The friction stress resulting from alloying elements in industrial alloys is an important strengthening mechanism. Since the preparation of single crystal from industrial material is difficult, no direct measurement of this quantity has been reported in literature. In this paper we present a new experimental method for the measurement of the Critical Resolved Shear Stress (CRSS) of single crystals cut from individual grains. It is shown that the size of the single crystal must be large enough to avoid size effects. Using transmission electron microscopy the measurement of the dislocation density allows for the decomposition of the CRSS into forest hardening and friction components. The friction stress is found to be the principal component of the materials strength. ► EBSD, MET and compression of micropillars are used to determine the micro-mechanical response. ► We present a method of measurement of the CRSS S inside individual grains of a polycrystal. ► The CRSS of a 316L-type stainless steel is decomposed into an alloy friction and forest strength. ► The alloys friction in 316L stainless steel is found much larger than forest strength..