Quality Drugs
There are a couple of manufacturers I can recommend as "gateway drug" sources.
Buck Knives makes a basic "Select" version of most models (420HC steel) that's well heat treated, well profiled, and well sharpened. For example, take the Buck Vantage Select (one-hand opener). This is what I would consider "basic sound quality." They also do a series of "Avid" versions (Sandvik 13c26 steel) that is a bit of a step up in quality and cost. The Avid (Sandvik steel) is currently my favorite version because the steel is quite durable yet easy to sharpen. They also do a "Pro" version (S30V steel) that I consider to be above my "pay grade" both in cost and sharpening effort. I only have one of those, and I have not yet had to sharpen it.
Kershaw is another manufacturer with excellent basic quality. You can get into, for example, a Packrat (assisted open) in Sandvik 14c28n steel for about $30. A delightful knife, easy on the wallet, eyes, and hands. A step up from that, at around $50, is the Leek (also assisted), available in two or three different steels and with half a dozen types of handle material.
The knives I've mentioned above aren't uber-blades, nor do they cost uber-dollars, but they are fine examples of good pieces at reasonable prices.
Similarly, Spyderco has a number of reasonably priced pieces in good steel, and their quality is good and very consistent.
Using those brands as a jumping off point, you get exposure to the basic quality benchmark without leaving too many scars on your checkbook. They're not the only brands having good quality and price combos, just the first ones that came to mind.
As you become accustomed to having quality in your hand, an interesting exercise is to go back and try a cheaper knife and compare its feel, fit & finish, cutting quality, and ergonomics with your quality baseline.
In my own case I found I was no longer interested in "cheapie" pieces once I'd had a taste of decent quality.
And, once you have an appreciation for the cheap-vs-quality benchmark difference, you can look farther up the quality scale and begin to appreciate how it is that there are "ordinary" looking pocket knives with $300 and $400 price tags. The Chris Reeve Sebenza is one example of a knife of almost absurdly high quality, one that will take abuse over an extended period and not fail. Benchmade and Emerson also make "ridiculously" high quality pieces.
I have a couple of boxes of knives I bought in the early stages of figuring out what would work well for me. I go back and examine them from time to time, try some of them out again, and occasionally sell or gift one away.
If you begin by spending somewhere in the $30-to-$75 range, you will very likely have a decent quality starting point. As you try different things, you will find that some blade shapes work better for you than others, you will have preferences regarding size and weight, and there will be pieces that appeal to you for purely aesthetic reasons. (Hard to resist a purty knife.)
I hope this brings more clarity than confusion.
