ha, i didn't mean it badly. OCD doesn't seem to be a stranger in these parts, and it's the basis of my particular DNA. I'm one of those that is anxious, just thought you might be too.
I am a sweat machine, born in the snow but currently in the deep south. I sweat the second I get out of the shower here, even through winter. anything I keep in my pocket or on my belt needs to be maintained heavily or it seems to corrode. I stain the stainless. I may well have been the basis for Linus, or Ridley Scott's acidic alien blood. So i am a "model" concerned user.
Though I only just got my first Carothers user, I have some Survive! knives that have undergone Nathan's heat treats (*** they were pre-Delta) and I have been able to stain them in my abuse. but like he said, it's never interfered with function, and that has been under the worst situations and sustained abuse in sweat, salt and wet gear. no flakes of rust or anything like that. it doesnt seem to penetrate on optimized 3v, it's only ever been surface stains. the worst has been a knife stowed in my pack with sweaty clothes for a week of relentless rain and heat, so nothing could dry out. I didn't have time to clean my kit when I got back, and it sat for a couple weeks in the basement before I could unpack. I saw the rust line around the edges of the scales where the salt had dried, but you wouldn't know it if you saw that knife today. Per one of the threads I mentioned, I picked up some Boelube spray and even I havent seen a dimple since.
Nathans scales are machined so precisely, I don't perceive much penetration would be possible under most daily use conditions, short of something like the gentleman in the post i linked earlier, that is leaving it in water and blood all day. I've never seen a thread in here from a tradesman with similar results.
Hope you like yours, and please post back with how it performs for you, and share the details on your usage parameters to help inform the next person.