1) Low Thermal Conductivity of SS

Stainless steels are poor conductors of heat, and the thermal conductivity of all types of stainless steel falls off with increasing alloy, see table below.

Austenitic steels have the lowest thermal conductivity, while ferritic and martensitic steels have better conductivity.

Steel Grade	Thermal conductivity at 400 °C (W/m, K)
Carbon steel	35
420	26.5
444	26.5
304	20.0
316L	18.5
2205	24.0
904L	18.0

The low thermal conductivity means that, for a given machining operation, the cutting edge temperatures are higher in stainless steel than in carbon steel. This naturally imposes severe requirements on the high-temperature hardness of the cutting edge and on its ability to withstand high temperatures.

http://www.outokumpu.com/pages/Page____5764.aspx

2) http://hypertextbook.com/physics/thermal/conduction/

Thermal Conductivity for Selected Materials (~300 K except where otherwise indicated)

materials

k (W/m·K)

materials

k (W/m·K)

air, sea level

0.025

neoprene

0.15 - 0.45

air, 10,000 m

0.020

nickel

90.7

aluminum

237

particle board

0.15

asbestos

0.05 - 0.15

paper

0.04 - 0.09

asphalt

0.15 - 0.52

plaster

0.15 - 0.27

brass

(273 K)

120

platinum

71.6

brick

0.18

plutonium

6.74

bronze

(273 K)

110

plywood

0.11

carbon, diamond

895

polyester

0.05

carbon, graphite (∥)

1950

polystyrene foam

0.03 - 0.05

carbon, graphite (⊥)

5.7

polyurethane foam

0.02 - 0.03

carpet

0.03 - 0.08

sand

0.27

chromium

93.7

silica aerogel

0.026

concrete

0.05 - 1.50

silver

429

copper

401

soap powder

0.11

cotton

0.04

snow

(< 273 K)

0.16

feathers

0.034

steel, plain

(273 K)

45 - 65

fiberglas

0.035

steel, stainless

(273 K)

14

freon 12, liquid

0.0743

straw

0.05

freon 12, vapor

0.00958

teflon

0.25

felt

0.06

tin

66.6

glass

1.1 - 1.2

titanium

21.9

gold

317

tungsten

174

granite

2.2

uranium

27.6

helium gas

0.152

vacuum

0

helium I

(< 4.2 K)

0.0307

water, ice

(223 K)

2.8

helium II

(< 2.2 K)

~100,000?

water, ice

(273 K)

2.2

ice cream powder

0.05

water, liquid

(273 K)

0.561

iron

80.2

water, liquid

(373 K)

0.679

lead

35.3

water, vapor

(273 K)

0.016

limestone

1

water, vapor

(373 K)

0.025

marble

1.75

wood

0.09 - 0.14

mercury

8.34

wool

0.03 - 0.04

mica

0.26

zinc

116

mylar

0.0001 ???

zirconia

0.056 ???

3) http://www.engineersedge.com/manufacturing_menu.shtml