I've personally owned dozens of Benchmade & Spyderco knives, & I'm now proud to own 4 Ferrum Forge knives (as well as many other midtech & full custom knives). I can say without hesitation that there is no comparing the quality. Ferrum Forge pieces are vastly superior to any of factory knives I've ever carried. As to whether that difference is worth the obvious price increase, well, that's something that each of us must decide for ourselves. It's a personal choice, plain & simple.