He has a pretty sweet collection there. +1 for the yoshikane

Indeed - the film can be seen as a study of mental illness. But there is (in my opinion) a certain need to both be obsessive (commitment and attention to detail) and compulsive (second nature) when working in a high stress environment. You need to focus on working quickly but with a high degree of precision.

So did you make a decision yet?

You could also mention that there are carbon/stainless hybrids (carbon core, clad with stainless) which perform extremely well. Also as regards stamped knives - there is a brand/knife called the Misono UX10 that is stamped, and is exteremly high quality. The sell them in Korin in N.Y.C as well as online.

I would disagree with you that a full tang is a marker of quality, I have many extremely high quality Japenese knives that have rat tag and wooden handles. Indeed these knives are made in such a way that it is easy to change the handle should it become worn / damaged, or you simply would like a different material for the handle. I agree with everything else you said though :-)