Its kinda funny that there are so many other blade companies (who do make quality products) but due to their marketing and other costs charge an arm and a leg for their knives. How many people here have said "bang for the buck"? It seems that this conversation has come up with my dad in other areas too. Why a Jeep? Always there and reliable. Why a black gun instead of the nickle plated sissy pistol? Freeze it, burry it in mud, or drop from a tree and hammer the ground with it and it will still fire. I'm relatively new to Beckers but can't imagine going to far away from them for these reasons. I've hammered on them and they laugh at me and ask "is that all you've got???". The customer service has been excellent from Kabar and for these reasons alone they are my go to.