Originally Posted by
Slaninar
Then I stand corrected.
Is there compromising of spoke's steel "stainlessness" and/or material hardness?
Cutting spokes makes sense for exotic sizes/types, that can't be sourced, or are very expensive. For the price of a decent quality regular spoke, I doubt it would be cost effective to pay someone to cut the old ones. Correct me if I'm wrong there as well.
I think someone here posted a suggestion of a small shop that might stock a few spoke sizes and types, but then cut spokes as needed for emergency repairs to customer's bikes. So, when selling 1 or 2 spokes at a time, it might make sense to cut to size rather than keeping a huge inventory of odd sizes and shapes.
Shops may have troubles sourcing certain spokes such as lightweight 20" wheel spokes, so cutting may also be of benefit, although dealing with butting might be a pain.