As much as I prefer to view myself as placing practicality first, I'm not sure that is strictly true. I don't buy any folding knife over $200 because I can't justify it to myself. However, I can easily justify upselling myself in the sub-$200 zone if I can detect a real improvement in the qualities I personally value.
Case in point. Five years ago I bought a Rat 1 folder to check it out. It is a fantastic knife for the money. The blade shape, ergos, lock - all very solid and practical. I figured it would be my work EDC (house carpentry). However, my PM2 kept kicking it out of my pocket. Why? I preferred the lighter weight, the better edgeholding, the fine pointy tip, the opening method (hole vs stud) and the compression lock. The Rat got demoted to truck knife status and almost never gets used. About a year later the PM2 was replaced by another knife - a blue M390 PM2. Again I figured the first-run black one from 2010 would stay my work knife and the blue saved for leisure. Nope. Spyderco had improved the compression lock on the PM2 after the first run, moving the lock tab forward in the cutout. This bit of CQI made the blue one so much nicer to unlock that I always wanted to carry it instead of my black one. Plus I love blue. So I sold the black one to a friend and carry the blue one to this day when I work. Is the steel better than the S30V I had before? I think so, but in all honesty, the improved lock and the sweet color sealed the deal and I would still prefer the blue one if the steels were reversed. I do know that the S30V was way better at holding a working edge than the AUS8 on my Rat 1.
Improvements I can feel, these are worth real money. Aesthetics? Yes, that, too, but only so far. Art knives are a real thing, but not my thing. What I enjoy on these forums is learning from a diverse crowd who all like knives in their own way. And finally, I agree that Victorinox makes incredibly high quality pocket knives for a modest cost. I carry one in back pocket every day.
