302 is a general-purpose austenitic chromium-nickel stainless steel and, historically, the original 18-8 grade that later gave rise to today's more common 304. Its composition sits between 301 and 304: more chromium and nickel than 301, which makes its austenite noticeably more stable and less prone to work hardening into martensite during cold forming, but a higher carbon ceiling than 304, which slightly reduces its resistance to sensitization during welding. In practice, 302 is close enough to 304 in both corrosion resistance and general behavior that the two are often treated as interchangeable outside of applications with specific carbon or welding requirements.

302 is widely used in stamped and formed parts, wire products, springs, screens, and mesh, where its slightly higher carbon content compared to 304 supports better spring temper properties in cold-drawn wire form. It is non-heat-treatable like all austenitic grades, gaining strength only through cold work, and it retains good ductility and corrosion resistance across a broad range of atmospheric and mild chemical environments. Its balanced alloy content makes it a dependable, moderately priced choice wherever 304-grade corrosion resistance is needed without the tighter carbon control of 304 or 304L.

302 machines much like 304, since the two alloys share the same fundamental austenitic structure and the same core challenges: gumminess, a tendency to smear instead of shear cleanly, and rapid work hardening wherever a tool rubs rather than cuts. Low thermal conductivity concentrates heat at the cutting edge instead of letting it escape into the chip, which accelerates crater and notch wear if speeds run too aggressive for the insert grade in use. Because 302 has somewhat more stable austenite than 301, its work-hardening response at the machine is a little less severe, but it is still well above what carbon or alloy steels exhibit.

Sharp, positive-rake tooling that shears the material cleanly rather than pushing and burnishing it is the standard defense against work hardening, paired with feed rates high enough to get under any hardened layer left by a previous pass. Built-up edge and chip welding are common on this alloy, so coatings and edge preparations suited to stainless, along with adequate coolant, help keep the cutting interface clean. Chip control matters as well — 302 tends to form long, stringy, continuous chips, so a chipbreaker geometry matched to stainless is generally more important here than raw cutting speed.