Good point! DH recommends taking a magnet with you when you want to buy stainless steel pins. The more magnetic they are, the more iron they contain, an the more likely they will be to rust. A "low grade" stainless steel will indeed rust more quickly than a 300 series (makes it sound like I know what I'm talking about, doesn't it? ) :-) , which has less iron in it. Liz from Humbug