The main and most important thing to look for in any style of construction at the outset is overall quality in materials (both blade and handle),care in fabrication, fit, and finish.There are obviously a number of different styles of knife construction.
A knife can be forged from a single (or multiple) pieces of steel, cut from a sheet (called stock removal), have an aggressively tapered blade or not, have full, half, or no bolsters (usually metal material making the interface between handle and blade), have a full tang (the part of the blade that protrudes into the handle, between the scales), or a hidden tang (as in traditional Japanese knife construction) to which a solid handle is fixed, be ground symmetrically or asymmetrically etc.
No one style is inherently superior but each features attributes that may or may not be meaningful to you.
For example, a full tang knife might have an all around feel of balanced heft, while a hidden tang construction might allow for a feel of significant tip forward, blade oriented balance without being altogether too heavy.
The main and most important thing to look for in any style of construction at the outset is overall quality in materials (both blade and handle),care in fabrication, fit, and finish. After you’ve identified a baseline of quality options within your budget, you can begin to think about which style is the most appropriate and the most appealing.
