What type of knife?

Soap operas are a strange thing to watch on television. Everything is always such a BIG DEAL. Every character has so much drama in their life that they need a psychiatrist to accompany them everywhere they go. Funny how they rarely go to psychiatrists though… hmmm… maybe that’s the soap opera killer. Once a shrink is introduced into the show its ratings start to plummet. There is always dramatic music during the really tense scenes. The tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife! This is a strange expression, because I don’t think it’s descriptive enough. If there was only one type of knife in this world it would suffice, but I think it requires qualification on the type of knife involved. Is it a butter knife? A cleaver? A cake-decorating knife? A plastic knife that you use to cut lettuce so that it doesn’t become brown? One of those knives they sell on TV that is strong enough to cut a hammer but remain sharp enough to slice a ripe tomato? I need more information!