I am an incompetent knife connoisseur, with a passion for the nuances of knife purchasing, owning, sharpening, cutting, carrying, and a love of different designs. I have owned and lost my fair share knives, and I will be informing you of the top tier styles as well as brands.
Knives were first crafted by humans in prehistoric times, and the first iterations were typically crafted from flint. The first metal knives consisted of copper made into double-edged daggers. Needless to say, humans have since developed a plethora of unique designs utilizing diverse materials.
Pocket knives are probably the most common knives aside from kitchen implements. Most pocket knives are of a design that includes a blade, handle, and a locking mechanism. Quality of a particular knife can typically be determined by how much side-to-side wiggle the blade has in the handle. Some other indicators of desirability can be ergonomics, size, and materials used to craft the knife. Top quality folding knives can be acquired from Benchmade, Gerber, Kershaws higher end offerings, Leatherman, CRKT among other prestigious brands.
Fixed-blade knives are a mainstay of anyone who uses knives for serious work. If you are ever stranded in the woods, a fixed-blade knife is the ticket to surviving the experience. You don’t want a chintzy folding knife if you need to eviscerate predators, chop food, or construct a skookum shelter. A quality fixed blade will be of full tang construction without fail; full tang denotes whether the knife blank extends through the full length of the handle. A few frontrunners in the fixed-blade segment are Kabar, Cold Steel, Gerber, and Benchmade.
Filet knives are an intrical part of my life, but that might not be the case for everyone. Since I am an avid fish slayer, I have to stay strapped with the best cutting implement to get top quality filets to the kitchen. There are a multitude of styles and price points of filet knives. You can purchase them in a variety of lengths and flex characteristics. A good rule of thumb is you need a less flexible blade for bigger bones. Salmon are the most common fish I filet,and I prefer a filet knife of 7-8 inches and relatively flexible because it’s big enough to slice effectively, but not ungainly. Some brands to keep in mind are, Gerber, Kastking, and Dexter. 
I look forward to using my current knives and purchasing new ones throughout my life. I currently have a Benchmade mini Griptillian (thanks Casey) as my everyday carry, Leatherman Wave + as my multitool of choice, my filet knife is a Gerber Controller in the 8 inch variety, and my current fixed blade is the Morakniv Craftline (thanks Pax). I have owned many other knives and one of note is my Kabar fixed blade which I lost, but I look forward to purchasing another in the near future.
