I think it will be a struggle for him to get under 40 quid, one of his Bushtools is over a hundred, but he's better placed to comment than we are. Yes, he is a good bloke to deal with.
A couple of quid is what it would cost a manufacturer in mass production quantities. Yes you're going to struggle if you ask a maker here to make one for that. The last one I bought here (from rancidbadger) was just under thirty. But it's a lovely piece (and incidentally it's in daily use).
You have a point, and I think your motor car analogy is a good one. I probably wouldn't have said snobbery, but most people like to show off their stuff, especially if it was expensive.

It doesn't really bother me if people want to spend a lot of money on their hobbies although I do sometimes feel that it would be nice if they directed more of their discretionary outgoings to worth-while charities. It does bother me if people coming to the forum for the first time to take a look get the impression that you have to spend a fortune to be taken seriously and get started. I've said that sort of thing here in the past. After all, living off the land is essentially a totally cost-free pastime. That's what the ancients did in the stone age. They didn't have Goretex. Crucible powder steels didn't exist. Instead of a Vango they'd have a mango.