most inexpensive knife in better steel

Ditto.

You can get a Spyderco Cat for $46 or so. Also, you can get a Kershaw Leek for $36 which has 14c28n steel, the Skinner for $29 (fixed blade), Queen Country Cousin for around $29 in D2, Buck Hartshook (fixed) S30v for $28, and there are more. There are knives to be had in 154CM and other steels, as well, that are not expensive.
 
The COAST FX 350, 9C18MV or what ever the moniker is for this Chinese steel. I own and carry a 350 and have given several away as gifts and the steel is very very decent, better I think that 440c or the 440 series itself. Fit and finish of the 350 series of knives has always been very good too. Very nicely made. keepem sharp

PS 30 bucks or so shipped and worth way more than the price point imho. Just look at You Tube reviews of the knives.
 
I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but you might be interested in Becker's 1095cv, which is 1095 with added chromium and vanadium, etc... for increased corrosion and wear resistence. Someone posted on the Spyderco forum recently about how to stack discounts at a certain vendor and get a BK-15 (recently disco'd and being sold for cheap) for like $25. Many places have them for around $45-$50.
 
There are tons of old USA made Ulsters and Schrades and Camillus available very inexpensively. Excellent steels properly heat treated. I pick them up often for less than $20.
 
Some of the Childress neckers come in various steels, also look at some of the vg10 San Mai you can get from Cold steel (not to start a discussion on cold steel). Or go with on the exchange and find some used fallknivens. As mentioned earlier, Kabar offers good old 1095 with added ingredients. I can hardly wait until Kabar comes with their version of ek commando knives, maybe at SHOT show.
 
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One thing to consider, Opinel's Inox is 12c27, which isn't terribly high-carbide, but it is a proven performer. Combine that with the fact that excellent cutting geometry extends functional edge retention by a significant margin and you may have what you're looking for.
 
Even though sandvic 14c doesn't get a lot of good press around the forums it is a solid performer and holds up comparably with 154cm in my opinion. Kershaw uses it in quite a few of their knives. The shallot is a solid knife and good looks too
 
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$13 from one of Bladeforums dealers. High performing steel and inexpensive.
 
Add to the that that the $15 mora companion in stainless sports sandvik which is pretty damn impressive for that price.
 
Spyderco Ladybug - VG-10 - $30
Spyderco Super Blue Ladybug - SuperBlue - $40
Spyderco ZDP-189 Ladybug - ZDP-189 - $45
Kershaw Composite Blade Leek - D2 - $50
Leatherman Skeletool CX - 154CM - $55
Kershaw S30V Blur - S30V - $65
Kizer Phantom - S35VN - $70
Kershaw Speedform II - Elmax - $90
Kershaw Elmax Blur - Elmax - $100
Ritter Mini-Griptilian - M390 - $130
Spyderco Gayle Bradley Air - M4 - $150
 
I just ordered the gerber edict on ebay for 45 dollars shipped. it got lockback design not those flimsy liner locks that wear out and it has 154cm steel. thank you gerber!
 
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