I've almost found it easier to list "vetoes", the things that, to me, disqualify an knife from serious consideration. I admit that my list of vetoes is pretty long, but, IMHO, it's shorter than the list of possible desirable features... and they tend to be more absolute. I find that my "negatives" are pretty firm, whereas there are a lot of knives I might consider despite lacking some nice feature or another. The notch at the choil is a case in point- I also like it, but it's not a "must have" for me... and it's pretty trivial to add yourself, if you like a knife otherwise.

We all flip through knife catalogs, and, if you're at all experienced, only a few catch your eye. It's just a matter of listing why the others don't.