I like them. They get a bad wrap because the owner is a douche bag. They hold up good and get really sharp.
+2. SRK's are in my top 5 favorite CS knives, and it's darn near bulletproof in San Mai steel. Even w/the premium steel, can still be found online for under $100.
Lynn Thompson is indeed by all accounts of those who've met him, arrogant, opinionated, and full of himself. But he does know knives, and more importantly for his company, he knows the knife business. IMO, the biggest reason "insiders" hate CS is because CS is, well, big
and markets aggressively.
I admittedly like CS knives overall and think most of their products are a great value, but the thing to remember is that you should judge the knives' quality on the knives' quality, not on anything else.