I carry a knife to work every day; I use it for light duty like cutting up cardboard boxes or sharpening pencils, and sometimes just to have an enhanced “fingernail” to scrape bits of things. With that in mind…

I use a CIVIVI Chevalier virtually every day, and if I only had one knife, ever, it would be that one. It flicks open and shut silky smooth one-handed. The blade is a perfectly medium size. The pocket clip is reversible if needed. Mine has micarta scales and feels very grippy, but not sticky. I love this knife.

The only close competition for me in my CRKT Squid. It’s tiny, but mighty. I’ve put a pinky lanyard on mine, and with that on my finger I can easily open and close it one-handed, a task I’ve struggled with with some liner locks. The blade is no longer than my thumb, which in truth is as much as I need for 90% of jobs. Did I mention it’s tiny? I can tuck it into the little coin pocket on my pants and forget it’s there until it’s needed. I’ve also got a Squid Compact which is even smaller but still plenty ergonomic, and I quite like, but the Compact has an assisted open, which can be nice but sometimes I don’t want the spring loaded action. I haven’t run into tasks the Squid couldn’t handle, though I’m not out here carving up deer carcasses; the only thing is that the blade geometry is just a tiny bit chunkier than the Chevalier, so it’s not quite as good at those “fingernail” jobs that I mentioned earlier. Not a complaint, and honestly if you want a knife that will do lots of work and still present itself as more “diplomatic” than “scary knifey knife,” then the Squid is one hundred percent recommended. Without exaggeration, because I keep seeing them at surplus shops, I’ve got four of them, because they’re so nice and I’m afraid of how I’ll feel if I lose or break one and can’t easily get a replacement.

And since you mentioned Buck, I’ve got their 256, which is a lot like the CEO. It’s got a lovely smooth action, and I did a bit of light whittling with it the other night and it did just fine.

Unless you are buying one of these to throw in your trunk after opening a package or whatever (even then i would not get one of these), i would:

Skip any Smith&Wesson, especially at that pricepoint. They are not the same Smith&Wesson that make guns etc. The brand has been aquired (well actually just using their name) by Taylor Brands, which is not really known for quality products (a typical how-to-make-as-much-money-possible-without-spending-to-much company).

Gerber has some great ones i believe (the fixed Strongarm for example), but i would skip this brand too in this pricerange.

With these options, the CRKT or Buck would be most trustworthy, but i will still recommend spending 10-20 bucks more and get something like a Spyderco Tenacious, Buck Spitfire, Civivi Baklash/Elementum/etc or anything in that range, which aren’t the best, but a whole lot better then anything you suggested.

I carried both the paraframe and mini paraframe for years while I was in scouts about 15 years ago. The steel was disappointing, needing to be sharpened frequently and sharpening wore down the knife quickly.

I use Kershaw these days, and highly recommend them for budget blades.

I’d also recommend scrapping all those options and look at Civivi, Kershaw, Spyderco’s budget line, or Kizer. Civivi and Kizer are Chinese-made knives that punch above their weight class, especially compared to the brands you mention. I’d also recommend using BladeHQ’s awesome search features to really figure out what you want. Then try to find it cheaper elsewhere.

I imagine those Paraframe knives would end up getting tangled up with your keys or whatever else in your pocket frequently. I have an issue with that just with my Skeletool sometimes and it doesn’t have nearly as many holes in it. Of the ones you listed I would go with the Sumo because I like a thicker handle than the Buck or CRKT have and I’ve never owned a S&W knife to know if they’re decent or not.

In my opinion you should save up and buy a benchmade. Even the cheapest benchmade will last longer than these.

My go to recommendation is the Griptilian but the bugout is nice too.