That's my big gripe with the custom knife business today they make some nice stuff but they charge prices that are astronomical. I once showed a famous knife smith one of my wootz katars that I paid only $150-200 he said it was nice and if I wanted one made by him it would cost $2,000

So why buy a copy when you can have the real deal for much less

People just get caught up in the hype that's my opinion.
Lew