Editing Palette knife

{{Short description|Artist's equipment}}
[[File:Palette and painting knives.jpg|thumb|Palette knives (left) and painting knives (right)]]
A '''palette knife''' is a blunt [[tool]] used for mixing or applying paint, with a flexible [[steel]] blade. It is primarily used for applying paint to the canvas, mixing [[paint]] colors, adding texture to the painted surface, paste, etc., or for [[Paper marbling|marbling]], decorative endpapers, etc.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Christensen|first=Ingrid|date=2019-09-17|title=Why the Palette Knife Is an Essential Tool for Artists|url=https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-palette-knife-essential-tool-artists|access-date=2021-01-23|website=Artsy|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-05-28|title=Everything You Need to Know to Create Textured Paintings with Palette Knives|url=https://mymodernmet.com/palette-knife-painting/|access-date=2021-01-23|website=My Modern Met|language=en}}</ref>  The "palette" in the name is a reference to an artist's [[Palette (painting)|palette]] which is used for mixing [[oil paint]] and [[acrylic paint|acrylic]] paints.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Art Term - Palette|url=https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/palette|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-22|website=Tate Museum}}</ref>

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]] 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 [[pigment]]s such as earth colors.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ramachandran |first=Divya |date=March 5, 2018 |title=Palette Knife Painting |url=https://divyaramachandran.medium.com/palette-knife-painting-8da83de36d5d |access-date=March 2, 2025 |website=Medium}}</ref>

Palette knives are also used in [[cooking]], where their flexibility allows them to easily slide underneath [[pastry|pastries]] or other items. See [[frosting spatula]].

== See also ==

* [[Palette (painting)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Knives}}

[[Category:Knives]]
[[Category:Painting materials]]