Really I don’t know how many pocketknives I could actually want, I don’t really consider it to be anything more than a tool. There are only a couple of factors I could consider:

Having a few in different places so they are always handy, Possibly having a few different sizes / styles of blades.

But, beyond that I don’t expect to get too far into this.

About fifteen years ago I decided I would buy a Kershaw Leek as a nice, decent pocket knife. Just one, I told myself. Just one.

It’ll be simpler if you budget for the hobby now. You can and should spread it out over several years.

You’ll need a decent pivot oil and some nice Torx drivers. Nano-Oil is great but I’m not up to date on the newest hotness, I bought one tube a long time ago and it’s still going strong. Drivers, Wiha is amazing but expensive. The steps down are usually good enough.

You’ll want to decide if you’re sharpening yourself or paying someone else to do it; a Sharpmaker works well at a reasonable cost, stones are better for big work, paper wheels are a good choice if you have a bench grinder or might want to do recurves.

Maybe expect a trip to the Blade show at some point. And of course at least five more knives. Maybe twenty. I think at my peak I had some thirty, forty knives but eventually gave them away until I’m at around a dozen.