In Ken Warner's great 1976 book, "The Practical Book of Knives"
he points out that although we love to discuss (argue?) steels, shapes, etc., the knives made today, even the cheap ones, are of far better quality than the ones the mountain men used to roam the West.

In the middle of this picture is a Schrade Uncle Henry that served as my work desk knife for about a quarter-century before I retired. It's flanked by a Case that I keep in the pen/ruler/junk box on my computer desk, and the world's best pocket knife for me, a Swiss Army knife with scissors.