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I have a collection of knives, both folders and fixed blades, some of them quite pricy, but in the end my favorite carrying-around-all-purpose knife is this one:
[ufl= Timer 162OT Boot Knife Full Tang Fixed Blade Knife[/url]

At $21 it pretty much had nearly everything I want in a useful knife: fixed blade, symmetrical spear-point, blade is fairly thick/strong, slim snagfree profile, handle is big enough for my hand to grip but not too big, and so cheap that I am not concerned when I use it to dig in the dirt or pry with or otherwise "abuse" it. The sheath is cheap so I replace it, and the whole thing is long enough to be useful but short enough it just rides around in my pocket.

It is supposed to be carbon steel and it does sharpen nicely, I'm sure it is imported from china, but for a fixed blade I don't worry about the "quality" of the source so much. For a folder that might get used for SD, I stick to known, high quality manufacturers that have strong locks, but for what is basically a flat piece of steel with a point and an edge I am not so worried about the quality of the manufacturer or the steel. If I was going to hike into the Amazon basin or deploy to Iraqistan, then I would get something with known quality of steel, temper, etc, but for everyday banging around this knife works for me.