I've been using White Lightning Chain Lube (and Buck's rebranded version of it) as well as Dupont's Teflon Chain lube exclusively for a number of years with no stains. For one thing, the liquid carrier evaporates almost immediately leaving only a small amount of dry lube in place. The liquid carrier is gone before you finish wiping off the excess and put the knife back in your pocket. The dry lube stays in place inside the knife and even if some of it did get out, it's white/colorless and doesn't stain. Since it's designed to be dry it works fine when dry and so drying out doesn't hurt it. Since it's a solid after the carrier evaporates, it can't get gummy. Since it's a solid, it stays in place even over very long periods and doesn't have to be refreshed on a regular basis.
It works better than any of the conventional lubricants (oils & greases) I have tried. I can't tell you how many that is, but I can tell you that I have 20-30 different types on hand right now and have given away or thrown away others after trying them.
In my experience, it's not just a little better than conventional lubricants, it is, by far, the best option for lubricating knives. The only downside to it is that applying it can be a little bit messy since the liquid carrier is very thin. It runs everywhere when you apply it--which is good since it penetrates everywhere you want the lube to go but it also means that you will want to wipe things down after application to remove most of the dry lube residue from external surfaces. Not a big deal, especially since you probably won't have to reapply it for many months. In fact, you really don't need to reapply it unless you have to aggressively clean your knife--like dunking it in solvent or washing it with a water/detergent mix.
