Pohl Force offers a good selection of both folders and fixed blades, and when trying to make a choice on the first knife whether folder or fixed is a personal decision. I am happy to share my thoughts however and then I will get to your specific questions
The Bravo is a great little folder and has a proven track record. Ideal size for EDC. Blade length 3.26 overall weight 3.88 ounces . There is in fact only 1x of the former Bravo series available at the moment which is the Bravo One Survival Gen 2 which uses 440C but good news is that the new Bravo Gen3 will be with us in a few weeks. I will be posting more info's on this when I have it. We will be at the USN gathering in Vegas in a few weeks so if anyone is interested to see the new Bravo I will have a couple with me.
So... the Bravo may well be worth waiting for. For me, depending on your budget I would go with the Mike, this knife has it all !
With the exception of the EOD (Euro Ops Division) range of knives Pohl Force knives are manufactured in Taiwan. All EOD knives are manufactured by Lionsteel . All QA regardless of place of manufacture is carried out in Biebertal Germany at Pohl Force HQ. Incidentally all QA is carried out by Dietmar Pohl personally.
So.. knives produced in Taiwan include currently: Bravo,Alpha,Charlie, Lima,Hornet,Romeo EOD knives Manufactured by Lionsteel in Maniago, Italy: Mikes One,Three and Four / Quebecs,Foxtrots, November, Kilo
A few points to note about our knife range, we do not blanket the market and confuse the customer with thousands of models, we are very selective and often the knives have a particular or specific application. These are working knives, in general extremely tough but in my opinion still remain very attractive in appearance.
Niolox Steel is maybe one of the lesser known steels however we have had good feedback and have used this steel in several models. The edge holds very well, there is less need to sharpen as regularly as some other steel types, but some have said it wasn't the easiest steel to sharpen should you lose the edge completely. I have a Mike One Tactical myself as my workhorse - it gets worked HARD, and I have had no problems at all.
By the way - as a fixed blade I would recommend the November One ... great knife!