I've been carrying a Kershaw Scallion - a smallish assisted-open knife - for about 4 or 5 yrs and loved it. But about 6 months ago, the little plastic (ugh) tab that kept it locked broke. I emailed Kershaw asking where/how I could buy the small replacement part....they mailed me the replacement free of charge. Great! unfortunately, the replacement broke a couple of days ago. without that lock, the knife is bad about opening in your pocket. I've already ripped one pair of khakis and poked a little hole in my leg because of the broken lock the first time, so I guess I'm going to retire this one.

Would like to find something a little bigger, assisted-open, and with a lock mechanism more secure than a tiny plastic tab............but you dudes carrying $200 knives must have a lot more disposable income than I do. I'll be looking for something in the < $50 range. Any of you needing to dump your commie benchmades to make a point, I'll offer you a crisp Andrew Jackson for it.

Here you go brother. I guess it's not technically assisted-open (spring-loaded), but the there's a tab to push and one hand opening is too easy. Heavy blade pops into place with a satisfying thunk every time.
https://www.crkt.com/m21-14sfg-special-forces-drop-point-with-veff-serrations.html
https://www.amazon.com/CRKT-M21-14SFG-Folding-Pocket-Knife/dp/B001EDL1L4

I like that CRKT....The more I look, the more it looks like there aren't a ton of spring-assisted open options in my price range. I'm looking hard at that Ontario RAT knife someone posted in a recent thread too.

https://www.amazon.com/Ontario-Knife-Sp-Black-Folding-7Inches/dp/B07N2XMF5V

since I can't carry the Kershaw I'd been carrying, I've gone back to my old "trusty dusty" knife that I've had for years. At some point, one of the screws broke off and fell out, so it's helt together with some twine and picture frame wire. The blade was originally black, but it got so scuffed and scratched, I just went ahead and scraped the rest of the paint off. It keeps a decent enough edge, but the blade's stout enough to abuse it without breaking it. For a cheap knife, it's done well. I guess it'll do until I replace the Kershaw.

So I ended up ordering an Ontario Knife Co "Rat II", came in today. I'm a fan so far and based on the stellar reviews, I don't expect that to change. Straight out of the box, its sharp enough to shave the hair off your arm. I almost ordered the Rat 1, which is quite a bit larger, but ultimately settled on the smaller 2. Glad I did, too...this about the perfect size for an EDC knife.

I swaped the clip around on mo e to tip up carry, and think it carries and handles much better that way.