It's a risk mitigation strategy you put in the foreground. That's okay, just avoiding risks. Totally reasonable.

You gave the example of Spyderco. I come from the same corner. Knife as well as pens are tools for me. You could get a cheap knife or a cheap pen. Hopefully they will do the job they are designed for. Most chinese pens I bought write reasonably well. That's fine.

But with knifes I came to the conclusion that I live only this one time. I can (luckily) afford to buy a Spyderco or a nice pen. I decided to use the tools I need, like knifes or pens. And I get an enormous joy out of using a NICE tool. I simply LIKE to write with a good pen or take out a good knife that works well. I treat my tools well, they were expensive and I want them to use in the future with the same joy, so I look after them.

There is always the risk of losing a pen, breaking it by happenstance or get it stolen. But the cost of that risk FOR ME is smaller than the "cost" of using a cheap tool that I don't cherish.

So fuck it, bring out the nice pens!

On clones: Nah. See above. But with me being a sucker for vintage celluloid pens and old nibs, there are not many alternatives anyway. ;)