Cheese knife

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.

Soft cheese knife
An assortment of cheese slicers
An assortment of cheese slicers
Parmesan cheese knife, featuring a short, stubby blade
Ostehøvel
Cheese cutter, an alternative to the cheese knife
Girolle
Cheese plane
Cheese scoop ( c. 1942 )