Best Palette Knives of 2026
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Palette knives are an essential tool for any artist who wants to create unique and textured paintings. These knives are often used to mix colors on the palette, but they can also be used to apply paint directly onto the canvas. With a range of sizes and shapes available, artists can create a variety of effects, from smooth blends to bold strokes. Palette knives are made from a variety of materials, including metal, plastic, and wood, and can be found in many art supply stores. Whether you're a professional artist or a beginner, adding a palette knife to your collection can help take your paintings to the next level.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks
Top 10 Palette Knives
CONDA Palette Knife Painting Spatula Set
The CONDA Palette Knife Painting Spatula Set includes 5 standard paint knife styles with diverse sizes and shapes for applying paint to the canvas, shaping colors, and mixing paints on the palette. The high-quality stainless steel blade resists all wear and corrosion from any media including acrylics. The ergonomically designed handle offers increased comfort and grip for professional artists, hobbyists, students and teachers. The set is perfect for mixing, spreading, scumbling, scratching, large paintings, murals, theater work, and can be used for Gesso, Paint, Modeling Paste & Texture Gels, Aggregates, Plaster.
Liquitex Professional Freestyle Painting Knife
The Liquitex Professional Freestyle Painting Knife is an ideal tool for spreading, scumbling, smoothing, smudging, mixing, and pre-mixing paint. It is perfect for working with gesso, paint, modeling paste, and texture gels. This palette knife can be used with Liquitex Professional Acrylic Paint Colors and Mediums, making it suitable for professional artists, creative hobbyists, art students, and teachers.
CONDA 11-Piece Stainless Steel Palette Knife Set
The CONDA Palette Knife Set offers 11 different spatulas, each with a unique shape and size, giving you plenty of options for applying and shaping paint on your canvas. Each knife comes individually packaged to keep them safe and in great condition. Made from high-quality stainless steel, these knives resist wear and corrosion, so you can use them with acrylics and other media without worry. The hardwood handles are designed for comfort and a secure grip, making it easier for you to work on large paintings, murals, or detailed art projects. This set is perfect for artists, students, and hobbyists looking for durable and versatile tools.
U.S. Art Supply Stainless Steel Palette Knife Set
The U.S. Art Supply Palette Knives set includes five premium stainless steel knives with comfortable wooden handles. These knives are designed for various painting techniques, allowing you to easily mix colors, spread paints, and create textures on your canvases. Their flexible blades make applying oil and acrylic paints a breeze, ensuring a smooth finish every time. You can also use these knives for sculpting and even cake decorating, making them versatile tools for both artists and bakers. With their durable design, you can trust these knives for all your creative projects.
10PCS Stainless Steel Painting Knife Set by CUALORK
This 10-piece palette knife set by CUALORK is made of sturdy and lightweight stainless steel, with ergonomic plastic handles for easy grip. The set includes 5 different shape designs for convenient painting strokes of different sizes. The stainless steel strips between the handles prevent fingers from touching the painting and prevent the blade from loosening and falling off. These mixing knives are multipurpose and can be widely applied in different drawing methods, such as spreading, mixing, and pre-mixing paint. This set is ideal for watercolor, oil painting, canvas painting, street art, and is suitable for professional artists, beginners, and art students.
Qulkws Artist Stainless Steel Palette Knife Set
The Qulkws Palette Knife Set offers seven different stainless steel knife heads, each designed to help you with various painting techniques, from broad strokes to fine details. Made from durable and lightweight stainless steel, these knives are built to last and resist wear, making them great for frequent use. The comfortable rounded handles ensure a good grip, reducing hand strain during long painting sessions so you can work longer with ease. These knives are perfect for mixing, layering, and adding texture whether you work with oil, acrylic, or canvas, making them a versatile choice for both beginners and experienced artists.
CONDA 8-Piece Palette Knife Set with Wood Handles
The CONDA Palette Knife Set is a versatile tool for artists, featuring five stainless steel knives and three plastic scrapers, each individually packaged for safety. These knives come in various sizes and shapes, allowing you to apply, mix, and shape paint on your canvas with precision and ease. The wood handles are designed ergonomically to provide a comfortable grip, making long painting sessions less tiring. Whether you're working with acrylics, gesso, or texture gels, this set offers durability and flexibility, making it ideal for professionals, hobbyists, and students looking to enhance their painting techniques.
Artist Painting Knives Set
The Artist Painting Knives Set includes 5 stainless steel spatula palette knives with a unique design to prevent the touch of finger from the painting and avoid blades from loosing and falling out. The wood red brown handle provides an excellent hand feeling and grip while the quality of the stainless steel material makes it easy to clean. These knives are perfect for various painting such as Oil, Canvas, Acrylic and more, creating diverse painting performance with different drawing methods.
5-Piece Stainless Steel Painting Knives Set-Lightwish
The 5-Piece Stainless Steel Painting Knives Set by Lightwish is an excellent painting accessory for artists. Made of stainless steel, these painting knives have excellent elasticity and can resist corrosion from any media. The red-brown wooden handle is ergonomically designed for a comfortable grip. The set can be used for oil, canvas, acrylic painting, and more. The well-made design includes curve stainless steel bars to connect the blades between the handle, preventing finger touch and avoiding blade loosening. The set is easy to clean and can be used for mixing, spreading, scumbling, scratching, and large paintings.
Painting Knife Set with Wood Handle
This Painting Knife Set includes 2 different sizes of knives, made with sturdy beech wood handle and quality stainless steel blade that can be bent into different degrees. These versatile art painting knife tools are useful for watercolor, oil, acrylic painting, nail, body, face painting, miniature, model, craft, rock painting, etc. They are easy to clean and comfortable to hold with smooth wooden grips that fit well into your hand. The hole design on the handle allows you to hang them anywhere you want for easy access.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is a palette knife used for?
A palette knife is a versatile tool used by artists for various purposes. It is primarily used for picking up, applying, and mixing paint on the artist's palette. Additionally, it can be used for other mixed media techniques and for cleaning the palette. Palette knives are an alternative to brushes and are commonly used in painting.
2. Is it better to paint with a palette knife or brush?
The choice between using a palette knife or brush depends on the desired effect and personal preference. Palette knives are particularly useful for mixing paints without wasting pigment. They allow for precise application of thick layers of paint and can create unique textures and impasto effects. Brushes, on the other hand, are better for finer details and smoother application. Many artists use both tools in their artwork to achieve different effects.
3. Who normally uses a palette knife?
Palette knives are commonly used by artists who work with oil or acrylic paints. They are an essential tool for painters and are typically found in their artist kit. Palette knives are used by artists of various skill levels and styles, as they are versatile and can be used for mixing paints together and applying paint from tubes onto palettes.
During our palette knives research, we found 24 palette knives products and shortlisted 10 quality products. We collected and analyzed 247,098 customer reviews through our big data system to write the palette knives list. We found that most customers choose palette knives with an average price of $6.56.
The palette knives are available for purchase. We have researched hundreds of brands and picked the top brands of palette knives, including conda, Liquitex, U.S. Art Supply, Cualork, Qulkws. The seller of top 1 product has received honest feedback from 249 consumers with an average rating of 4.9.
Ann Hale is a seamstress, pattern maker, and fashion designer with extensive sewing experience. She has worked in the fashion industry for over 10 years now after receiving Associates's Degree in fashion design in 2010. Also as a writer, she has many creative and unique insights when it comes to articles.
Palette Knives Comparison Table
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| Brand | conda | Liquitex | conda | U.S. Art Supply | Cualork | Qulkws | conda | Gemerglity | LIGHTWISH | Honoson |
| Material | Metal, Stainless Steel | Iron | Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel, Wood | Metal, Stainless Steel | - | Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel |
| Handle Material | Wood | Thermoplastic Rubber (TPR) | Wood | Wood | Plastic | - | Wood | Wood | Wood | Wood |
| Recommended Uses For Product | Mixing, Spreading, Scumbling, Scratching, Large Paintings, Murals, Theater work with Gesso, Paint, Modeling Paste & Texture Gels, Aggregates, Plaster | - | oil painting, palette knife painting, and working with various art materials | painting, cake decorating | Painting activities | - | - | Painting (oil, canvas, acrylic) | Oil, Canvas, Acrylic Painting | watercolor, oil, acrylic painting, nail painting, body painting, face painting, miniature, model, craft, rock painting |
| Unit Count | - | 1.0 Count | - | - | 10.0 Count | 7.0 Count | 5.0 Count | - | 1.0 Count | - |
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