Thanks for the rundown on the Stainless Lugers. Info about them is not as hotly pursued as it might be, so I really appreciate the posts. Though it's 2nd hand from machinists, it is still good just to know about it.
Now I'm aware that the Stainless Lugers were made by 3 different "houses" here in the states, and the alleged differences in quality are better defined. (I had heard just the opposite from a dealer in Buffalo who claimed to have an earlier one that worked well, and a friend there who had a later one which, in this case was the "hunk of junk". )
Stainless alloys vary quite a bit in their content.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainle...tainless_steel This article may help, you may recognize the name used for the stainless by your Texas machinist friends. Don't know if I speak for all, but I'm still hungry for more info/research!