Sooo many things go into making a knife good. Blade shape, grind, ergonomics, handle material, blade steel, heat treat and on and on.
Knives like the classic Buck and Grohmann use older, lower quality steels that have been heat treated exceptionally well. The classic designs are generally great for their purpose and they're easy to sharpen so many folks like them. However, they do not hold an edge as well as most modern steels and not even close to the newer super steels.
A good production knife that's Canadian and uses a modern steel of great quality is the North Arm Lynx
https://northarmknives.com/product/l...d1#description
Size, shape, ergos and steel are all great. This steel is not easy to sharpen and I found with an example of one the edge retention wasn't as good as other knives of the same steel I've had indicating their heat treat comes out softer than if could be. This said it will hold a proper edge 5 times longer than a Grohmann or classic Buck.
There are also a bunch of talented hobbyists and professionals that $200 knocks on the door of.