[Cressi]

ESEE is good no doubt about and they are very popular but those are not cheap and some people just do not have that kind of money.

And the chances of breaking a properly heat treated and tempered hunk of quarter inch 1095 steel is slim unless you get a bad one in the bunch or you royally beat the crap out of it way beyond what a knife should be used for. So I trust my Schrade very much and if I had the ESEE I have no doubts in that knife as well and I would completely trust it too.

And you say you got the S&W HLS Tanto which I personally never had my hands on but anyways it is made by the same company as Schrade which is Taylor Brands. But I honestly didn't think they cared too much about the S&W side but maybe I am wrong all I know is Schrade is becoming there #1 seller especially from there 2015 releases.

That is true, and budget alternatives may be the only option.

Fair enough, I guess I work my knives a bit too hard...

I haven't much experience with Schrade, to be honest, but I'm sure they're just as good as they sound, and I should perhaps consider investing in one