Hmmm -
I have been following this thread with interest... and seem to agree with everyone!
Yes there are "knife Snobs" and "Reverse Knife Snobs" out there and I too both like cheap knives as well as expensive ones..
Perhaps I am in an enviable situation as I get to play with lots of different knives in my role as a reviewer for a magazine.
I have generally found that the real "budget" knives tend to work OK but lack "visual appeal" and "ergonomic comfort" more than the more expensive models.
Some more expensive knives can have steels that have "preferable performance characteristics" for certain usages.
Some more expensive knives are overdressed, under-performing works of art (I have even seen a knife with a solid gold blade - I am guessing that it was never meant to be used for battening through Oak !), while some cheap knives have steel that I would not (personally speaking) want to use as I find that it dulls quicly but is hard to sharpen well.
I have many Mora Companions that I use to teach with, I use Mora and Hultafors blades to make new knives (re-handled and given leather sheathes) but currently I use a custom knife born of personal choice and experience....
Years ago I bought a Cold Steel SRK in Carbon V - I loathed the handle and sheath and found the blade too long to give good "tip control" so with minimal skill or tools I cut it down from the handle end and made a new Oak handle for it - which I made to my own design and which worked
for me.
So far so good.
I was not all that happy with the grind so with a bought jig I tried to re-shape it to a Convex ... the jig gave a lop sided convex - not awful but unsatisfying - and as I had no need for the swedge I tried to re shape it to a Drop Point ... with hand held stones ... and stabbed myself in the hand quite nastily!
I still used the knife - but it was never exactly as I wanted it....
At the Moot I had the Great Dave Budd regrind the blade to a High Saber grind with a Drop Point then at home I made it a nice simple leather sheath and it is pretty much the knife I wanted it to be when I bought it - a good all round "user" that has a steel that is capable of taking an excellent edge that is long lasting and easy to sharpen, a comfortable handle and a secure sheath - all of which I find good to look at as well as to use.
It was not a cheap knife when I bought it - but not too expensive either - but with the hours of work that have gone into turning it into my prized possession the knife (if you costed the man hours) would mean it is
extremely expensive!
I have no problem with this.
For me the journey has taught me an awful lot about steels, working designs and aesthetics - all of which count, in some way, to the pleasures of using a knife.
I think that we should be happy to use a knife that makes us happy and be happy for others to use a knife that makes them happy too