pros and cons of stainless steel and carbon steel swords
Carbon is what samurais added to their swords to make them super strong. The iron ore was cooked in coal for days; the coal adds the carbon. Too much carbon or too little carbon is a bad thing so it was a very important process. I'd have to go with a sword with carbon.
For display stainless is ok, no maintenance is required, for actual use carbon steel it the way to go, these blades will rust and need to be taken care of.
Well generally Stainless steel blades are machine made and are of a display quality.. so expect looks, but don't expect quality or functionality from one. From carbon steel, I'd say you'd be looking at swords for practitioners of a sword art, reenactment, and collector quality blades. Stainless Steel Pros: Good for short blades like kitchen knives, cheap, won't easily rust or corrode. Cons: Long blades like swords become increasingly brittle and can snap with light use, most lack actual tangs(part of the blade that keeps the blade in the handle.) and are just welded onto a wire that[if broken} will send the blade out like a missile when swung, these are cheap display quality only. Carbon Steel Pros: Are usually much stronger and of a higher quality than their stainless counterparts, are often handmade by professional sword-smiths, no two blades are alike, fully functional work of art. Cons: Requires responsible care and maintenance, will corrode and rust easier, can be much more expensive.
