There are a two other brands I have thought of:

- Benchmade (I don't know their prices)
- Opinel for a sturdy and well priced working knife

A few of the criteria I look at when selecting a knife
- blade length
- blade type
- blade cross cut
- grip size
- grip type
- grip functionality (does it fit my hand and pocket)
- assembly
- quality of materials

Hope it helps.