I love inexpensive knives! Everyone's threshold is different but it's your thread and you selected $45 as the threshold; mine is actually a tad lower - but be that as it may.
Knives had characteristics and qualities. Some excel in strength, others ergos, function, edge retention, ease of sharpening, corrosion resistance, aesthetics ... I also rate another category: the I don't care about it factor.
IMHO, the number one threat to a folder is loss. To mitigate that risk I use price. When I travel, the RAT 1, RAT 2 and/or Utilitac is typically my choice. If bigger/tougher use is anticipated, the CS Voyager (AUS8) also gets to fly. I can beat the living snot out of these knives without care or fear ... though, to be honest, they seem to keep coming back asking for more. If one or more of them should be lost or stolen, I certainly would not be happy - but it's not like losing my Sebenza.
I am a Buck 110 fan - who isn't? And the buck 110 fits under your threshold and, other than weight and carrying options, is one heck of a folder than can do (and has done for me) just about everything one could ask of a folder ... and provide that special something that is difficult to quantify.
In fixed blades, I will use and abuse Schrade knives with darned near reckless abandoned, saving my beloved (and preferred) Beckers and Busses for "better" outings. Anymore, I hardly find myself in the field without a Mora on me or near me. The HD Companion Carbon is a handy knife at a dandy price. I have one permanently strapped to my pack as well as a couple more here and there just for convenience. My CRK One Piece Range knives come out of the safe anymore just long enough for a rub down with fresh mineral oil though they have certainly earned their keeps for me over the years.
The Sebenza, Adamas, Bucker-Strider and some of my other folders can do as much, if not more than the "cheap" folders referenced in my post, but the lesser priced knives seem to get the use and abuse.
