A & B Profile microtome knives are planar concave knives. These knives are very sharp, but the cutting edge is fairly fragile. Therefore these profiles are typically used for very soft material sectioning. Due to the fragility of the edge most users of these profiles have switched to using C profile knives which have a stronger edge

C Profile microtome knives are wedge shaped knives. This profile is the standard profile for tech's who cut soft materials typically embedded in paraffin. These knives are also very sharp and preferred over the A & B profile knives due to their durability and strength of the cutting edge. This profile is very commonly found to be made of steel; but it is also found made out of Tungsten Carbide and used in a few speciality applications. The steel knives of this profile are also found to be used quite frequently in cryostat cutting applications.

D Profile microtome knives are wedge shaped at the base and have a chisel shaped bevel placed on the cutting edge. When made of Tungsten carbide, this profile is the work horse and standard knife used in sectioning hard materials with rotary style microtomes. The design of this knife allows it to be as sharp as a C profile knife, at the same time the chisel style bevel increases the strength of the cutting edge so dramatically that it can continuously section bone and other hard materials with minimal need for reconditioning and re-sharpening. This profile knife is mainly made out of Tungsten Carbide and used in resin histotechnology. This profile is becoming more popular in the steel form as many tech's have found it to be very successful at cutting fibers and slightly tougher hairs embedded in paraffin.

CD Profile microtome knives are parallel sided knives that exploit the same advantages as the D profile microtome knives. As with the other profiles these knives are extremely sharp. These knives are typically used in specialty industrial applications, but this profile is also gaining popularity among techs for traditional histotechnolgy.

Polycut Profile microtome knives are also parallel sided by design, and have the same chisel bevel that D profile knives use. Again, this is an extremely sharp knife and is found to be made of Tungsten Carbide more often than steel. This profile is used mainly in the sledge / sliding microtome and used for cutting the hard materials that the D profile knives cut.