Asking for advice in a very general way will get many suggestions, some of them very good, but even those will be a mere drop in the bucket compared to the number of choices there really are.
My suggestion is this: go to any one of the reputable dealers out there (ones that happen to be members here are great places to start) and do a search. They almost all have customizable search options where you can narrow down the choices by cost, size, style, brand, etc. and as you look make a list of the half-dozen or so that appeal to you the most. It doesn't take long and I would be surprised if you weren't surprised at how many really great knives are out there that you never even knew about. You would likely find it fun, not a chore.
Then come back here and either search existing threads about each of them (best) or start a thread asking about those six. You'll still get the same comments and opinions from members here but they will be focused on a select group that you already like. Of course you'll still also get suggestions about knives not on your list, but the good news is they should be a lot closer to what you're looking for. I think this has the best chance of you and your brother getting something you and he will really like.
