Tools are very personal things, and we can't tell you what you're going to like. You haven't told us whether you're going to be carving a spoon or building a cabin, nor under what sort of circumstances, so it's impossible to recommend something that's suitable because we don't know what we're trying to suit.
My advice is to try out some widely different tools and see what you find that you like about them, and what you don't. There will always be something unless you just don't use it. If they're all funded from the same pool of resources (usually that's somebody's bank account
) then obviously you will be able to try out a wider variety if they are generally cheaper than if they're generally more expensive. The Moras are great because (a) according to almost everyone who's used them they're good, and (b) they're cheap. So if you like you can try several of them without breaking the bank.
Folders have a place. They will always be something of a compromise and there may well be some play in the mechanism, especially if it's a cheap one. That may or may not be important to you. Most of the time I use folders of some sort, including multi-tools.
Multi-tools have a place. Such as on my belt, and in my pack, and in the tool kit on my bike, and in the Jeep, and...
Serrations on a blade can have a place. You haven't found it yet, but when you do you might be surprised. It took a while, but I was.
Stainless has a place. Until you find out more about your personal preferences I don't think the steels you choose are so important as things like handle, blade and edge geometries. So for now you're probably best advised to stick to the carbon steels, which tend to be cheaper and easier to maintain, and will do anything that you're going to ask of them except sit for weeks in a bucket of water. Stainless which is good for a knife blade tends to be very expensive.
As with any tool, if you're getting blisters from it you need to re-appraise the way you're doing things. It might be that the tool isn't really right for the job. It might be that the way you're using it could be improved. It might be that your hands could be toughened up a bit. I've been giving my hands grief for decades and there's not much that will give me blisters now, but I suppose I've probably learned the early signs of discomfort and I probably change the way I'm doing something without even realizing it if I feel the early warnings. You have the pleasure of learning about that all to come.
