I hesitate to get too "knife geeky" but I'm one of those you-get-what-you-pay-for type guys for the most part. The Mora knives truly are a great deal- good steel, well heat treated and sharp OOtB. I can think of a handful of pretty good knives that are under $40 or so: CS Pendleton Mini Hunter, Becker BK11/13, most Moras and the SOG Field Pup. But even those superb value knives fall far short of the performance of, say, a Busse BAD or Game Warden or a Falknivven F1. While merely spending a lot doesn't guarentee you'll get a good one, moving up to superior steel in a knife made by folks that know how to use it (eg D2 from Knives of Alaska or Bob Dozier, INFI from Jerry Busse) then your odds get very good of getting a superior blade.

Of course, superior isn't always important. It may just mean longer edge retention or a bit of extra sharpness. This may be trivial or it may mean life and death, depending on the user and application. Certainly a stronger blade could make a big difference- a knife that shatters at the tang isn't going to be of much help when you need it.

I try to match the knife to the task. While I love Moras their rat-tail tang isn't all that robust. I've seen people baton with it but I consider that a bit beyond the limit of prudence and safety. Now I wouldn't hesitate to do this with my Fallkniven F1, Bark River Aurora or JK Handmades. I'll break before my Ontario SP8 does, I'll wager!

Still, the best survival knife is the knife you have on you when you're survivin'!