"-less" means "less than"? Or "lacking"?

[David Bowie]

From:    Wilson Gray <wilson.gray at RCN.COM>
>> somebody else wrote:

>>> I recently bought "stainless steel" forks and knives from Crate
>>> and Barrel. The product description (included inside the box, not
>>> posted outside) read "Will It Stain? Yes. The name says it all.
>>> It's stain-less steel, not stain-free steel! Nevertheless, it
>>> will stain much less than other steels: silver, bronze, etc. With
>>> proper care, staining can be minimized or eliminated."

> To me, this looks like a scam. In all my born days, which are
> uncomfortably close to seventy, I've never known a single instance in
> which stainless steel has become stained. This is also the
> experience of my 94-year-old mother. It's probably not impossible to
> stain stainless steel, but ordinary kitchen use won't stain it. I'd
> return that junk to C&B and, after I'd gotten my money back or
> received a credit ["received a credit" - is that right or should it
> be "received credit" or another construction?] suggest to them that
> they no longer deal with that company.

It depends, actually, on what you're calling a "stain". Stainless steel
can certainly discolor (it gets a rainbow-ish surface pattern if it's
used over very high heat, such as a reasonably powerful stovetop burner
on high, for a length of time), and if they'd had people complaining
about their stainless steel "staining", it makes sense to deal with it
that way.

This seems particularly likely to me given the "it will stain much less
than other steels: silver, bronze, etc." (BTW, was there *really* a
colon in there, such that silver and bronze are types of steel?) Silver
and bronze don't generally stain as much as they develop a surface
discoloration, whether one wishes to call it a patina, tarnish,
oxidation, or rust.

And speaking of rust, stainless steel rusts very readily in the presence
of ordinary table salt. If rust is viewed as a "stain", that's another
reason for the manufacturer to include the disclaimer.

--
David Bowie                                         http://pmpkn.net/lx
     Jeanne's Two Laws of Chocolate: If there is no chocolate in the
     house, there is too little; some must be purchased. If there is
     chocolate in the house, there is too much; it must be consumed.