Marcie wrote: "Aren't most high-quality (modern) stainless pins nickel-coated to inhibit rusting?"
Tim Parker sells an extensive range of pins including yellow brass, stainless steel, nickel plated steel and nickel plated brass. The nickel plated steel won't be stainless steel (austenitic) which resists rusting so there's no need to plate it, it will just be steel (ferric) which will rust easily unless plated. In their bought state stainless steel pins will have a fine oxide coating (but not iron oxide/rust) which is why they are less rust resistant when the surface is scratched and this fine coating is removed. It was always difficut to weld steel until it was realised that this coating was present and could be removed. It's difficult to compare prices because of the different lengths and thicknesses of the pins, but in the last price list I had from Tim, a box of 100 grams of: 26 mm x 0.53 mm stainless steel is 7 pounds 50 and yellow brass 5 pounds 50 26 mm x 0.65 mm yellow brass 4 pounds 25, nickel plated brass 4 pounds 50 17 mm x .45 mm yellow brass and nickel plated brass are both 6 pounds 65 26 mm x .53 mm stainless steel 7 pounds 50, 26 mm x 0.65 mm nickel plated brass 4 pounds 50 30 mm x 0.60 mm and 34 mm x 0.60 nickel plated steel are both 4 pounds 50 Overall, stainless steel seems to be the most expensive, but the more difficult a particular popular pin is to get hold of the more expensive it will become. For rust to occur on steel, there has to be moisture and oxygen present (most people did the iron nail in the test tube experiment to find the conditions necessary for rusting at school), so I keep all my pins, whether stuck in pin cushins or not, in a shoe box with several small sachets of silica gel which are dried and replaced frequently. Whatever type of pin, they're too expensive not to take care of them, not to mention that some sizes are becoming difficult to get hold of so I want to preserve what I have. Jean in Poole - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
