Lately I have been drawn to Columbia River Knife and Tool (CKRT). I have owned a few of their folding blades and have enjoyed their quality and simplicity, plus their prices are very reasonable. I have been slowly shopping for a fixed blade that can be wore both as a neck-knife and a belt-knife and I am leaning towards theirs (
http://www.knifeworks.com/index.asp?...&Category=1029). They have a series that is modeled after Japanese style swords that look really nice, though I will probably end up buying the Carson Neck Knife or the Hammond ABC Operators combo edge.
If you are looking at folding blades I would concur with Gong Jau - check into the Kershaw Ken Onion blades. I had one of their assisted opening knives and I loved it. It was fairly expensive for a folding blade ($80), but it was well worth it. I wouldn't worry about the mechanization on these - or most other major brands of folding knives - failing. They are built very well and a major malfunction with the locking mechanism is very highly unlikely. Even wear and tear has not been a problem in my experience, and most of the good knife makers give out lifetime warranties with their blades.
Sypderco is said to be of really high quality, though pricey. I personally don't like how their blades are styled. Benchmade has some great knives, and their Nimravus series fixed blades are beautiful, though they are very expensive as well.