A belt grinder is ideal for budget knives (or really any knife except a Japanese blade IMO). It's best to stick with lower speed grinders like the Kalamazoo that runs around 1700 rpm but I've done at least hundreds of knives with a 3,700 rpm Harbor Freight cheapo. You need a light touch with the latter to avoid burning the blade but with a bit of practice it's pretty easy.

I'm baffled by the CI reviews of knives. I've had quite a few of the Victorinox Fibrox knives and sharpened perhaps a hundred of them. They will get the job done but edge retention is very poor, at least by the standards of a chef. Good for the price I suppose but a review shouldn't merely identify the cheapest blade that will turn one chunk of food into two chunks! Even an entry level Japanese gyuto like the Tojiro DP absolutely smokes the Vics. You could use the Tojiro for a couple weeks in a restaurant setting without much more than a few licks on a ceramic hone; with the Vic you'd be lucky to have a serviceable edge after a few days. For the home cook that's not as big an issue but there's no comparison between the build quality or fit and finish, either.

Obviously feel and appearance are subjective but in a serious review those elements should be given at least a cursory examination!

I would say some of the best entry level knives you can get would be the Tojiro DP line and the Kagayaki Carbonext from JCK. If you prefer a Wa handled knife there are some other good inexpensive options as well. In my mind in this day and age (circa summer 2018) something like VG-10 represents the lowest level stainless worth using, and AEB-L is a nice step up. For the $100 range you can get some decent high carbon gyutos in 52100 or Hitachi White- or Blue-Paper as well.