The friend in question already inquired what knife they should get, so I think a gift Leek may be in my future.
Good for you
.There are lots of good options in the lower price ranges. If it were me, I'd show them a few options, and explain why some of them may be different, and have them help make the decision
. So far it seems that people seem to appreciate the knife a bit more when they helped choose it from other options, but your mileage may vary.Other good low priced options are the Kabar Dozier folder, Ontario RAT1/2, Spyderco Tenacious/Ambitious, Ontario Utilitac II, Kershaw Thermite, etc.