Hexagons constitute a suitable starting format for stainless-steel parts with hexagonal symmetry, e.g. fasteners. Cold-drawn hexagons are available from stock in the austenitic grades 1.4404, which combines excellent corrosion resistance with ease of welding, and 1.4305, which is very easy to machine. Starting material for cold drawing to a hexagonal format is a hot-rolled, annealed and pickled round bar. Small, shallow surface defects can remain. Drawn hexagons have normally a tolerance h11 as defined in ISO 286-2. This is a zero-minus tolerance which means that the dimension is slightly less than nominal.