See, this is where I would agree and disagree with you. Yes, the steels available today are better in many ways than 'granpas' even though those knifes still get passed down from generation to generation for a reason.

There are, however, several steels that are worth less than nothing and others that are not what they used to be as manufacturers change processes or ownership and quality.

Just last night I broke a Chinese knock off of a swiss army knife. The logo on the knife was very similar to the swiss version in an obvious intent to deceive. I simply tried to cut soft wood downward and the blade broke upward and no longer locked into any position. This was a gift and I hope the purchaser paid no more than $5 for it. One of the tools it came with was a phillips screwdriver. I tried using it, but it bent and dulled quickly. Cheap ass metal(steel).

A top end steel is 154CM, but the reality is it's manufacturing has been outsourced to China in many cases and the end result is the steel is no longer top grade due to inferior hardening processes. Unless it is American made it is safer to consider it low to mid range steel. There is more to steel than it's name, there is also the manufacturing/hardening process and the name can't tell you how it was hardened.

There remain many knife suppliers charging a premium for their 154CM blades even though they are at best, 420C (not even 440 series) blades. A true rip off.

I could go on, but in my opinion when one wants a blade for a purpose there are quality choices at all price points above cheap chinese knockoffs that offer a good value, but then there are the rip offs.

Buy a knife for the steel above all else. It is the steel that allows the knife to do what you want it to.