Carbon steel is softer - easier to make (and keep) an edge on it, but prone to rust if not kept properly.
Stainless is tough but low maintenance.
About 25 years ago all carving knives were carbon, and they were SHARP. Now its all stainless steel (thanks to the dishwasher) and you need to keep sharpening stainless knives before every roast to get a decent edge. Horses for courses...
Handle size is probably more important than blade size - you can get wooden banana shape, straight wood, soft feel banana and even leather wrapped (like brickies trowels and hammers).
See here for more;
https://www.carobyn.com/tr_product_list.asp?subGroupID=8
The different handles are all interchangable - you can buy a spare handle and then fit onto a 3" x 8" midget trowel (get help to hold midget still while you trowel him) to or a 24" x 5" blue steel pool trowel.
While we're on it - gold steel is (I'm assured by the manufacturer) just a heat treated coating, and not that different to plain stainless.