Duty?
Looking at the garlic press designs you linked, it was interesting to see how much more emphasis designers of consumer products seem to place on aesthetics versus performance. Being a mechanical design engineer I thought the Rosle design, with its all stainless steel construction and compound linkage, was far superior to the other three. But unlike the other three designs, it did not appear that any special effort was made with the Rosle press to make it aesthetically appealing.
I don't do any serious cooking, but if I did I would look at a garlic press the same way as the tools I use in my workshop. Always buy the best tool available regardless of price. I have never regretted paying extra for a very high quality tool that works well. It always gives me a feeling of satisfaction when I use a well designed high-quality tool, and it usually aggravates me when I use a cheap, poorly designed tool.
If I were looking to purchase a garlic press, I would gladly pay the extra $25 for the Rosle press. So to answer the question in the OP, in my opinion stainless steel offers a better value.
Interesting topic.
Terry
RE: Stainless Steel vs. Zinc Alloy for Durability and Heavy Duty?
So you say that knowing that certain product is made of zinc is not enough because factors like castability, density and strength must be considered? Is this why situations where 2 identical looking items have same zinc alloy but differ in quality? Well that explains discrepancy between manufacturing batches resulting in low-quality or increased product failures.
Thanks! So referencing my reply to @EdStainless, I was wrong thinking quality of material is what makes or breaks product and actually it is how it is designed?
Let's talk about garlic presses. They have one pivot point - rivet which absorbs all the leverage in order for ram to squeeze garlic:
According to your statement, whether "part 1" is made of zinc or stainless steel does not matter because what matters is design?
By the way, here is a picture of garlic press I have and I think it is fully made of zinc. Am I right?
Of course!
Sadly, today image is everything. Beats headphones is a good validation.
Me too, you know? There's a big difference when philips drillbit is made of chrome vanadium versus ... I don't know that material but after a week you will see your drillbit's edges getting bent. Screwdriver that had this one I have bought for $1
Nice to hear this topic is interesting. By the way, I assume you guys are familiar with wine bottle stoppers? There are those that have crystal form made of "K9 Crystal material" (optical borocilicate glass I think) decoration, then there are those that have glass material (imitated Murano glass). I would appreciate if you could tell me the name of forum here where I could discuss about this.
Thanks in advance!
RE: Stainless Steel vs. Zinc Alloy for Durability and Heavy Duty?
http://i00.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/1413611474_3/Ho...
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RE: Stainless Steel vs. Zinc Alloy for Durability and Heavy Duty?
Your press does appear to be all zinc.
Regarding your questions about K9 Crystal and Murano glass, try forum326: Ceramic engineering or forum329: Glass engineering.
RE: Stainless Steel vs. Zinc Alloy for Durability and Heavy Duty?
I have tried several of these press, but none close to the traditional mortar and pestle. The aroma and flavour is retained with no metal contamination.
http://mideastfood.about.com/od/glossary/g/mortarp...
I'm just one step away from being rich, all I need now is money.
( read somewhere on the internet)
RE: Stainless Steel vs. Zinc Alloy for Durability and Heavy Duty?
Hi. This is wooden mortar and pestle you provided link for. Is wooden better than ceramic?
RE: Stainless Steel vs. Zinc Alloy for Durability and Heavy Duty?
Maui
RE: Stainless Steel vs. Zinc Alloy for Durability and Heavy Duty?
I use my garlic press for fresh ginger, zinc alloy with stainless trim, rubberized handles. I'm not much for aesthetics. As far as hand tools go, usually the heavier the better.
Never liked the mortar and pestle for wet ingredients, but I can see that working well.
RE: Stainless Steel vs. Zinc Alloy for Durability and Heavy Duty?