I was really bent out of shape about the first Emerson I bought, long story... But the A100 has really grown on my alot. They can be had for cheap enough, easy to sharpen, I dunno. It even looks good scratched up a bit. It has spent several months in my pocket and its just part of my day to day. No single knife was in my pocket for as many years as my Chris Reeve but it wasn't that much better than my Emerson and cost 3 times more. Oh, and harder to sharpen.