Was Infantry, spent 22 years looking for that "right" knife. Fixed didn't cut it, no real need, and a command climate that restricts them. Expensive folder, nope, they get stolen, borrowed, or lost. Keep them at home where you can and will enjoy them. In the field, at best, you get to see them destroyed. People will use them for stupid things they should have gotten a screwdriver for.
#1 best soldiers knife, a Swiss Army, choose the tools, but even if it doesn't work out, they aren't expensive - get another. Keep it in your shave kit. Get one with scissors for personal grooming.
#2 cutting tool, a pair of EMT shears. Cheap and when people ask for a knife, you get to hear them say, "that won't tighten screws." Now you know what the idiot really wanted.
#3 a good 3 1/2" folder from the PX. If they sell it, then you will find it's affordable, the command climate isn't restrictive, and the price is right.
#4 a multitool from the PX. Do they issue Gerbers, yes, and you sign for them. They aren't handed out like candy, tho. Most issue knives are MOS related, not freebies to any Joe. If it's yours, and a civilian version, no big deal. If it's issue, even if you bought it, it's subject to seizure as Army property, just go ahead and prove otherwise. It might not be worth complaining that far up the chain.
The reality is that knives aren't really needed much day to day in the military. Most of the Army is support, not combat arms, as time goes by and the mission changes, there is a command concern that stupid things are done with them outside the mess hall. Hard to disprove by the testosterone laced atmosphere in the barracks, too.
Enjoy your knife, but don't show it off, most aren't knowledgeable enough to appreciate why the money was spent.
