I really appreciated your back-story. Wish we saw more of that storytelling here and all the various forums.
You wrote: "Several years ago, when the Sanrenmu knives began to be imported I bought a couple of their 710’s. One of the knife forums had mods and members who thought it was blasphemy to buy them since they were a copy of Chris Reeve’s knives. It mattered not that I was not going to buy a several hundred dollar knife in any case, they just almost banned me from the forum. None of that bothered me, and I like some of the Sanrenmu knives."
My Dad spent 43 years working in the same 3'-square space as a machinist with Bethlehem Steel (not counting his service on a PT boat in the Pacific theater of WW II.) For him, then me, any tool (used at work, used at home, used for recreation - guns, knives, ball gloves, etc.) was an ultra-valuable item. It should be researched, recommended, spot-on for the task expected of it, used carefully and only for its intended purpose, cleaned, maintained and stored well. I am holding a razor-sharp, perfectly functional, gorgeous folding hunting knife, my Dad's, acquired in the 1930s.
Seems to me that I can employ the above "tool philosophy" without regard to country of origin (as I did when I bought my 1986 Acura Legend and then 5 more). I also respect the rights of others to incorporate subjective criteria (protectionism, intellectual property in clones, absolute skepticism about product claims, etc.) into their purchasing decisions. However, if they do so in discussions - namely, forums and blogs - about the "tools" themselves, and especially if they use innuendo, non-facts, misrepresentations, snobbery or other childish behavior, then I either leave that forum/discussion (I have entirely abandoned a particular flashlight forum) or attempt to reinvigorate the discussion back to the "tools." I have grown weary and intolerant of professional discussion derailers.
Back to storytelling in this thread... I for one would like to read about your history with budget knives!