Yeah, I'm glad that knife makers are stepping up the game. Although, I have to say that most knife purchasers I have met are something akin to most athletic shoe buyers I have met in that those purchasing the products are buying products with excellent utility that isn't being capitalized upon, so in the end the quality is mostly a selling point rather than a necessity. Don't think that I'm complaining though, just saying! I have never had an S30V blade, but I have one in 154CM, which is a lower grade of steel though similar, I believe. So far, almost no rust and I can't complain about the edge retention, especially as most of the tasks I use it for require only a utility edge rather than a razor edge.
Very true about the trend of over buying. I recently heard a marketing analyst for automotive companies say that people buy cars based on their function for the first $30,000 and anything over that amount makes a statement about how the person identitfies. His exact example was an F150. People are willing to spend up to $30k for the utility out of a pickup, but others will pay another $20K to get the harley davidson logo and hand stitched leather interiors, etc. Full Disclosure: I drive an F150 sans the harley badges. I've often heard the most effective survival tool is the one in your hand--meaning the extra bells and whistles mean nothing if it collects dust on a shelf. 154CM is a great, my Applegate-Fairbairn is made from that SS.