I've become less critical of cheaper knives and more critical of the expensive ones.

A $25 Gerber will do well enough, and a $400 Chris Reeve is about $300 in trophy. My Busse's are the same way. Just the expensive brand I've come to love.

High value and quality, as Bors mentioned, are paramount for me. That's how I came to my favorite brands: Victorinox, Spyderco, Mora, and Himalayan Imports.

Scrap Yard, as a brand, is really upheld in my collection by two knives: the DFLE and to a lesser extent, the MPLE. If not for the DFLE, I probably would run to the RTAK or Trailmaster for best value bowie, and the yard would only attract me for the forum.