Hey Kiba - no reason to feel like an idiot - it was a reasonable question. Most folks here own knives other than SY's so they obviously feel that there are other brands out there that are of some value. They were correct though about the rules here discouraging talk or praise of other brand knives (which knid of confuses me as everyone here knows we all buy other brands and that doesn't affect our allegiance to SY knives) . I would recommend that you go to bladeforums.com and/or knifeforum.com to get some assistance. There are plenty of nice folks at those sites that will steer you in the right direction. I would also recommend that you go look at knifetests.com and other review sites to see what others are saying about other brands of knives. I can think of 3 I would recommend for under $100 but i can't say or I'll be pummeled to death. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

So, yes, I believe you can get a very good knife in the price range you are looking in...but it certainly won't be the same as spending more on a SY knife.

Good luck! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />