Given that cutlery is something we use every day, you'd have thought the potential for its innovation might have been exhausted. Nonetheless, a number of projects have shown that it's still possible to innovate this most simple of tools. Recent examples include the HAPIfork, which monitors the speed at which people eat, and Piltz Design's Picnic Cutlery, which is a modular set of eating utensils for easy storage and portability.

The ButterUp sets its sights on the difficulty of spreading butter straight from the fridge. Typically, cold butter won't spread easily and a single chunk of cold butter on a knife will serve to rip the bread to which it is being applied.

DM Initiatives created and tested a number of prototypes to see how the butter knife could be improved. The designs were based upon a cook's tip that cold butter is easier to spread if it has been run through a grater. As such, a grater was built into the knife. A row of holes on the non-serrated edge of the knife allows the user to pull thin ribbons of butter onto the blade. The knife can then be flipped over to allow the buttering to commence.