A palette knife is a blunt tool

Tool

A tool is a device that can be used to produce an item or achieve a task, but that is not consumed in the process. Informally the word is also used to describe a procedure or process with a specific purpose. Tools that are used in particular fields or activities may have different designations such...

 used for mixing or applying paint, with a flexible steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 blade. It is primarily used for mixing paint

Paint

Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...

 colors, paste, etc., or for marbling

Paper marbling

Paper marbling is a method of aqueous surface design, which can produce patterns similar to smooth marble or other stone. The patterns are the result of color floated on either plain water or a viscous solution known as size, and then carefully transferred to an absorbent surface, such as paper or...

, decorative endpapers, etc. The "palette" in the name is a reference to an artist's palette

Palette (painting)

A palette , in the original sense of the word, is a rigid, flat surface on which a painter arranges and mixes paints. A palette is usually made of wood, plastic, ceramic, or other hard, inert, nonporous material, and can vary greatly in size and shape...

 which is used for mixing oil paint

Oil paint

Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...

 and acrylic

Acrylic paint

Acrylic paint is fast drying paint containing pigment suspension in acrylic polymer emulsion. Acrylic paints can be diluted with water, but become water-resistant when dry...

 paints.

Art knives come primarily in two types:

• palette knife resembling a putty knife
  Putty knife
  A putty knife is a specialized tool used when glazing single glazed windows, to work putty around the edges of each pane of glass. An experienced glazer will apply the putty by hand, and then smooth it with the knife...
  
   with a rounded tip, suited for mixing paints on the palette;
• painting knife
  Painting knife
  A painting knife is an artist's tool with a flexible steel blade used to apply paint on the canvas.It has a pointed tip, lowered or "cranked" like a trowel, suited for painting on canvas....
  
   with a pointed tip, lowered or "cranked" like a trowel
  Trowel
  A trowel is one of several similar hand tools used for digging, smoothing, or otherwise moving around small amounts of viscous or particulate material.-Hand tools:...
  
  , suited for painting on canvas.

While palette knives are manufactured without sharpened cutting edges, with prolonged use they may become "sharpened" by the action of abrasive pigment

Pigment

A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...

s such as earth colors.

Palette knives are also used in cooking

Cooking

Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...

, where their flexibility allows them to easily slide underneath pastries

Pastry

Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...

 or other items. See frosting spatula

Frosting spatula

A frosting spatula or palette knife is a kitchen utensil designed especially for the use of spreading a substance onto a flat surface, such as frosting on a cake. It is also an ideal tool for applying spreads onto sandwiches in mass quantities....

.