Hello, everyone,

As some of you may know, in addition to being a martial artist, I am also a bladesmith, so I am constantly thinking about knife designs, their uses, and their pros/cons. That said, I don't have much formal knife training, in a martial arts sense. I'm curious to get your input on the knife designs you like best for your martial arts--not necessarily specific brands and models, but design features. What length of blade do you like best? What blade shape? What handle shape? What tang style? Etc.

I don't currently use any fixed blades for work, just a folder.  I think I'd like to have a bit longer blade; I think it's only about 3".  I've seen some blades that are referred to as "last ditch knives," and they are shaped like a karambit.  Something fairly slim that wouldn't take up a lot of space on the belt or on the vest with a comfortable grip and possibly a thumb hole.

I'm not sure I'm much help.