@MileHigh
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Would stainless steel still have the ductile properties that people like in steel wheels?
No. Stainless steel is tougher, but does not necessarily keep shape as well.
And stainless steel is in fact not really stainless. I can rust as well.
If you put a chip of normal steel on a stainless steel surface, the chip will kind of contaminate the stainless steel and thus make it rust. The reason is that stainless steel develops a kind of a coating which protects the steel. This coating can be damaged for various reasons.
How does this 'coating' work?
Stainless steel contains a relatively high proportion of chromium. Since oxygen reacts much faster with chromium than with the rest of the material, chromium dioxide is formed. And this layer protects the stainless steel and thus prevents oxidation with the iron content. If this layer is now damaged, the protection is breached. And that is precisely the reason why parts that are exposed to increased, mechanical environmental influences rust despite being rust-free. Rims, for example.
So although stainless steel is highly resistant to rust, it is not invulnerable. So you really have to care for the rims and thus even stainless rims need maintenance, otherwise you'll have a similarly ugly look like ordinary steel rims after a while.
And stainless rims cost a fortune (and weigh a bit more).
...
Btw: It is the chromium dioxide coating that is responsible for the fact that stainless knives are never as sharp as knifes made of carbon steel. The coating kind of smoothes the knife edge just like a varnish would.
For that reason, my best knives are all made of carbon steel. I protect them with Ballistol. Some
KaBars, my trusty
Glock M78, and others. Most importantly my smaller
kitchen knifes, they are sharp like hell. They cut soft tomatoes by just sliding them over their surface with zero pressure.
Absolutely impossible with stainless blades.
But that's another story.
