Not knowing what I'm talking about has never stopped me before, so I'll take a swing at this.
I don't own a Hell Gap. You could stop reading there if you wanted, but the problem with this request is that The James Brand has had some rumors about poorly assembled knives slipping through quality control, and here among the knife cognoscenti, that will get you written off, fast.
The company also gets dismissed as a "hipster" brand, which is counter-intuitive since hipsters are all about niche interests and irony, so they would likely reject something which is marketed at them, but I digress.
Certainly a lot of the brand is just that: branding. But there is some good. According to one "review" I found, the knife is all United States made, somewhere in Idaho. I don't know who does the heat treat, and that would be good information to have when making a judgment.
Stuff that's made in the States does come with a higher price, but it almost always comes with a higher quality standard, too.
In all, I think you're paying for the S35VN, the higher cost of United States manufacture, and the James Brand logo. About $160 more than the ESEE that the OP compared it to.
But are you getting more?
That depends mostly on your preferences. ESEE knives are made in the States too, and their warranty and QC are rock-solid. If you would rather have a premium stainless over 1095, and you "would rather have it" enough to pay double the price, then the Hell Gap may be for you. But if you're looking for a knife to be a knife, you can buy two or three or five of other companies' offerings, for the same price as you pay to get The James Brand logo put on the side. I don't think you would notice any real world difference, either.
