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Originally Posted by mross
The answer may depend on your definition of stainless steel. I book somewhere that said the blades made by Masamune had level of Chromium or Vandium, (I can't remember which and don't have any references handy) in them.
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IF Masamune blades had any chromium (which I doubt since the forging
of a Japanese sword is designed to remove impurities from the steel), it
would have been microscopic amounts and purely by accident since chromium
wasn't even known as an element or pure metal when Masamune worked.
Certainly not enough to give any "stainless" properties to his swords. Known
Masamune swords rust and have been repolished just like any other
Japanese sword.
Rich S
The Japanese Sword Index
http://www.geocities.com/alchemyst/nihonto.htm