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What I would like to know is what companies I should look into. What companies should I avoid? Where can I find my gorgeous swayback.
What I don't want to know is how much I will end up spending on these.
The number of companies currently producing traditional patterns is somewhat small these days.
US-makers:
Great Eastern Cutlery (Tidioute, Northfield, Farm & Field, and GEC are brand names they use)
Queen Cutlery (also makes knives under their Schatt and Morgan brand name)
W. R. Case and Sons Cutlery
Buck Knives (both US-made and Chinese-made product lines)
Bear and Sons Cutlery
Kutmaster/Utica Cutlery Co.
Northwoods (this is a brand name owned by KnivesShipFree. The knives are made by whoever KSF contracts to make them, which recently has been GEC or Queen).
Moore Maker (I believe their knives are contracted out. I don't know who makes them).
Non-US-based makers:
AG Russell (Technically US-based, but most of the knives are made for them overseas. Good quality though).
Victorinox (Switzerland)
Boker (Germany-based, different product lines made in various countries)
LionSteel (Italy - possible newcomer to traditional patterns, with some modern features - worth watching)
Rough Rider, Marbles (US owned, made in China)
Old Timer/Uncle Henry (formerly Schrade, brand now owned by BTI, part of Smith and Wesson, knives made in China)
I may have forgotten some. There are many brands no longer in business that still have knives available in the secondary market. For example, older USA-made Schrade knives are still out there on the auction site.
Out of those listed, I have traditional knives from Case, GEC, Queen, Victorinox, Buck (USA), Rough Rider (China), and Old Timer (China). I have never seen or handled traditional knives from the other brands.
What you like will ultimately depend on you and your preferences. I have been overall satisfied with most of the brands I have. Of those listed, my least favorite brand would be the Old Timer. I have two, and would not buy more. If I were looking for inexpensive traditional knives, I would stick with Rough Rider. I have two of those, and would buy more if for some reason I wanted more knives at that price point, which I don't.
The other brands have been fine and generally worth (to me) the price paid.
Price wise, you will be in the $10 to $150 range, depending on the brand, pattern, and handle material. Occasionally you will exceed the $150 point with exotic handle materials from the premium brand names (GEC, Queen, Northwoods).
If you prefer stainless steel, then your options in GEC will be very limited, since they mostly use 1095 carbon steel. Also, unless they produce an unpopular pattern or handle material, GEC knives don't usually sit around in dealer inventories for you to leisurely browse through, so you are usually limited in choice to whatever they happen to be making at any point in time.
Case, on the other hand, makes primarily stainless steel knives, and their patterns are generally available all the time in a number of handle materials from a lot of places. Case is kind of like Ford or Chevy - don't buy one and expect it to be a BMW or Mercedes. They are what they are.
Buck's selection in the US-made product line (30x models) is rather limited. They are stocky workhorse knives. Somewhat light pulls compared to others if that's an issue for you. They do a good job on their 420HC steel, though the blade profile makes them better suited to cutting than slicing.
That'll get you started.
