Not that huge a jump? A 1075, wood handled blade that was $56 2 years ago is now $86. That is over a 50% increase, I consider that a fairly large jump. Couple years back, very few Condors were over $60, pretty much just the micarta ones(which have always been priced a fair bit higher than the wood handled ones). Now, almost all new condors are at least $85 for the wood handled ones, and the micarta(which they are using a lot more frequently) continues to be a fair bit above those price wise. It's not a "small jump", it literally cuts the number of products I can buy in half, and, frankly, I haven't seen any real benefits. The materials are the same, the fit and finish are pretty much the same(in fact, the worst fit and finish I've ever gotten on a Condor was their gladius, which was a release AFTER the prices went up), the sheathes are the same...what benefit did that increase bring me? The use of 1095 in other knives that I don't care about? Fine, charge more for those knives then, but don't punish the rest of us.
As for designs, yeah, Joe's stuff as a general rule appeals to me more than Matt's(I do kinda like the Bush Mondo, but I doubt the price will be something I'm willing to pay unless I can get a deal somewhere). The Ironpath was definitely one of the 2 that most jumped out to me, along with the Cambodian Machete. Those 2 I expect I'll get, even with the higher prices. I also like that huge fighting knife of Joe's, no matter how impractical it may be, though the price on that one kinda scares me(presumably the kydex sheath accounts for part of that one's price). And I've actually always wanted a fransisca, so that one actually excites me more than it should. Not a huge fan of smaller knives, so the Terrasaur doesn't really do it much for me, but I admit I've looked at that Scotia more than once.
The shield is...an odd choice. I mean, I assume it's for people who are into historical weaponry, either general collecting, or maybe they're into HEMA or renfaire cosplay, or whatever, but still. Probably meant to appeal to the same people as the swords, viking battle axes, etc I guess, though it still seems an awful iffy choice of item to produce IMO. Hell, *I* have interest in some of the swords and axes sometimes, but I never personally had any real desire for a shield...