I am not over the sticker shock either, but here are some ideas:
The cool thing about a custom is that you know a master craftsman made it, not a faceless production line. What appeals to me about this is that I can call *that person* at any time if something comes up on the knife. A custom knife is a lifetime purchase. You have them make what you want, and you have that person repair it if it breaks. Aside from the desire to own another knife, you should never really need another knife for the rest of your life, unless your needs change.
Also, with a true custom, you can get EXACTLY what you want. A production piece is a compromise; they make it ahead of time, and you either buy their model and deal with it, or buy something else. To me, a true custom maker makes me what *I* want, usually a variation of their original idea, redesigned to fit my needs.
Also, customs tend to come out more well made, because the maker's reputation is on the line, and he takes that extra time. Furthermore, customs tend to be made much beefier than production pieces. When you hold them side by side, you will see a marked difference. Are they worth twice as much? Only if you have the money. But, there are some definite advantages to customs, especially the ones that are made to YOUR specifications, like Ernest Mayer over at Black Cloud knives does: he makes whatever you want, with his professional input, rather than talking you into buying his standard model because he doesn't like your design (which is what many "custom" makers do, in which case I would almost have to call them "benchmade" or "low volume production" pieces, but "custom" to me means that it is made to MY preferrences FOR ME, within the limitations of the maker's style.). When you get into designing exactly what you want for your purpose, the price for a custom made knife is well worth it, because everything else just doesn't do exactly what you want it to.
JMHO,
thaddeus
