It’s hard to know what is and is not a no-name brand if you’re new to knives. There’s no discernible difference (on the surface) between a pop-up vendor who just re-brands cheap knives and a true manufacturer. One of the best ways to start figuring this out is to not shop on Amazon. A dedicated and trusted knife store like: BladeHQ, KnifeCenter, WhiteMountainKnives, KnifeJoy, KnivesShipFree, and a few others, will give you the best info. You will find better ways to filter and budget options that are much better choices. But it’s still overwhelming.

If you have a specific style of knife you’re looking for, and you’re not sure if it’s a good or bad brand, I’d start by asking here (or over in pocketknife@lemmy.world

As other’s have said, there are some good budget brands out there for well under $50.

Jansport is excellent. I recently sent a 30-year-old bag in for warranty work which they honored at no cost to me other than shipping. A great choice.

Just this week I lost my Olight i3T! I’m really bummed. I had the brown/brass colored one and it was starting to wear in a very satisfying way. I know it was only $20 but I use low self-discharge NiHM batteries in my flashlights so that’s gone too.

I like you’re setup and it’s cool you stitched the wallet yourself!

As the kids meme: Porque No los Dos? 😂