Spreader or Table Knife? The Best Butter Knives for Your Home

Say butter knife, and people mean one of two things. Some mean the small spreader that sits on a bread plate. Others mean the round-tipped table knife from the everyday drawer. And then there’s a third kind, the kitchen spreader with a serrated edge for sandwiches and toast. All of them spread butter, and they don’t all belong in the same place.

Etiquette Scholar, a guide to table settings, describes a butter spreader as about 5 to 6 inches long with a rounded tip, sometimes slightly wider at the end. We took that as a starting point and included all three kinds, labeled clearly, so you can buy the one you actually mean. We read each listing for size, material and care.

Julia’s earns a commission on purchases made through links on this page, at no cost to you. We have not used these knives ourselves. Recommendations rest on maker and listing details and the flatware etiquette page we read.

Quick verdict: which butter knife to buy

Five butter knives at a glance

Five that cover the main uses, with details taken from each listing.

Our picks for the best butter knives

Which butter knife suits your table

For the kitchen counter, buy a serrated spreader such as the Wüsthof or the Zyliss. For the table, a proper spreader such as Boska, Mikasa, Oneida or Keawell looks right on a bread plate. If you simply need more table knives, the Amazon Basics pack does it. And for tubs and tall jars, New Star’s long handle is the plain, practical answer.

If the real issue is butter that’s too cold, a butter dish on the counter may do more than a new knife. We have a guide to that below.

How to choose a butter spreader set

Where you’ll use it

This decides most of it. A serrated kitchen spreader handles cold butter and crusty bread, but it doesn’t look right at the table. A table spreader looks right but won’t do much with a cold stick. Think about whether you’re buying for morning toast or for dinner guests.

Blade shape

A wide, round blade covers bread quickly and won’t tear soft slices. Zyliss states a 1.5-inch width. A serrated section gives you some cut, which is useful if butter’s firm. Etiquette Scholar notes that some table spreaders are slightly wider at the tip.

Length

The classic table spreader is 5 to 6 inches. Mikasa at 6-5/8 and Keawell at 6.7 run a little longer. New Star at 8.75 is built for reach. Full dinner knives are longer still.

Steel and care

Wüsthof says hand wash only. Zyliss allows the dishwasher but recommends hand washing. The others state dishwasher safety, apart from Oneida’s Chateau, whose listing doesn’t say. Where a grade is given, 18/10 and 18/8 are higher in nickel than 18/0, which generally helps with rust.

Single pieces or a set

Mikasa and Oneida sell one piece at a time, which is useful if you’re matching a pattern. Keawell, New Star and Boska sell sets, and Amazon Basics sells a dozen.

How we picked these butter knives

We looked for knives sold for spreading butter from makers we could identify, in all three common types, with Amazon-first brands kept to two. Every pick was in stock with a new lead offer on our final check. We left out porcelain-handled cheese spreaders, which are a different kind of gift, along with novelty 3-in-1 curler knives, bulk packs and a Sant’ Andrea set with very little listing detail.

We have not used any of these, and no review search ran for this page, so it rests on what the makers and listings say. We read Etiquette Scholar’s page on knives for the classic spreader size.

Butter knife questions, answered

What is a butter knife?

It can mean a small butter spreader or an everyday round-tipped table knife. Etiquette Scholar describes the spreader as about 5 to 6 inches long with a rounded tip.

Is a butter knife sharp?

Most table spreaders aren’t, and they’re rounded by design. The kitchen spreaders here have serrated sections meant for cutting, so treat those as knives.

How do I spread cold butter?

A serrated edge helps, as with the Wüsthof or the Zyliss. Otherwise, the simple answer is softening it first. Our butter dish guides cover keeping butter on the counter.

Are butter knives dishwasher safe?

Most on this list are. Wüsthof says hand wash only, Zyliss recommends hand washing, and Oneida’s Chateau listing doesn’t say.

Does a table setting need a butter spreader?

Etiquette Scholar says a spreader isn’t used at a formal private-home dinner with strict protocol, but it is used at formal luncheons and informal meals, where bread and butter are served.

Our final pick for the butter dish

Our pick for most kitchens is the Wüsthof, because it does the daily job and comes from a maker with a clear warranty. To keep butter soft enough to spread, see our guide to the best butter dish or the best butter dish for the counter. For cutting the loaf, there’s the best bread knife. For the rest of the drawer, see the best flatware sets. And if you’d like warm tortillas with your butter instead, you can call to order from Julia’s Mexican Restaurant.