So I'll throw the question out to all of you -- If you could only take one Randall with you in the woods for three months, and you needed this knife for your survival, would you take a pickled carbon blade or stainless?
For just three months and for strictly a survival situation, I honestly don't think it would really matter since a rusty blade will work as well as a shiny one. What MIGHT matter is how easily the blade can be sharpened in the event you lose or don't have with you a decent sharpener. If I had to use a river stone or my boot for a strop or some such thing, I'd rather have carbon.
I've heard that carbon is tougher and/or less brittle, but I don't have any personal experience with that. If it's true about carbon, then in a survival situation I'd rather have a tough rusty blade than a shiny broken one.
You didn't ask about handles, but I think that handle material is a greater variable than steel. I would have complete confidence in carbon or stainless steel, but I'm not so sure about stag or wood versus micarta for toughness.