I want to say one more thing to the original poster. I understand all too well the search for perfection in a knife, in many ways, it is the hunt for a perfectly made, very high quality object that attracted me to knives in the first place, there are knives out there that are truly about as perfectly made a thing as is humanly possible, with outstanding quality in every regard. But, they are not all perfect, as you know. Some companies are more consistant than others.
You have obviously been disappointed with some of the $100 or so production knives you have bought, which is why your M-Tech is so amazing to you, though I maintain that whyile the M-Tech may seem well made, the quality of its parts is substandard to say the least, but, maybe you're just not buying the right knives. For example, I have several Microtechs that cost as little as $85, that are amazingly good knives, and the cheapest one I have, cost me just $85, is a manual action Kestral made in 1999, which by the way I just received today, it's literally as perfect as a knife can be, it just oozes quality and precision, I cannot find a thing wrong and it, and it is made like and has the look and feel of a fine swiss watch. The F&F would give most customs a run for their money, and it cost me $85. Yes, that's more than $8, 10 times more, but it's 100 times as much knife, maybe 1000, can you even quantify the difference between the 2 knives?
I agree, CRKT makes a mediocre knife and has spotty QC, as does Buck IMO, I have found many flawed knives from both companies, but you might have better luck with other brands like Microtech, their relatively cheap manuals, or a Sebenza, yes, I know, even if you get lucky, it will cost you $275 or so, but my god, putting a Sebenza next to an M-Tech should be some sort of crime. You cannot even compare, yes, its a lot more money, but, if it's perfection you seek, spend a little more than the $100 or so you're spending on Buck SBTs and CRKT's, forego buying several $100 knives and get yourself a good Microtech or Sebenza, the odds are VERY good it will satisfy you, yes, they cost more, but quality always does.
I agree, Buck and CRKT should have more consistant QC, but the sad truth is, very few companies, or even custom makers have QC I'd call very consistant, in production knives, only Microtech, CRK and Extrema Ratio have struck me as companies where it is extremely unlikely to find a poorly made knife that makes it past QC.
Edited to add: I didn't realize I had posted 3 times in a row, sorry about that. 
