Okay, my point was not that it was inferior (subjectively speaking) to any of the other knives in the category specifically, but that it was by no means the BEST in the category either. Of course, people will always prefer what they prefer, and that is perfectly fine, but at the same time, that by no means is the same thing as what they prefer being the BEST option.
And again, I like Striders, and I'm not bashing them. I'm just saying that there are knives in the same price category that are objectively better at some tasks and for some purposes than a Strider. Yes, Striders are tough, but honestly most knives are tougher than people really give them credit for, trust me.
Also, you need to read carefully through what I said, because I did say that there are other knives out there made in small batches, much the same way as the Striders, that are of equal quality in many cases, and there are many people who much prefer them to a Strider for their own reasons and needs.
I have handled many knives, and Striders are great knives, but I wouldn't call them the BEST knives for around $500. That's all I'm trying to say. They might be one of the best (in fact, they probably are), but they are not definitively THE BEST, which was all I was trying to say.
And you're not really wrong about your analogy of the cars either. I wouldn't really disagree, but the big thing is that the Porsche would win in the race, while the Hellcat would arguably be more fun to actually drive. It all just depends on what is more important to an individual, because both vehicles are great in their own rights, and it's not like everyone will agree with one being better than the other.
The argument that "it's the best $500 knife there is. Period." is where I run into the issue here. Frankly, you're not supporting your argument with tangible evidence or numbers, but with feelings and subjective experiences that you have had. While those are great for saying that you love the knife and there is certainly nothing wrong with that at all, they are not good evidence for saying that the SMF is the best knife flat-out in it's price category.
And while you make a good point about which knife you are going to take with you and why, that is for one specific purpose. That doesn't mean the Strider is better than all of those other knives you own for every purpose you could ever have need for a knife. I have even more knives, ranging just as far as you do, but I also know that some of my knives are better than others for specific tasks that I might need to do.
Like I said, I'm just saying that blanket statements like "it's the best knife ever" are generally a bad idea and poorly-argued.
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