I'm reminded of an interview with a famous knife maker. He said that he went through a phase where he made 'museum quality' knives with exotic woods and exacting finishes. Pretty things that were functional enough but destine for high-end collectors and to stay under glass unused.

He said it dawned on him that knives were tools and that he was a toolmaker. That a tool that sits under glass is wasted. The greatest compliment would be that his knives get used and used up doing real work. He told of an encounter with a rancher. The man showed up with a knife he made a long time ago. He could tell it had been used but not abused. It had been well used and resharpened as needed. Over time the blade had been sharpened down to a fraction of its original size.

The rancher had been a little sheepish. Somewhat ashamed that what so many had considered a museum quality knife from a famous knife maker had been put through the wringer. He wanted to know if he could get another one. It was his favorite knife. Instead of being put out that the knife had been used up the knife maker felt complimented. He kept that worn out knife and replaced it with another for free.

After that the knife maker switched his production away from exotic steels and fancy materials to purely practical ones. His knives are at least, if not more, practical but he doesn't sell as many to collectors. More of his knives get used. As they should be.

The primary purpose of a knife is to cut. Everything else is secondary. A knife that doesn't cut is a tent stake.

If a knife does the job you want it to do it is, by definition, a 'good' knife. Doesn't matter if it is a $2000 dollar masterpiece or a $10 unit made in China you got at a discount store. If it works it is 'good'.

The general quality of steel and manufacturing has, and is, improving. Twenty years ago a $10 knife was a glorified tent stake. I recently used a $10 discount store model that was pretty good. Sliced through a mess of corrugated cardboard, notoriously abrasive to blades, it held an edge but wasn't brittle. While it wouldn't be my first choice as my one and only blade you would have to be pretty inept not to be able to get a good amount of useful work out of it. Our ancestors did much more with much less.

There are limits to how many knives a person needs and can practically carry. Three or four is about the practical limit even far from civilization. On the streets a single moderately sized folder or combination tool is quite enough.

For camping a fixed blade with a 5" or 6" blade, a folder, SAK or combination tool and a second, smaller but very sharp, folder in your first-aid kit are IMO about all anyone needs. Maybe add a good quality machete, better for softwood and undergrowth, or an ax, better for hardwood and larger timber, if you feel the need to fight the vegetation.

I'm not a collector. I might have a dozen or more knives of various description. Mostly the number grew as I found ones that served my purposes better and older ones got tired. For me knives are just tools. They just have to cut.

If you want to collect knives that is okay by me. Everyone needs a hobby. But I don't consider collecting knives, particularly collecting museum pieces, as any advantage for survival.