Stainless steel is an alloy and while it contains nickel, it will also contain other metals. Actually, chromium is the major metal added to the iron.

When nickel is added, for instance, the austenite structure of iron is stabilized. This crystal structure makes such steels virtually non-magnetic and less brittle at low temperatures.

In fact, there are multiple grades of stainless steel, and each of them varies in what various metals are present in small amounts.

View the original article here