Welcome, tidespirit -- welcome to the Forums.
Please don't take offense, but your question makes it pretty obvious that you don't have a lot of experience with knives. I'd like to urge you to read the FAQs and any tutorials that resemble any interest you have. Also, the search function enables you to pull up older threads that may thoroughly discuss something in which you have an interest, and not only answer your present questions, but also make you aware of more questions and provide answers to them also.
When steel is stainless, please keep in mind that it means stain LESS. Any stainless steel can become corroded and rusty, just as the carbon steels can. I strongly suggest you read the FAQ on steel. It will help you realize that in many instances, carbon, or non-stainless steels, are much better than stainless steels in some areas or capacities.
Probably the most noticeable advantage that good carbon steels have over good stainless steels is that they are much easier to sharpen. And, they often take a better edge, and in many cases, hold it longer than a stainless steel might. Yes, they require more care, but regular use of Sentry Solutions TufCloth/TufGlide or other products like Militec will keep your carbon steel blades rust free.
I would also like to suggest to you that you go to the web knife seller site, Knife Center of the Internet. (Am having trouble leaving posts and then finding them gone when I return, so will try to edit this with the URL after I'm done with this post.) KC has one of the largest selections of knives of any place on the web. They have pictures of the vast majority, and often provide some of the stats about the knives. Also, at the top of the page you will see the word "Store". That is 1 Stop Knife Shop, the outfit that provides Blade Forums. They too have a wide selection, and usually do a better job of providing useful information and facts about knives than most other sites. Use the name brand functions on both, and I think at least KC has knife type searches, so you can better compare similar knives.
I also suggest that you use the Review Forum here. You can find archives for that too, I believe. Look up knives that you are interested in, and read what other forumites have to say about them. If you are interested in just what it takes to destroy a knife, run a search for posts by Cliff Stamp.
I guess maybe all I've done is suggest that you do a lot of reading. Well, I think that is the best way to learn the information you need/want the fastest. If you have a particular question about a knife, or a more general one, run a search first, and see if someone else hasn't already asked the same question. That'll keep the grumpy old-timers happy.
I think that you'll find that most forumites will be happy to help you. Many of them know an unbelievable amount of stuff about knives. They are absolutely amazing. I hope you enjoy yourself, and become a regular. A great deal can be learned here, a lot of fun is to be had, and friends are there to be made.
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Asi es la vida
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