There are a lot of good knives out there, too many to suggest. So I'm going to list brands your safe with more or less, this is not a complete list as there are others out there and it's in no particular order.
Opinel (#6 or higher have a lock)
Buck, go American made so you have the 420hc Bos heat treatment which is good or their higher end steel
Spyderco, any of their knives are good though if you avoid the Bug line you get a good introduction of a better steel than your probably used too. If you find a knife you like they make but it seems pricey try to see if they have a comparable one in their Byrd line.
Kershaw, same thing as Spyderco your pretty safe with any of the.. Avoid the starter series and for the most part you end up with a superior steel than your used too.
Rough Rider, budget traditional knives for the most part using a basic 440a steel with a good heat treatment in my opinion.
AG Russell, they make good knives and have a warranty second to none.
There is nothing wrong with Spyderco Bug line or Kershaw Starter line. It's just that if you avoid them you will probably end up with a steel more widely used with that brand and you have a better idea of what they have to offer. Kershaw being 8cr13mov, Spyderco uses that in their Byrd line as well. Along with them using vg10 in my of their knives and severeral other flavors of steel.
Now that's only part of what's needed. Sharpening is the next big thing. A lot of people swear by the Spyderco Sharpmaker, but you can get just as good results with a diamond Lansky Turn Box and drilling some 15 degree holes in it to match the Sharpmaker. And the rods you finish on with this may be a bit coarser than the medium Spyderco rods but that doesn't affect the sharpness it affects the finish. A coarser finish will result in a more toothy knife that excels at slicing compared to one that's taken to a higher grit that excels at push cutting. I own a Sharpnaker with the diamond rods and ultra fine stones, I dont use the ultra fine stones and having bought my wife the turn box before we were married I can safely say the turn box would've been a cheaper solution that work just as good one you change the angles. If you don't feel like the extra work, AG Russell makes a similar system with the 15 degree angles preset.
As to why I'm pushing the sharpening system it's quite simple. Cutting performance 15 degrees is a happy middle ground for most of us on the more "higher end" knives. True higher end knives can handle much more acute angles but this is a happy middles ground for sharpness and still leaving some meat on it so you don't easily deform the blade if you abuse it a little. There is a lot of cutting performance left on the table when you get a knife for the most part. Very seldomly does it have a proper edge, look up sharpie trick and how to use a Sharpmaker and it would help with any of these sharpening systems I mentioned.
Good luck on your knife hunt and have fun.
