HandleThe part the hand grips. Handles are made of wood, plastic, rubber, metal or composites. Wood grips well but needs more care, and stainless steel is durable and sanitary but can be slippery.
HeelThe blade's rear part, nearest the hand. It is used for cuts that need more force.
Spine (back)The top, unsharpened side of the blade, opposite the edge. It is usually the thickest part of the blade, and it adds weight and strength.
Edge (cutting edge)The whole cutting surface, from the point back to the heel. It may be plain or serrated. A serrated one suits food that is firm outside and soft inside, such as bread or tomatoes.
BladeThe steel working part of a knife. On a chef's knife it is most commonly 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 in) long, and 20 cm (8 in) is the most common size.
PointThe knife's very end, where edge and spine meet. It is used for piercing.
Chef's knife 6
ButtThe handle's end. When a knife carries a separate metal fitting at this end, as the hunting knife below does, that fitting is called the pommel.
Scales (handle scales)Two pieces of handle material fixed to either side of the tang. The material can be wood, plastic or a composite.
Rivets (pins)The metal pins, usually three, holding the scales on the tang. Some makers use screws, which can be tightened or taken out so that a worn handle can be replaced.
Tang (full tang)The part of the blade steel that runs into the handle. This one is a full tang: it runs the whole length of the grip, and on a finished knife it often shows as a line of steel along the top and bottom of the handle.
BolsterA thick piece of metal where blade and handle join. It strengthens the knife and adds weight and balance. A kitchen knife with none is often, but not always, stamped from sheet steel and not forged.
Tip (belly)About the first third of the blade, for small or delicate work. When it is curved, as on a chef's knife, it is also called the belly or the curve, and the curve lets a cook rock the knife on the board.
Hunting knife and sheath 10
Lanyard hole (thong hole)A hole for a lanyard, which secures the knife to the wrist. This cord or strap can also help pull a knife from its sheath.
PommelA fitting at the end of the handle. On a hidden-tang knife it can be threaded onto the end of the tang, which tightens the whole handle. The word comes from an Anglo-Norman word meaning little apple.
Hidden tangA tang that cannot be seen from outside. The handle covers it all the way round. The grip slides over it and is held by glue or by a pommel threaded onto its end.
Guard (crossguard)The barrier where blade meets handle. It stops the hand sliding forward onto the edge. Each arm that stands out is called a quillon.
RicassoThe flat, unsharpened section where the blade meets the guard or bolster. The grind stops short of it, so it keeps the full thickness of the steel. Not every knife has one.
ChoilA small unsharpened notch where the cutting edge ends. It lets the whole length of the edge reach a sharpening stone. On a kitchen knife the same word means the spot where the heel meets the bolster.
Fuller (groove)A groove along the flat of a blade. It makes the blade lighter while keeping much of its stiffness. It is sometimes called a blood groove, but channeling blood is not its purpose.
Grind (bevel)The face where the blade thins from full thickness to the edge. Its cross-section names the blade: flat ground tapers in a straight line, hollow ground is concave. One maker's glossary calls this face the bevel.
Swedge (false edge)A tapered or beveled strip near the spine, behind the point. It thins the point so that it pierces more easily. It is also called a false edge, and it is often left unsharpened.
SheathThe cover a fixed-blade knife is carried in. That is why such a knife is sometimes called a sheath knife. Some sheaths are leather, and many modern ones are molded from a polymer.
How this list was compiled: Part names and every detail line were checked, for facts only and with nothing copied, against pages read on 2026-09-19. A name is printed only when at least two independent pages use it. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knife (blade, handle, point, edge, grind, spine, fuller, ricasso, guard, butt, lanyard, tang, full and stick tangs, bolster, handle materials, flat and hollow grinds, plain and serrated edges, sheath knife), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchen_knife (point, tip also known as belly or curve, edge, heel, spine, bolster, choil, tang, scales, rivets usually three, butt, chef's knife lengths of 15 to 25 cm with 20 cm most common, the curve that lets a cook rock the knife, bolster and stamped blades, serrated edges for bread and tomatoes), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_(tools) (full, partial, hidden, rat-tail and through tangs, scales fastened to either side of the tang, pommel nut), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuller_(weapon) (fuller, lighter blade, blood groove as a nickname only), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilt (hilt of a knife as guard, grip and pommel, quillon, ricasso, pommel from an Anglo-Norman word for little apple), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scabbard (a scabbard is a sheath for a sword, dagger or knife, modern polymer knife sheaths) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunting_knife (single edge, clip point and drop point blades, fixed blades). A cookware maker's guide: https://madeincookware.com/blogs/parts-of-a-knife (butt, scales, rivets and screws as handle fasteners, full, partial and hidden tang, bolster, heel, spine, edge, point, tip). A knife maker's glossary: https://kershaw.kaiusa.com/knife-anatomy (point, tip, swedge, edge, bevel, spine, ricasso, choil, handle, handle scale, lanyard hole, butt). A custom knifemaker's glossary: https://www.jayfisher.com/Knife_Anatomy_Parts_Names_Definitions.htm (belly, spine also called the back, swage or false edge, grind, ricasso, choil, fuller, quillon, guard, bolster, full and hidden tang, handle scales, pommel threaded onto the tang, lanyard or thong hole). A trade body: https://www.akti.org/resources/akti-approved-knife-definitions/ (swedge and false edge as one thing, crossguard or quillon). Labels, hints, detail lines, groups and position notes were written for this site. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site, 2026-09-19. Original line drawing built from our own part list and layout grid; nothing was traced or copied from any picture. Read for accuracy (text only): Wikipedia, Kitchen knife (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchen_knife), Knife (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knife) and Clip point (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clip_point), and the knife anatomy glossary of the knifemaker Jay Fisher (https://www.jayfisher.com/Knife_Anatomy_Parts_Names_Definitions.htm). Licence: own work
How it works
This parts of a knife diagram has two drawings: a chef's knife and a fixed-blade hunting knife with its sheath. Together they carry 22 parts. Study shows each name. Find it and Name it turn them into a quiz. Print blank and Print labelled make a worksheet and its key.
Read the full guide
Parts of a kitchen knife: the top drawing
The group Chef's knife zooms to the 12 parts of a kitchen knife. Six belong to the blade: point, tip, edge, heel, spine and the blade as a whole. Six sit behind it, from bolster to butt. One scale is drawn cut away so the full tang shows.
Parts of a hunting knife, and the parts of a blade
The lower drawing adds the 10 parts of a hunting knife that the chef's knife lacks, such as the swedge and the sheath. For the parts of a blade alone, pick the group Blade: point to heel, which has 6, or Hunting knife blade, which has 5. No single knife has all 22: the fuller and the ricasso are optional.
Point and tip are two answers. The point is the very end. The tip is about the first third of the blade, also called the belly on a curved chef's knife. In Name it, press Type it, and belly counts.
Every handle has a butt, its rear end. A pommel is a separate fitting there, so the quiz asks for the butt on the chef's knife and the pommel on the hunting knife.
Choil means two things: where the heel meets the bolster on a kitchen knife, and the small notch where the edge stops on the hunting knife. Only the notch has a ring.
Questions and answers
What are the main parts of a knife?
Two: the blade and the handle. The group Start here: 6 main parts adds four names from the blade: point, edge, spine and heel. After a round, the main button reviews any you missed. When all six come back right, add the bolster, tang, scales, rivets and butt.
What is a full tang?
The tang is the part of the blade steel that runs into the handle. A full tang runs the whole length of the grip, with a scale riveted to each side. The hunting knife's hidden tang is covered by the handle on every side.
Is the groove on a hunting knife a blood groove?
Its name is the fuller: a groove along the flat of the blade that makes it lighter while keeping much of its stiffness. Blood groove is a nickname that Type it accepts, but channeling blood is not what the groove is for.