These excellent illustrations and descriptions come from BladeHQ.
Anatomy of an Automatic Knife
Automatic knives are designed primarily for Military, Police and EMT duty, these knives are simple to open in an emergency. This is done by pushing a firing button or pulling a lever. Check the laws in your area before purchasing an automatic knife, as they are restricted in many areas.
An infographic by the team at Blade HQ
Anatomy of a Manual / Spring Assisted Folding Knife
Manual knives are legal in most areas, which means they are extremely common. Often, this type of knife is also recognized as a “pocket knife.” Spring assisted knives are roughly the same as manual knives, but they have a spring inside the handle that helps deploy the blade much faster. Spring assisted knives typically have a thumb stud and/or flipper.
An infographic by the team at Blade HQ
Anatomy of a Fixed Blade Knife
Fixed blade knives don’t fold or contract, like other types of knives. Fixed blades are perfect for nearly any use—they are carried by sportsmen, hunters, campers, and more.
An infographic by the team at Blade HQ
Anatomy of an Out The Front Knife
Out The Front knives are similar to automatic knives in many ways; they are opened by pushing a thumb slide or pulling a lever, but with an OTF knife the blade always deploys out the front of the handle—not the side, like automatic knives. OTF knives are restricted in many areas so be certain to consult your local laws before purchasing these items.
An infographic by the team at Blade HQ
Anatomy of a Butterfly Knife
Some people spend years trying to master the skill of flipping butterfly knives, A.K.A. balisong knives. It’s debatable whether it’s more fun to flip a butterfly knife or to watch someone flip— it looks really cool, and it’s practically mesmerizing.
An infographic by the team at Blade HQ
Get the Book
The Writer’s Guide to Weapons: A Practical Reference for Using Firearms and Knives in Fiction (Writer’s Digest Books) comes with everything but the ammo. Pick up a print or digital copy from these fine retailers:
The Writer's Guide to Weapons 
Wow. Very impressive article. You have done a fantastic job at explaining the difference between the various knives and their anatomies. I appreciate that you included their pros and cons as well. Thanks for sharing with us!
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Thanks, Dean! I must give credit to Blade HQ, which created this content originally here:
http://www.bladehq.com/cat–Infographics–1165
Blade HQ graciously made this info embeddable, which is how it wound up here. I hope you check out its site and this one, too. Lots of great knife information.
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