Since stainless steel contains chromium for hardness why one or the other?
The chromium content in a low strength soft stainless pin is there to increase the corrosion resistance, not to increase the material hardness or strength. Stainless pins are quite soft compared to the surface hardness of a hard chrome plated steel pin.
Roger uses the term "hard chrome" and that's the salient point.
I don't know the metallurgical reasons but the point is that not all chrome plating is the same.
Decorative chrome plating is not very hard at all and can easily be scratched whereas hard chrome plating is a specialised engineering process with the specific intent to leave a very wear resistant surface.
The Chromium in Stainless Steel is in relatively small proportions and is to provide corrosion resistance not wear resistance.
However, regardless of the metallurgical reasons, I think the overwhelming conclusion on TM is that Hard Chrome Pins outlast Stainless Steel Pins by a very large order of magnitude.
