Key points
- Three knives cover almost every board: a soft-cheese knife with holes in the blade for brie and goat cheese, a spade or fork-tipped knife for semi-hard wedges, and a small cleaver or block knife for aged, crumbly cheese.
- A cheese plane is for firm, dense cheese in thin slices and nothing else. Wire slicers do the same job for anything that would clog a plane.
- Blade thickness matters more than brand. Thin blades for soft cheese, thick for hard. A thin blade in a block of aged gouda snaps.
- Stainless blades go in the dishwasher. Brass, copper or wooden handles do not, which is the trade-off on most handmade sets.
Most cheese knife sets contain one knife that gets used constantly, two that get used sometimes, and one nobody can identify. This guide is for working out which is which before you buy, so you end up with a set that matches the cheese you actually serve.
If you want the short answer: own a soft-cheese knife with holes in the blade, a fork-tipped knife for everything in the middle, and a small cleaver for the hard stuff. Add a plane only if you slice firm cheese thin and often.
Soft-cheese knife: the one with holes
A narrow blade with large holes cut through it, often with a forked tip. The holes reduce the surface area the cheese can stick to, so brie, camembert, fresh goat cheese and triple creams come away in a clean slice rather than a smear.
It is thin for the same reason. A thin edge parts soft cheese without compressing it. That thinness is also its limit: it flexes in semi-hard cheese and should never meet anything crumbly or aged.
Some makers skip the holes and use a very narrow blade or a wire instead. Both work. The holes are the most common because they also look purposeful on a board.
Spade and fork-tipped knives: the middle of the board
A spade knife has a wide, flat, triangular blade like a small trowel. The fork-tipped knife is narrower with two prongs at the end. Both are made for semi-hard cheeses, the manchego, gruyère, young cheddar and gouda that make up most of a board.
The spade cuts and then scoops, so it suits cheeses that crumble a little. The fork tip cuts and then spears, so you can lift a slice to a cracker without fingers. If you are only buying one knife for a board, make it one of these two.
Blades on these are medium thickness. They will cut a wedge of mild cheddar cleanly and struggle, but survive, in an aged one.
Cleaver and block knife: for the hard, the aged and the crumbly
A short, tall, thick blade, often with a rounded or straight edge and a handle set high so your knuckles clear the board. This is the knife for parmesan, pecorino, aged gouda and crumbly cheddar: cheeses that do not slice so much as break.
The thickness is the point. You press straight down and the cheese splits along its natural fractures. A thin knife here either bends or snaps, which is how most cheese knife breakages reported by owners happen.
A parmesan knife is a smaller, almond-shaped cousin designed to be pushed in and twisted, breaking off a rough chunk. It is a specialist tool and a very good one if you eat a lot of hard Italian cheese.
Cheese plane and wire slicer: thin slices only
A plane is a flat, wide blade with a slot in it, drawn across the top of a block to shave off a thin, even slice. It is standard in Nordic kitchens for firm cheeses like jarlsberg and gouda. On anything soft it clogs immediately, and on anything crumbly it tears.
A wire slicer, either a hand-held bow or a board with a hinged arm, does the same job for a wider range of cheeses, including semi-soft ones that would stick to a plane. It is the better choice for a household that slices cheese for sandwiches more than for boards.
Spreaders and cheese forks
A spreader is a short, blunt, rounded blade for soft spreadable cheeses, pâtés and butter. It cuts nothing. A cheese fork is a two-pronged fork for holding a block steady while you cut, or for serving cubes. Sets often include one or both. They are useful in the way a butter knife is useful, and not worth paying extra for.
What to look at when buying
Blade material first. Stainless steel is the practical choice and goes in the dishwasher. Handmade sets often pair stainless blades with brass, copper or wooden handles, which are hand-wash only. The pairing is beautiful and the maintenance is real.
Blade thickness second. A good set has visibly different gauges: thin for the soft-cheese knife, thick for the cleaver. A set where every blade is the same thickness is a set of letter openers in different shapes.
Handle length and weight third. Knives that will live on a board at a party should be short enough to fit the board and heavy enough not to slide off a wedge.
Storage last. A block, a roll or a lined box keeps the edges apart. Loose in a drawer, they dull each other and the fork tips bend.
Who should not buy a full set
Anyone who serves one kind of cheese. If every board is brie and crackers, one holed knife is the whole set. Anyone who wants dishwasher-only tools should avoid wooden and brass handles however good they look. And anyone buying for a person who already has knives: the second set never gets used.
How we choose knives
When we recommend sets in our knives and accessories section, each pick lists the blade material, how many distinct blade types are in the box, whether it can go in the dishwasher, and what owners report about bending, rust and handle wear. Our full process is on the how we choose page.
Final verdict
Three blades of three thicknesses: holed for soft, fork-tipped or spade for semi-hard, cleaver for hard. Add a plane only if thin slices of firm cheese are a habit. Pick stainless if the knives go in the dishwasher, and pick the handmade brass-and-wood set only if someone in the house enjoys hand washing.
Questions people ask
Why do some cheese knives have holes in the blade?
Less steel touches the cheese, so soft and sticky cheeses release instead of smearing along the blade. The holes do nothing for hard cheese, where a thicker, solid blade is better.
What is the fork tip on a cheese knife for?
Spearing the slice you have just cut and lifting it to a cracker or plate without touching it. It makes the knife a serving tool as well as a cutter, which is why it is the one most people reach for.
Do I need a different knife for each cheese on a board?
For hygiene and flavour, yes, one knife per cheese so a blue does not end up on the brie. For variety of shape, three types cover almost any board.