BTW, I'm of the second philosophy. When someone questions what they consider to be the exorbitant prices I've paid for some of my knives I ask them, "What's your life worth to you? Mine is worth enough to me that I'm willing to pay the price to get high quality tools to support it. If your life is only worth $5 to you, fine.... then get a $5 knife to support it."
I have every confidence in my $5 knives to be perfectly functional knives.
The equivalent expression among motorcyclists is "if you have a $50 dollar head, get a $50 dollar helmet."
This line of thinking is silly, whether about knives or helmets. At what point do you put a value on your life? There is no end, and to follow this line of reasoning, there is no knife (or helmet) worth consideration, because one's life is worth more than any pointy piece of steel or carbon fiber shell.
So, as usual,
everybody has to make a compromise. At least in the world of knives, I'd be willing to bet just about any knife Walmart sells, even if it isn't a good knife, will be a sufficient knife. If one's needs include opening car hoods, chopping bricks, etc, you may be justified in seeking more knife. But if you need a knife to cut stuff, it should be realized that it isn't a very high bar for a knife to pass. Literally, almost any sharpened piece of steel can do this job.
The funny thing is, China hasn't actually hurt the knife market, but expanded it. Places like Walmart have allowed the quality gap to lessen. The result is more products at lower prices. There's a much greater variety of knives available now than 30 years ago, in all range of prices and qualities. This is a good time to be a knife nut.
All those latent socialists hate competitive markets, even when everyone, even those they consider part of their collective, benefit from them.
