Stainless steel grade 301L has a low carbon is preferred for improved ductility, and another variant 301LN with higher nitrogen content has a higher work hardening rate than standard 301.

Grade 301L has the same chemical contents with grade 301. The difference is the content of C in 301 stainless steel is lower than 0.15 and content in 301L SS is lower 0.03. The next difference is content of N in 301 SS is lower 0.1 and in 301L SS is lower 0.2

Chemical contents
Fe
C	<0.03 %
Cr	16 - 18 %
Ni	6 - 8 %
Mn	< 2 %
Si	< 1 %
P	< 0.045 %
Si	< 0.03 %
N	<0.2