–HERE is a list of my current favorite palette knives. The first set listed is really all you need to start painting, and they are my current go-to brand.Many of the knives shown in the video are no longer available, but I include it to illustrate the basic concept of my painting arsenal and to show my basic approach to mark-making. Some, not shown in the video, like the silicon spatulas, are new additions and are really fun to have in your kit.
Here is a numbered, paragraph-by-paragraph description of each palette knife I use with links:
Here is a numbered, paragraph-by-paragraph description of each palette knife I use with links:
1. Best set overall: This is the best set of knives to get if you can only afford a few knives from other brands. These cover all the bases, and you can paint for years with this set. They are exceptionally flexible, and some are the best in class (such as the flat knife type).
2. Round palette knife: This is good to add foliage to trees, edit edges, and remove heavy paint along an edge.
3. Ginkgo leaf-shaped palette knife: This knife will move a lot of paint, yet give lots of various marks, both from the side and the tip. It is great for blending between patches of color and for softening or removing excess texture.
4. Blunt, short palette knife: This is good for broad yet small detail. It is the best replacement for a discontinued blunt knife I used years ago.
5. Spatula paint scrapers/putty knives: I use these to get paint out of cans (it helps keep the surface flat as you pull the color out, thus slowing drying). But I also use them as paint erasers. I simply scrape the canvas with these, using the blunt ends, to pull off the errant paint strokes. I also use these to crate straight lines.
6. Large trowel-like palette knife: This is great for simplifying large strokes at the end of a painting session. I often use it in the last hour of painting. This is pretty close to a must-have for me, if you can only afford one addition to the large set mentioned above.
7. Paint scraper: This is great for scraping the palette, opening cans of paint, and general heavy-duty scraping.
8. Silicon Spatulas: These are really great for editing strokes and softening passages. They can also be used to add paint to the canvas and give a very soft stroke.
9. Oakblade Extra Flex: This is a really great palette knife that is great for finishing edges in the last stages of your painting. Check out the other shapes as well. I have quite a few, but this is the must-have shape for me.
Let me know if you know of any other interesting knives.
Brad Teare
Above painting: Road Near Avon, 20″ x 20″, available at Anthony’s Fine Art
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Updated: 25th April 2026
