Blanket statements like this tend to make us talk past each other. I usually like a thinner edge, too, but not on a knife with this steel in this hardness for the use I intend. My 10V from Big Chris has the same hardness, a blade about the same size, but the blade is much thinner and the edge is 0.015. It's a really nice slicer that holds an edge forever, but the Gilson will out chop it easily.
For a brute of a knife, I wouldn't want M4 this hard, but that's not what I use this knife for. I use my Gilson as a general purpose camp/hiking knife that can process a little wood, if needed. And I wanted a knife that will hold an extremely sharp edge for as long as my outing requires. I don't want or need to resharpen it in the field.
The edge profile, blade profile, hardness, etc., all depend on what you need your knife to do. I would not want my 10V to have a .03-inch thick edge, and I wouldn't want an extremely hard steel blade that I sometimes need for light chopping, to have a 0.015 edge.
That Gilson is far more than just hard steel, it is a high-spec knife that is exceptionally well designed and built. The balance is perfect for what I want in that knife, and the handle fit, finish and materials, including the sheath, are all top drawer.
Sometimes, we need a knife to be very tough, so for that, I use Infi or 3V in my large choppers. The traditional steels can be good, also. They can be very tough and easy to resharpen. But with our modern sharpening equipment, I don't see a downside to the super steels, other than they may lack toughness for the required job.
