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Subdivide takes a single face and divides it into quads. I only want to add a single edge to the face off to the side.

Most of the answers I found on the internet recommend using the Knife tool but the knife tool does not cut a single face the way you would think. In fact I have no idea what logic the knife tool uses but it's not at all intuitive: (below gif).

I'm trying to add a single box to the bottom of this desk object to extrude into a drawer box, but I cannot get a face to work with on the bottom of the desk.

enter image description here

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  • $\begingroup$ Try adding a Loop-Cut with Ctrl+R. Or select both vertices of the edges you want to halfen and hit W (specials menu) and select Subdivide. Then select only these two new vertices and hit F to create an edge between them. $\endgroup$
    – Samoth
    Commented May 24, 2016 at 11:09

4 Answers 4

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Using the knife tool is actually quite easy and intuitive.

Hit K to start, point your mouse to the starting point and left-click, then drag the line to the second point, left-click again (then to the third, fourth...). When you have set the end point of your cut, hit Enter and you are done.

Hit C to use Angle Constraint

If that doesn't work (e.g. no cuts showing up) it's pretty sure that your model has double faces. Hit W - "Remove Doubles".

To remove doubles in Blender 2.8, you need to hit M and select *By Distance" to remove the doubles in that version.

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  • $\begingroup$ related: blender.stackexchange.com/questions/8955/… $\endgroup$
    – user1853
    Commented May 22, 2016 at 6:21
  • $\begingroup$ @cegaton Yes, but if you notice, in my GIF I'm using the Knife tool exactly as described and it's creating a cut on a totally unrelated face. $\endgroup$
    – leigero
    Commented May 22, 2016 at 6:28
  • $\begingroup$ The double issue was the problem it seems. There were two edges where the boxes intersected causing the kinfe tool to behave strangely. $\endgroup$
    – leigero
    Commented May 22, 2016 at 6:33
  • $\begingroup$ @leigero, this is why "remove doubles" has become second nature to me. Another method (when remove doubles fails) is to switch from vertex or edge select to face select. When you see dots on edges you instantly know that something's gone wrong. $\endgroup$
    – metaphor_set
    Commented May 22, 2016 at 6:43
  • $\begingroup$ Angle constraint works like a charm! $\endgroup$
    – clabe45
    Commented Jan 7, 2018 at 19:01
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Select the 2 edges and use the subdivide tool. you will have a new edge so you can then bevel it to have more of them and do whatever you want.

enter image description here

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  • $\begingroup$ use right-click -> Subdivide $\endgroup$
    – sonique
    Commented Sep 25, 2019 at 13:51
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If the table is a single mesh, you can use the Loop Cut and Slide tool to add new rings of mesh around the object. Click on the tool (left-side of the 3D viewer) and then place your mouse near the outside edge of the side of the table you want to divide. A pink line will show up inside the mesh at the middle point between the faces. Roll the mouse wheel to add or remove extra mesh lines. Click the LMB once when happy with the number of lines. Move the mouse to adjust their position to where you want them, and then click LMB again when happy.

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Step by Step Process. Select the face you want to effect, press CTRL + I to invert the selection, press H to hide the faces, Press CTRL + R to create a Loop Cut. after you are done Creating your Loop cuts, press ALT + H to un-hide the faces.

now if any face is causing issues With CTRL + R. Step by Step Process. Select the face that is causing an issue, Delete face, Select Vertices, press CRTL + F pick Select Grid Fill.

A quick way of Selection Vertices ALT + Left Click.

hope it makes sense? xD

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    $\begingroup$ Firstly, you can do hiding much simpler. Select the face(s) you want to keep, press Shift + H to hide unselected faces. Secondly, as you said, the Loop Cut tool might fail because you can only use it on quads. With tris and n-gons this doesn't work. Suppose you have a simple n-gon with 5 vertices... how do you make the Grid Fill tool work? Thirdly, if one of the vertices of the hole where you deleted the face connects to more edges and there is a different hole between those edges, then Alt + LMB will select the vertices of that hole, too - although you might not want to fill it. $\endgroup$
    – Gordon Brinkmann
    Commented Jul 22, 2021 at 13:00

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