Well I'm going to throw my hat in the ring here because unfortunately and with all due respect there is a bit of dis-information that's been posted--
1) High carbon vs stainless is not the way this subject should be approached since there is high carbon stainless - the better definition should be non-stainless vs stainless, but even that is a misnomer since there is no such thing as stainless but rather stain resistant - the main difference is that so called stainless steels contain a fairly high quantity of chromium which helps prevent stains and in the right ratio can aid with edge retention
2)
the high carbon knives are easier and faster to get an edge on, but they won't hold and edge as long as a high quality Stainless Steel blade.....Stainless Steel is harder, and therefore much harder to sharpen, but will hold an edge much longer than carbon steel, there are still carbon knives used in my industry, they're used primarily for scooping out tenderloins, which take a knife that will bend easy and not break, stainless steel doesn't have this bending quality, although there are some very thin SS knives out there , but they still won't do what a thin carbon knife will.
Not exactly true - and with all due respect that's a simplistic and mis-leading answer since being made of stainless steel alone does not make a blade harder or harder to sharpen or allow it to be bent at a lesser degree. Hardness and subsequent difficulty in sharpening as well as the other properties such as flex has to do with the amount of carbon in the steel along with other alloying elements, but also how it is tempered and it's geometry.
For instance - Many stainless blades such as the Buck Knives are tempered at a Rockwell C scale of plus 60, which is above file hardness thus making them tough and generally with good edge holding abilities, but non-stainless blades made from such steels as 1095 or 52100 can also be tempered at that level as well and can be equally as hard and tough to sharpen - in fact the most commonly used stainless steels often have less carbon or the same amount of carbon them than many non-stainless steels. For instance two most commonly used stainless steels used for knife blades are 440B (the steel SG's Randall was most likely made from with an RC of 58-59) with a .75-.95 carbon content which is equivalent to non stainless simple steels such as 1075-1095 and 440C with .95-1.20 carbon which is equivalent to 1095 and 52100. All of these steels are capable of a hardeness of 60+ RC, but are often in the 58-59 RC range (about file hard) for a balance between hardness/edge retention and brittleness. How flexible a blade is, also has to do with how it is tempered and it's geometry and not whether it is stainless or non-stainless.
Bottom line - How hard and difficult a steel is to sharpen is far more dependent on the alloying elements plus carbon content and how it is heat treated than whether it is stainless or not.
IMO - when speaking of "period" knives stainless shouldn't be even considered since it's a type of steel not developed specifically for knife blades until the mid-20th Century....
My explanations are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg - steel and it's properties when discussing knife blades is a much more complicated subject dependent on several factors of which I noted only the bare basics...........
FWIW - I don't claim to be an expert, just a serious student of the subject and a maker of knives since 1961....
PS Jamie - I use Extra Virgon Olive Oil as well - while it may not be the "optimum" oil to use, if one takes care of their blades it works fine and it is also very traditional - in the past it was known as sweet oil and was considered to be the second best oil after sperm whale oil.....
Since I am a dyed in the wool traditionalist I also use it for oiling my period guns and as a patch lube for my muzzle loading rifles and other BP guns where applicable - that is when I can't get bear oil anyway.