Wrong knife, ruined cheese. Drag a chef's knife through a soft wheel of Brie and you'll understand why in about three seconds. Every cheese type behaves differently under a blade. Soft varieties cling and smear, firm ones crumble under the wrong motion, and blue cheeses fall apart the moment a thick blade passes through. Knowing which knife to reach for is the difference between a clean, confident cut and a crumbled mess.
Here's exactly what belongs in your cheese knife set and why each one earns its place.
1. Professional Soft Cheese Knife
Soft cheese is notoriously difficult to cut cleanly, especially at room temperature. The texture clings to everything, and a standard blade turns Brie or Camembert into a smeared disappointment within seconds.
The soft cheese knife solves this with a hollow or perforated blade. Those holes reduce surface contact so the cheese releases cleanly instead of dragging. Small design detail, big result.
Use it for Brie, Camembert, triple crèmes, and any soft-ripened variety. Room-temperature cheeses are the trickiest. They're at their most adhesive right when you want to serve them.
Having the right blade means you don't have to rush or refrigerate just to get a clean cut. If you're starting to build a collection, small cheese knives like this one are exactly where to begin.
2. Professional Serving Cheese Knife
The Professional Serving Cheese Knife does two jobs in one pass. It cuts and serves. Once you've made your slice, the forklet at the tip lets you lift and transfer it directly to the plate without touching the cheese.
That matters more than it sounds. The oils from your fingers affect both surface quality and flavor, and on a board where presentation counts, fingerprints and smearing show. The forklet removes that problem entirely.
Handmade in Italy with a stainless steel blade and solid walnut handle, this knife works across all cheese types, making it one of the most practical single tools in any cutting setup.
3. Professional Blue Cheese Knife
Blue cheeses like Gorgonzola, Roquefort, and Stilton are soft, crumbly, and notorious for sticking to any blade with real surface area.
The Professional Blue Cheese Knife is built for exactly this. Its blade measures just 0.25 inches wide, so there's minimal contact as it passes through. Less contact means less sticking, less tearing, and no clumping on the blade. It's the difference between a clean slice and a wedge that falls apart before it reaches the board.
Use it any time you're working with blue-veined varieties. A standard blade will drag through the body and destroy the texture entirely. Handmade in Italy with a stainless steel blade and solid walnut handle, it's built to the same standard as the rest of the knife range.
4. Professional Cheese Knife
The Professional Cheese Knife is the go-to blade for firm and hard cheeses. Its wide, sturdy blade with a flat edge is designed for applying even downward pressure which is exactly what aged Cheddar, Gruyère, and similar varieties need.
A rocking or dragging motion causes crumbling. A clean press straight down gives you uniform pieces every time. The offset walnut handle keeps your knuckles clear of the board and gives you full control over each cut.
This is also the knife worth using on anything aged. Manchego, Comté, or a well-matured Gouda all respond the same way. Firm texture, even pressure, consistent result. If there's one knife most home setups are missing, it's this one.
5. Professional Soft Cheese Knife w/ Forklet
This is the upgraded version of knife #1, designed for anyone who wants the full cut-to-serve workflow in a single tool.
The Professional Soft Cheese Knife w/ Forklet uses the same void blade to cut through Brie, Camembert, and other soft-ripened varieties without sticking. But the addition of the forklet means you can lift and transfer each slice immediately after cutting. No fingers, no separate tool, no flavor transfer.
Think of knife #1 as your everyday soft cheese cutter. This one is for when the board is going out to guests and presentation matters as much as the cut. Handmade in Italy with a stainless steel blade and solid walnut handle, it brings the same build quality as the rest of the knife range. Cut, lift, serve and done.
Other Cheese Tools Every Cheesemonger Needs
A solid knife collection handles most situations. But certain cheeses and prep tasks call for something more specific. These tools round out a genuinely complete setup.
Wire Cutter
For ultra-soft cheeses and fresh logs of chèvre, a cheese wire delivers the cleanest cut possible. No drag, no compression. The wire passes through without resistance and leaves a smooth surface behind. Something no blade can match with the most delicate soft varieties.
Handee Cheese Cutter
The Handee Cheese Cutter is a countertop wire cutter built for volume and precision. A patented floating stainless steel wire (60cm) slices smoothly through all cheese types with no crumbling or waste, then springs back to position, ready for the next cut.
The food-grade polycarbonate base resists chemical action from cheeses, wipes clean with a damp cloth, and replacement wires fit in seconds. For anyone cutting cheese regularly, it's the tool that makes every other method feel inefficient.
Cheese Storage Paper
The cut is only half the job. Once you've sliced and served, the remaining cheese needs to be wrapped correctly, or it deteriorates fast. Formaticum cheese storage paper is designed specifically for this. It lets the cheese breathe while maintaining the right moisture level, preserving the flavor and texture the cheesemaker intended. Plastic wrap suffocates cheese. The right paper keeps it alive.
Tips for Choosing the Right Cheese Knife
You don't need every knife at once. Here's how to build a practical kit without overcomplicating it:
- Start with three: a soft cheese knife, the blue cheese knife, and a hard cheese knife handle the majority of everyday situations.
- Invest in quality: cheap blades flex unevenly and damage texture. A well-made set lasts years with basic care.
- Clean between cuts: switching between varieties with a dirty blade transfers flavors and can introduce contamination where it doesn't belong.
- Pair knives with proper storage: after cutting, wrap each piece in proper cheese-storage paper. The knife gets the cut right; the wrap keeps it fresh.
Conclusion
The right knife isn't a luxury. It's respect for the cheese. Soft varieties need perforated blades. Hard ones need even pressure. Blue cheeses need thin, minimal-contact edges that won't tear the body apart. Match the tool to the texture, keep your blades clean, and every board you put together will look and taste exactly the way it's supposed to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about cheese knives, answered directly.
What knife is best for cutting soft cheese?
A soft cheese knife with holes or perforations in the blade is the right choice. The reduced surface contact stops the cheese from sticking and dragging, giving you a clean cut through Brie, Camembert, and other soft-ripened varieties without tearing the surface.
Why do cheese knives have holes in the blade?
The holes reduce the surface area in contact with the cheese. Less contact means less sticking, especially with soft cheeses like fresh goat cheese that cling to solid blades and smear instead of slicing cleanly. It's a functional design feature built around how soft cheese actually behaves.
What tool is best for slicing cheese thinly?
For ultra-soft varieties and fresh logs of chèvre, a cheese wire produces the cleanest results. No compression, no drag. Just a smooth pass through even the most delicate cheese.
Can a regular kitchen knife be used to cut cheese?
Technically yes, but it causes real problems in practice. A chef's knife drags through soft cheeses, crumbles hard varieties, and destroys the texture of aged cheese that needs even pressure rather than a slicing motion. The right knife makes a measurable difference in both presentation and the eating experience.
