I certainly think that there are performance advantages of certain blade styles and grind types at certain types of activity. In the end, I can buy a walmart, craftsman or snap-on phillips screwdriver. They will (except the walmart one) for the most part be capable of unscrewing a screw. But if I were a mechanic, well I'd have a snap-on. If I really loved screwing around

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) I'd also buy myself a snap-on. But alas, I have a set of craftsmen screwdrivers, cause the damn walmart crap didn't last.
For knives - well I love playing with them. As already indicated, most of the slight performance enhancements would really be lost on somebody who just grabs a knife to cut something. When you take pleasure in make a fuzzy, or whittling or any kind cutting wood in general, then you grow to like those little performance gains with a great knife. A knife that feels good in the hand and cuts they way you like increases that pleasure. If you have to work with your tools I imagine you would feel the same way.
As for style, there certainly is an element to that. Hell - Bryan Andrews just created a pink girlie knife - he will probably sell those things by the boat load!! I think most of us have a certain aesthetic sense when it comes to knives. Lots of folks claim they won't buy a knife because of the coated blade - even when that coating is put there to improve corrosion resistance. Why on earth would somebody pay an extra $150 for the same model of knife because it has desert ironwood slabs - well because it is gorgeous. Truth is, from a pure function standpoint - wood handles would be an extinct thing in modern knives. But they exist in abundance and are found on the higher end models of many production and custom knives.