Welcome back. I think I met you at a Missouri meetup.

My first thought was another 12k. It remains hard to beat in terms of bang for the buck.

Another one that has exploded in popularity the last several years is the Suehiro Gokumyo 20k. It's got a lot of bang but for a lot of bucks--now over $300 I believe.

The Shapton GlassStone 16k is the only other option I can think of but it can be more hit or miss than the 12k and I think it plays best with its own kind.

I can't think if anything else that would be comparable in quality.