Is there a timex of knives? Rock solid, works forever with no/little maintenance but a bit dated and ugly?

A Wenger or Victorinox base model Swiss Army knife is the classic cheap and useful, keep-it-with-you knife.

If you want a dedicated knife with a bigger blade, a Buck folder with a plastic handle will cost about $30 and last a long time with minor care.

Next step up from there would probably be the least expensive Spydercos, or a multitool if you want more stuff.

The Buck 110 is widely considered a "classic" folding knife, but it is way too clunky and heavy to make a good EDC knife. I have heard lots of good things about the Ontario Rat II, especially the D2 version which you can pick up for about $40, but have never tried it myself. The Rat II is generally considered a good "starter" folding knife. Personally I'd recommend going straight to Spyderco - for $100 you can get something really high quality which you will enjoy and use. I got my brother a Para 3 LW and it set me back $98. He seems to like it.

Spyderco Delica. Good steel that isn’t too hard to sharpen (VG10) and common enough that you don’t have to pay out the nose. Fiber reinforced nylon handle is strong and light.

Edit: without getting into the deep details of different steels, just keep in mind that many ‘higher end’ knives tend to be harder/more brittle than your every day Walmart special. This provides real advantages in edge sharpness and retention, but you don’t want to go using them as a pry bar as they are more likely to snap. Knives are for cutting, not prying.

Also, 20 min on YouTube to understand sharpening goes a long way.

For fixed-blade knives, Morakniv is extremely popular. They don't use the fanciest steels, and the design is outright boring... but it works really well, it's very cheap for what it is, and scandi grind is the easiest one to maintain.