Sandwich sheets composed of stainless steel/aluminum/stainless steel were produced by roll cladding. In order to investigate the effect of the friction between roll and cladding sample, the lubrication condition of the roll surface was varied. Clad rolling without lubrication gave rise to a small increment of the normal strain of aluminum in the rolling direction. This experimental result was confirmed by FEM modeling. Through-thickness hardness gradients in the mid aluminum layer was successfully explained by variations of the strain state through thickness layers. FEM modeling implied that cladding without lubrication led to a large shear strain variation at the surface of aluminum layer.