The more this change the more they stay the same. In every age there were renowned smiths with a gift. These smiths new how to bring out the best in the metal with the available technology. In our age this happens to be Jerry Busse. He has the gift of bringing out the best in the metal based on current technology. It's probably safe to say that as things stand now the metals produced are of a finer and more consistent quality then anything previously available in known history. Couple this with Jerry's gift and yes I will argue that Jerry's knives are indeed the best all around knives that have ever been produced.