Yup, there are different types of SS. All are alloys of chromium, nickel, some have manganese. They are classified into three types: 400 series martensitic, 400 series ferritic and 300 series austenitic. Martensitic types are hardenable having enough carbon to harden by quenching and others don't have much carbon and are not hardenable in the normal sense. The austenitic types "work" harden quite readily. SS does not automatically infer hardness but it could certainly be harder than barrel steel depending on how it was heat treated in manufacture. That may be more information than most readers would be interested in.:-)
