Types of Knives Guide
Knives as weapons
As a weapon, the knife is universally adopted as an essential tool. For example:
* Knife bayonet: A knife-shaped close-quarter fighting weapon designed to fit on or over the muzzle of a rifle barrel or similar weapon, used as a last-resort weapon or tool
* Combat knife: Any knife intended to be used mainly in close-quarter fighting
* Trench knife: Purpose-made or improvised knives, intended for close-quarter fighting, particularly in trench warfare
* Shiv: A crudely made homemade knife out of everyday materials, especially prevalent in prisons among inmates. An alternate name in some prisons is Shank.
Knives as utensils
A primary aspect of the knife as a tool includes dining, used either in food preparation or as cutlery. Examples of this include:
* Bread knife: A knife with a serrated blade for cutting bread
* Boning knife: A knife used for removing the bones of poultry, meat, and fish
* Carving knife: A knife for carving large cooked meats such as poultry, roasts, hams
* Chef's knife: Also known as a French knife, a cutting tool used in preparing food
* Electric knife: An electrical device consisting of two serrated blades that are clipped together, providing a sawing action when powered on
* Kitchen knife: Any knife, including the chef's knife, that is intended to be used in food preparation
* Table knife: A piece of cutlery, either a butter knife, steak knife, or both, that is part of a table setting, accompanying the fork and spoon
Knives as tools
As a utility tool the knife can take many forms, including:
* Bowie knife: Commonly, any large sheath knife, or a specific style of knife designed by Colonel Jim Bowie
* Butterfly knife: A folding knife also known as a balisong, with two handles counter-rotating around the tang such that, when closed, the blade is concealed within the handles
* Diver's knife: A knife adapted for use in diving and watersports and a necessary part of standard diving dress
* Electrician's knife: An insulated knife used to cut electrical wire
* Hunting knife: A knife used to dress large game
* Pocket knife: Also known as a multi-tool or jackknife, a knife which may contain several blades, as well as other tools
* Palette knife: A knife, or frosting spatula, lacking a cutting edge, used by artists for tasks such as mixing and applying paint, and in cooking for spreading icing
* Scalpel: A medical knife, used to perform surgery
* Straight razor: A reusable knife blade used for shaving hair
* Survival knife: A sturdy knife, sometimes with a hollow handle filled with survival equipment
* Utility knife: A knife used for cutting sheet materials, including cardboard boxes
* Wood carving knife: Knifes used for wood carving, often with short and thin blades for better control
Knives as a tradition
* Kukri: A Nepalese knife used as both tool and weapon
* Laguiole knife: A traditional French pocket-knife, originally produced in the town of Laguiole in the Aveyron region of southern France in the early 19th century
* Lajinaa: A small spear, sometimes used in close range battles, used mostly by Spaniard pirates who raided trade ships in the gulf coast
* Mora knife: Similar in design to Finnish puukkos, a range of belt-knives manufactured by the cutleries of the town of Mora in Dalarna, Sweden
* Opinel knife: A simple, inexpensive, wooden pocket-knife, manufactured since the 1890s in the town of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in the Savoie region of France
* Puukko: A traditional Finnish or Scandinavian style woodcraft belt-knife used as a tool rather than a weapon
* Sabatier: A cooking knife manufactured in Thiers, France from well established manufacturers from the early 19th century
* Seax: A Germanic single-edged knife, used primarily as a tool, but may also have been a weapon
* Swiss Knife: A multiple-purpose pocket Swiss tool (see Pocket Knife above), usually containing several blades of different lengths, a corkscrew, a can-opener, a toothpick, tongs and even a little wood-saw and scissors sometimes. It was created in 1891 for the Swiss military.
* Ulu: An Inuit woman's all-purpose knife
* Sgian Dubh: A small dagger traditionally worn with highland dress (kilt)