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Fastener Head Markings Decoded

SAE J429 Grade 5The lines on the head of a bolt indicate its grade. SAE J429 (Society of Automotive Engineers) bolts have radial lines, whereas ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) uses a combination of letters and numbers to indicate the grade. Three radial lines will indicate an SAE grade 5 fastener, while six radial lines will indicate an SAE grade 8 fastener. These are the most common grades, but there are others. Our Fastener Identification Markings Chart has a complete list of bolt grades with accompanying head markings.

103 thoughts on “Fastener Head Markings Decoded”

  1. I have some screws with a “Star of David” mark on the top of the head, (2 equilateral triangles superimposed). Which company makes those?

  2. I have a 3/8 nc bolt wilt the marking that looks like a H beam with the letters B and S on each side of it.Can any one ID it.
    Thanks Mike

  3. It is the first time I heard about these matters. I am not really keen on these head markings. But I am glad to have known about them.

  4. We recently received HHCS with “SJ” in addition to the normal three, grade 5 hash marks.

    What does the “SJ” mean? Is it manufacturer or a foreign source material standard?

    Regards,
    Jess

    1. @Jess Elliott – That sounds like a manufacturer’s head stamp. For example, our grade 5 bolts look like the image above.

      The US Patent and Trademark Office has a long list of registered manufacturer head insignia. You might take a look at it and see if any of them match the markings on your bolt.

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