It’s got little to do with the specs and steel IMO. “The market” (i.e. us) has consistently shown itself to be rather simple-minded when it comes to brand recognition.
A good example is the Sakai Kikumori Yugiri vs Konosuke FM: same smith and sharpener. One has more desirable specs (based on current trends for height/length/weight), and the other has a nice stamp on it. One will sit on BST for weeks/months, and the other will have buyers clamouring to snatch it up for hundreds of dollars more. You can see the same pattern with Hitohira and Tsubaya’s un-stamped Takada offerings vs the knives sold with the TNH mark on it.