Another design feature often found is the presence of holes in the blade to help to prevent the cheese from sticking to it.
A cheese knife, on the other hand, may look similar to a cleaver in that it starts out thinner at the handle and then gets wider away from the base.
Another popular design is that of a large off-set straight blade with handles on both ends - either parallel in line, but raised above, or at 90 degrees - so that a great amount of pressure may be applied.
He also tried to make a butter slicer (smørehøvel) built on the same general design, this idea was however scrapped after first prototype.
The cutting edge of cheese cutters are typically a fine gauge stainless steel or aluminium wire (a "cheesewire") stretched across a supporting frame.
The plastic handle rotates upward to tighten the wire, and is secured to the cutting arm with a screw.
The board-style cheese slicer has been expanded to include marble, stainless steel, and plastic cutting boards.
Many of these wires have loops on the ends like the Prodyne models; others have small rings or knots that fit into a slot on the handle and cutting arm.
Particularly, it is used in a manner similar to both a spade for digging into the heavily veined central section of a medium-hard, but crumbly Stilton cheese truckle or wheel and then as a spoon for scooping the crumbled pieces - traditionally puddled with a splash or two of port, or a similar sweet fortified wine.