The athame's primary use is to channel and direct psychic energy, generally conceived as etheric fire. They are usually not supposed to harm or draw blood. Some modern day magical practitioners believe that if things such as herbs or cords need to be cut, another knife called a "boline" is used. The boline is often confused or mislabeled the "white-handled knife", a completely different magical blade. In fact, a boline was more similar to a sickle than a knife and thus would have made chopping herbs very difficult (the boline was, however, handy for harvesting herbs). In the "kitchen witchcraft" witches are encouraged to use magical tools for mundane purposes to increase the witch's familiarity with them.