Still quality, because all the factory and tooling is the same. I have a fancy older one, I think, and a plain newer one (Both XLs, the only Espada worth talking about lol). The fancy one is intrinsically higher quality. The action is better, completely smooth, whereas while still good on the regular AUS10a, you can sort of feel it sliding against semi-course G10. The S35VN blade is thicker, 4mm instead of 3.7 on the regular, and the fancy one weighs a straight pound, the normal is 14.8. Fancy one is also slightly thicker to grip being framed with aluminum, too. It is really nice.