I'm kind of old school and I like old knives but frankly, I'll leave it to the experts to say which is best. As a favor, I sharpen knives for a few groups and all work about the same. Buck is not as good as they would lead you to believe. Columbia River is under-estimated. Kershaw is excellent and the only knife I had to work hard to sharpen, was a Gerber utility knife and the list goes on. Older Pumas are great but perhaps that's only because I like the older ones, like the Hunter and Hunter's Pal. I have one liner-lock that keeps a great edge and it was made in China.
I have a pretty good group of stones that serve me well and have no problems sharpening any knife. Tanto's and serrated are harder to work with but can be done. I have sharpened a piece of flat aluminum to the point of shaving your arm but didn't last very long.
By the way, there is a better way of checking the sharpness of a blade that does not require you to shave your arm. You use a rubber band. ....
Be Safe !!!