Perhaps ... I was not trying to value-judge the carrying of expensive knives for non-critical everyday tasks; that's fine. I was questioning recommending newcomers to spend so much to find out if they enjoy knives. :)

Personally, if Morakniv [1] made a folding knife[+], it would probably be just right for me. :)

[1] https://morakniv.se/en/

[+] And someone made carrying a folding knife legal in Sweden ...

How about Opinel?

I have one smallish for picnics and such, but haven't tried their larger knives. I think I personally would lean towards something a bit more "modern-feeling"/technical.

I guess if money was no object, and I were more of an actual "knife-guy", I would try something from Fällkniven [1].

[1] https://fallkniven.se/en/home/

There is some truth to what you are saying: 95% of people really don't need a fancy knife with a high end steel. On the other hand, I think there's more to it than just wanting to "carry around an expensive item." I enjoy the craftsmanship and engineering that goes into making a nice knife. I find that a three-inch knife blade is useful in a way that a one-inch box-cutter blade is not, for example when I want to peel an orange or sharpen a pencil. I also carry a knife since I believe a knife may be helpful in an emergency situation - imagine, for example, you are in a car accident and your seatbelt jams. With a good knife you could easily cut yourself out - much harder to do with a boxcutter.