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Painting knives vs palette knives
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Message
Posted
I'm getting a little weary about the confusion between painting knives and palette knives that's being encouraged by suppliers of art materials: they're not the same thing. A painting knife should be a flexible instrument with which you can lay paint down with some sensitivity - a palette knife should be made of thicker metal - you CAN paint with it, but you might as well use a dinner knife. Its use is for scraping the palette clean, and mixing paint together to spare the delicate bristles of your brush from too much churning about on the wooden (or other) surface.
I've looked at several art materials sites this morning, and all of them are offering what look like palette knives and saying you can paint with them - yes, and I can probably lay on paint with an old shoe, but I'd much rather not. Has anyone else noticed this, and can you point me to a site offering real painting knives? Mine are very old and I'd like to replace them - but not with knives with the consistency of kitchen utensils.
Edited
by Robert Jones, NAPA
Posted
We all know that painting knives have a sort of cranked handle - not surprisingly, this is to prevent your knuckles and fingers touching the support as you apply paint! Not rocket science to work that one out.
But, yes, they’re often referred to as palette knives, it is irritating I suppose although I just accept it as the norm these days!
A palette knife is straight of course, no bend in it…
Buy good quality branded knives Robert, I’ve got W&N and Talens… the cheap sets that you see on Amazon are not flexible! A good knife needs to have a fair degree of flexibility , obvious of course!
Posted
Mine are so old they predate the Rowney/Daler merger - they've been very good, though that's partly because I normally use brushes - not as much wear as a real knife painter would subject them to. I'll keep on searching for them, as they used to be made - i.e. properly - and hope for success. There are so many rubbishy "artists materials" out there..
Posted
I used cheap palette knives because I didn't know the difference at the beginning and I painted with them. I use these now, which I would think are more of a painting knife. I pick them up in Cass Art. Usually about 7 pound per knife. They have a lovely flexible spring to them and a good gripping handle. I think they are RGM pro-grip Italy.
Posted
Glad you mentioned this Robert. These were my late mother's. I use the dinky one on the left regularly, forgot I had the middle three, and wondered about the shape of the one on the right. It's not really good at mixing paint, almost too springy.
She didnt have any of the flat palette type knives. I don't use any of them much on a picture...so far.
Edited
by Norrette Moore
Posted
How nice Norrette.
I have the things sitting in state on my brushes pot most of them many years old. I think I have always been at a loss as to what to do with them.
Applying paint?, mark making ,?cleaning pallets ? They watch me with balefullness.
I tend to apply paint with a variety of brushes, plastic cards ,
Toothp picks, kebab sticks , fingers.
Posted
Sylvia makes a good point, that painters use all sorts of random equipment nowadays, it seems whatever comes to hand to make the desired marks. So I think whatever they were designed as, painting knives will be used for mixing and vice versa. I must admit that I didn’t appreciate the difference until a few years ago when I think Alan or maybe Robert pointed it out! It’s one of those things which seems obvious once explained.
Norette’s collection above is attractive. I use mostly one similar to that on the left, and I will use it for mixing and painting because I will hold the paint up to match with my subject.
As I mostly use a tear off palette pad, I don’t need a palette knife for cleaning this off, as it gets binned when done.
However, re the springiness, make etc, you’ve made me think I will check out my knives later today to see exactly what I do have. Over the years I have bought packs of a few different sizes but find I mostly use the smallest.
Interesting discussion.
Posted
Hmm. Call me old fashioned, young Evans, but - I'm not that keen on the idea of using random implements to make painting marks; though in practice, of course - and thinking about it - I use fingers, finger nails (I once told Rupert Cordeux that Turner grew one thumb nail long, to enable him to scratch into his paint: he said, in so many words, that it made him feel quite fainty-queasy...), pen knife, old quill, pens.... even so, if I can I restrict my extraneous objects to painting knives and now and then a colour shaper - the synthetic-topped implements that were made by Forsline and Starr, which is the one I've got: then taken over by another company, and the range reduced so far as I can see - then I prefer to. There's usually an implement specially designed to achieve a given job, and I'd rather use it if there is.
The one thing - the ONLY thing - that was of any use to come out of the Bob Ross school of horrors was his knife - I haven't got one and won't be getting one either, but it has two edges, long and short; it looks like a useful bit of equipment, and I see that other makers offer something similar: maybe they always did, and Ross copied it. Anyway, be told - that's the only thing to emerge from that gentleman's practice that isn't an abortion, and you can tell anyone you like that I said so.....
(In passing, I wish to acquaint an indifferent world with a phrase I loathe - and that is the term "piece of kit": it's like nails scraping a blackboard. Just thought I'd mention it: carry on as you were.)
Posted
Well I checked out my selection and realised they are all painting knives not palette knives, so obviously I must be a real artist! I still only use the smallest and perhaps one other when the mood takes me. Incidentally mine don’t have a makers name so I assume they were cheapies which is maybe not so good. Can’t win!
Posted
I've never been sure of the difference between painting and palette knives, so thank you for clarifying.
I have a set of metal painting knives with wooden handles in a numbered set of 5 which I use for mixing paint as well as applying it. I bought them from the excellent Art Supplies section at Roundabout Stationery in Leominster, and I use them a lot. I specially like the smallest No 5 one for knife painting. I also have the remnants of a cheap set of white plastic "palette knives" (at least that's what they were marketed as 10 years ago) which contains both types, although I've broken several of the flat palette knives mixing paint. I also have one of the "useful" double edged Bob Ross knives Robert describes - although the plastic is very thick and inflexible, so I've only used it once.
I have also been known to apply oil paint with the edge of an old credit card, a plastic Evostick glue spreader (which I like a lot because it is small and flexible - well worth experimenting with) and my fingers.
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