Now dont take this the wrong way, because im not a pro or anything ive only been making damascus for about 8 months now but...
I dont know if you have made stainless or cable damascus before ( i havent yet either) but from what i have read and been told cable damascus is harder than straight laminates, and then if you add stainless to that it makes it even more challenging.
with that said i think you should keep going with what youve practiced and build a stack from flat stock. I use 1095 and 15n20 to make my billets.
as far as corrosion, many kitchen knives are made with high carbon steels so as long as you regularly maintenance your knife it should be fine.
The grind, you could hollow grind the edge i suppose, but you will have less drag on the cutting edge if you use a flat or convex grind making it much more user friendly.
well now that i have said that ask me how i really feel
Hope i could help
Good luck with whichever method you go for and please post pics of your progress i would love to see it