This is something that I want to experiment with -- what knife is the best for "hunting"? (gutting and skinning medium and big game) Unlike some other sorts of knives, I feel that the best "hunting" knives may not be that expensive, so I don't think it's an experiment that is going to cost me an arm and a leg.
I've been looking at a lot of desigs -- here are some of the criteria that I'm starting with:
1. A good majority of experienced hunters that show up on these sorts of posts strongly favor a small blade (in the 2.5 to 3.5 inch range). To me, this makes all the sense in the world -- when you have your hand deep in the animal separating hide from muscle or making precisions cuts when gutting, you don't want a big blade.
2. For the same reasons, along with the fact that you are going to be doing a lot of slicing through flesh, the blade should be thin, with a grind that allows clean, efficient slicing.
3. I tend to think that the more blade belly the better (but this is something that I want to experiment with).
4. I know a Buck 110 will do a great job (as did my Old Timer cave bear as a kid), but I have to say a fixed blade is superior. Easier to clean and folders don't usually have #10 below because the blade is on the same line as the handle.
5. Since you don't want to be doing a ton of touch ups in the field, the steel needs to be able to hold a good edge, but it shouldn't be a pain to touch up in a few minutes. So, a steel with good wear resistance but also good grindability.
6. The steel should be able to take a sharp edge.
7. I'm still not sure what the best sort of blade-tip is. Should it be designed not to puncture things you don't want to puncture, like a drop-point or traditional skinner tip, or should it have a sharp tip that you can use to puncture hide, etc. when you need to? UPDATE: After processing a deer with my sharpfinger, I decided that I like a pointy blade for making the initial punctures of the hide, etc.
8. The knife should have a general sleek, low profile. No gut hooks or big hand guards or end caps. This includes a small maneuverable handle. You are going to be maneuvering in tight places.
9. The handle should be something that isn't going to soak all the blood and gunk in and can be cleaned easily.
10. This may just be my opinion, but so far I have tended to like a design where the blade edge sits below the handle (down by or below my knuckles when I am holding it). This is one of the harder features to find.
11. I guess stainless is preferrable all else being equal, but so far I have loved working with good carbon steels, so to me it is worth taking a little extra care on keeping the blade dry.
12. Per troutfisher1311, comfortable, secure spot for thumb (reverse cutting) on heel of handle
13. Secure spot for thumb on blade spine
Anyway, you all can agree or disagree with these; I'd love to hear it. Based on all of this, I have picked up one of the venerable Old Timer sharpfingers. I have looked all over at all sorts of designes for much more cash, but this one still seems to be the top contender. I also picked up a Kershaw skinning knife (model 1080) for a very low price, and it is a nice little blade with a hollow grind. The sandvic stainless steel seems to be a good one.
Some others that I'd like to try are the Ken Onion Skinning (~$50-60) knife in that bohler D-2-like steel and the fixed blade Benchmade bone collector skinning knife (more expensive). I have also seen some great classic skinning knives that are shaped like a buffalo skinner but have a shorter blade that would be better for smaller animals. Maybe the many lamb skinning knives out there would be good, but they don't seem to have as much belly. Buck makes a lot of great looking designs, but I don't know if I love their 420HC steel -- the fixed alpha hunters made from sandvic are probably great. Some svords look very nice too if you like convex.