I figure that my best FB knives now are ESEE's considering my knife use\interest\philosophy. I tend to, but not always, buy with outdoor use in mind. Am I really gaining much more in a knife by going from ESEE to Busse ? If I'm paying 3-4 times more for the knife, will I get a 3-4 times better knife ? I know about the Busse mystique and have read up on INFI, which sounds impressive. I'm asking here because we generally buy for practical outdoor utility, not status. But I will admit that my attraction is growing for Busse.
Your question has been answered pretty well. The consensus seems to be that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Just as a personal anecdote, I own two Busse knives and I have owned and used all of the ESEE knives. I gave away all of my ESEE knives except my 3, which I am keeping for sentimental reasons (it has been literally all over the world). They are good knives but I wasn't using them so I gave them to people who would. I am not a knife collector. I am more of a knife user. The only collectible knife I own and have not used is my Randall Airman. I bought it intending to use it but that was 5 years before I actually got it and my knife use patterns had changed by that time.
The two Busse knives that have worked best for me are the Badger and the Boss Jack. I've used both of those in some environments that some people might consider extreme. I have not had any performance issues with either of those knives. They are on the thinner side relative to a lot of the Busse offerings and that is probably why I like them. I do not currently use fixed blade knives in the 3-7 inch range as choppers. I use them more for things like cleaning game, processing food, making shavings and just general utility. I have rarely found the need to baton wood. Thus the thinner blade works a little better for me.
[video=youtube;iAXRCvGc8mw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAXRCvGc8mw[/video]
If I am remembering right, I owned both of my Busse knives before I even knew what an ESEE was. My favorite in the ESEE line is the 3. I used the heck out of that knife for 1.5 years in some pretty awful places. It never let me down.
My current favorite fixed blade in the 3-7 inch range is a BK-16. I switch knives not because there is something wrong with the one I was using before. I switch because variety is the spice of life, although I do like the handle on the BK-16 better than on any of the Busse or ESEE knives I've used.
To address a couple other things mentioned in this thread, yes the fan base of Busse, ESEE and Becker can be very devoted. I fully confess to being in the fan base of all three and a little bit nuts myself. I am friends with both Jeff Randall (ESEE) and Ethan Becker (Becker Knife and Tool.) I vouch for both of those guys. I have never met Mr. Busse, but the people who have seem to say nice things about him. Maybe that is one of the reasons why all three companies are doing so well.
In my experience, the Busse knives tend to
at least hold their value over time, but my knowledge of Busse only stretches back to the Badger. That aspect of the knives isn't really important to me. Again, I'm a user, not a collector. I've never sold a knife and probably never will. I do give knives away quite frequently, however.
Finally, I should say something I've learned about the whole grail knife thing. Your grail knife can only be designed and made by you and may change over time. Your patterns of knife use can and will change over time and what is ideal for you now might not be so great in half a dozen years. I learned this by designing and making my own machete from a lawnmower blade.
It is the best machete I have ever used up to this point in my life. It ought to be. I made it. I know that is circular reasoning, kinda like saying "I like things that I like", but trust me, there is something to be learned there.
There was a lot of discussion a while back about having a choil less option on some knives, and others that simply started out that way like the Muk and Sar 5. 
