I understand the op's sentiment. If you're going to pay the $ for a custom knife, you'd much rather spend an extra $10-20 for a premium steel vs. a more standard steel.
On the flip side, most of what you're going to get out of a knife is how well it's been shaped, heat treated and sharpened. So the only downside of a more standard steel is you'll have to touch up the blade more frequently.
To me it comes down to how you'll use the knife. If you'll be cutting hours a day with it, it's worth it to get a premium blade that will need to be touched up less often. If however it's a knife you'll use to gut a couple of deer with a year does it really matter if you have to touch it up once a year vs. every other year?
