Brian,
George Herron is literally a legend in custom knifemaking. He wasn't just known for the beautiful knives he made, he was known as a great designer, developer of tools and techniques and a teacher who advanced custom knife making. In addition to those accolades from his peers, he always shared his techniques and specialized tools he developed with those we might see as his competitors. The tool rest he developed allowed makers to improve and speed grinding. I've been told that thanks to his tool rest he could actually finish a blade and have it ready for the buffer using it without all the time and effort normally required. Very few people have the grinding skills to be able to pull that off. In recognition of his contributions he was inducted into the Blade Cutlery Hall of Fame in 1987 and while he appreciated the praise he never let it go to his head. He passed away in February 2007 and his work was cut off. All the Herrons there are and will ever be were fixed at that time and like all great artists their value goes up.
Kim will appreciate that you're happy with the knife you got from him, but he wouldn't believe that his work is quite up to legendary status like Mr. Herron's, yet.