A palette knife is a blunt tool used for mixing or applying paint, with a flexible

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

blade. It is primarily used for applying paint to the canvas, mixing

paint Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...

colors, adding texture to the painted surface, paste, etc., or for marbling, decorative endpapers, etc. The "palette" in the name is a reference to an artist's

palette Palette may refer to: * Cosmetic palette, an archaeological form * Palette, another name for a color scheme * Palette (painting), a wooden board used for mixing colors for a painting ** Palette knife, an implement for painting * Palette (company), ...

which is used for mixing oil paint and acrylic paints. Art knives come primarily in two types: * palette knife resembling a putty knife with a rounded tip, suited for mixing paints on the palette; *

painting knife A painting knife is an artist's tool with a flexible steel blade used to apply paint to the canvas. It has a pointed tip, lowered or "cranked" like a trowel, suited for painting on canvas. The blade can be of different lengths and shapes : tri ...

with a pointed tip, lowered or "cranked" like a trowel, suited to painting on canvas. While palette knives are manufactured without sharpened cutting edges, with prolonged use they may become "sharpened" by the action of abrasive pigments such as earth colors. Palette knives are also used in

cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to Outline of food preparation, prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric ...

, where their flexibility allows them to easily slide underneath pastries or other items. See

frosting spatula A frosting spatula or palette knife is a kitchen utensil designed especially for the use of spreading a substance onto a flat surface, such as frosting on a cake. It is also an ideal tool for applying spreads onto sandwiches in mass quantities. ...

References

{{Reflist Knives Painting materials

See also

References