# non-ferous straight pins **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 9, 2015, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-ferous-straight-pins/714591 "2015-03-09T12:14:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-ferous-straight-pins/714591/1 "2015-03-09T12:14:25Z")
Google has failed me. My MIL gave me all of her sewing stuff when we got married. This included a box of striaght pins and a pin cusion. Ove the years I’ve lost a few but, I’ve been in the habit of dragging a magnet around the room if I know I’ve dropped any. Afew days ago the box crashed on the floor. I got out my trusty magnet. It picked up about 3/4 of them, but there werw many that seened to be non-ferous. They completely ignored the magnet. My WAG is that during WWII the steel that was used to make straight pins was diverted to the war effort, but what could they be made from? I couldn’t find anything on Google. Just having the word “Straight” gave we sites that scared me. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-ferous-straight-pins/714591/2 "2015-03-09T12:23:09Z")
Could they be stainless steel? Although you’d think the steel would go to the war effort, too. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-ferous-straight-pins/714591/3 "2015-03-09T12:45:22Z")
My wife tells me that she has some brass pins for use in situations where the pin might stay in place for a long time (pinning up curtains was one thought). They are still available [here for example](http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk/hemline-brass-dress-making-pins-26-mm/566972-1000) ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-ferous-straight-pins/714591/4 "2015-03-09T12:57:42Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > Could they be stainless steel? Although you’d think the steel would go to the war effort, too. Yeah, my money would be on some non-magnetic alloy of steel. Even if they were made during the war, my impression is that other likely candidates (copper, aluminum, tin, and their alloys) were in even shorter supply than steel was at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-ferous-straight-pins/714591/5 "2015-03-09T13:08:05Z")
I would guess they are nickel. ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Medlo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hi\_Medlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Medlo)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-ferous-straight-pins/714591/6 "2015-03-09T13:16:27Z")
Most of my wife’s sewing pins used to be plated brass. This was a problem for me because I used pins in building model airplanes and the brass ones bent much easier. Maybe she bought the brass ones to keep me from swiping them? ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-ferous-straight-pins/714591/7 "2015-03-10T00:23:51Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > I would guess they are nickel. Should also be magnetic then. ---
**Author:** ![Nefario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/59ef9b/32.png) [@Nefario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefario)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-ferous-straight-pins/714591/8 "2015-03-10T00:48:13Z")
Small pieces of steel CAN act nonmagnetic if they are too thin to interact with the magnetic lines of force. I doubt if there are stainless steel pins - stainless can’t be sharpened as well and cannot be heat treated for strength. I suggest a stronger magnet or try different orientations over the pile of pins. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-ferous-straight-pins/714591/9 "2015-03-10T00:59:24Z")
[Stainless steel](http://www.amazon.com/Dressmaker-Pins-Prym-Dritz-Pack/dp/B008024J0W) is a common metal for sewing pins. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-ferous-straight-pins/714591/10 "2015-03-12T23:29:33Z")
When I married my husband, his mother gave me her sewing machine and much of her sewing supplies, including an Altoids box of straight pins. Straight pins, as long as they remain straight, don’t wear out. They’ve been in my sewing room for 15 years. No telling how long they were in her’s. Yesterday, I dropped a few on the floor. I got out my trusty very strong magnet to pick them up. About a dozen of them wouldn’t play. They seem to be non-ferrous. They don’t look any different, except the heads are shaped a little different. They don’t bend any easier than the others. They’re shiny like the others. So, why would they exist? Could they be from during WWII? What metal would they be made from? I tried Google, but no luck. Thanks, in advance. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-ferous-straight-pins/714591/11 "2015-03-12T23:48:07Z")
Stainless. Some stainless steels are not magnetic, some are. And I did find a google reference: [http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3830/a-pin-for-every-purpose/page/all](http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/3830/a-pin-for-every-purpose/page/all) > [@](#): > > A pin’s content is important, especially if you are allergic to certain metals. There are six types: stainless steel, nickel-plated steel, nickel-plated brass, brass, and chrome-plated steel, which is the strongest option. If you aren’t sure of the metal, test it with a magnet; stainless steel and brass pins won’t cling. ETA: Copper was in shorter supply than steel during WWII. Hence the 1943 zinc coated steel pennies. If they manufactured pins during WWII, they would probably have been steel rather than brass. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-ferous-straight-pins/714591/12 "2015-03-13T00:21:07Z")
Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-ferous-straight-pins/714591/13 "2015-03-13T00:52:24Z")
You asked this same question a [few days ago](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=751253). ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-ferous-straight-pins/714591/14 "2015-03-13T01:44:49Z")
**Moderator Note** I have merged two threads on the same topic. This may make some of the responses a little jumbled.