Butter knives can be distinguished from other cutlery by their safer dull-edge and rounded tip, which prevents tearing the bread as the butter is being spread.

Why do butter knives have serrated edges?

A serrated butter knife allows you to use special teeth to scrape the surface of the butter, creating a nice, soft and easy to spread stream of butter. These teeth are often sharp enough to cut bread, but not nearly as efficient as a traditional bread knife.

Why are butter knives called butter knives?

In this usage, a butter knife (or master butter knife) is a sharp-pointed, dull-edged knife, often with a sabre shape, used only to serve out pats of butter from a central butter dish to individual diners' plates.