Magic Forums

I am fairly new to magick, so naturally would have a few questions.
I've been wondering awhile about the various tools used 'on the altar', particularly the athame.
So, is the athame just like the wand, and you have to cleanse, enchant and charge it, so that you can channel energy through it?
And, since it is a knife, can you use it to cut stuff, or is it just used to symbolically cut stuff? In this case, can you get two athames, one to cut with and one to use sumbolically?
And, if in a dangerous situation, can you use it as weapon to defend yourself with, or would that be some sort of insult to the divine, as it is a sacred tool?
And if you do use it for cutting/weaponry, does it get chaorupted like wands or crystals and need cleansing, and if you don't, will it eventually become evil and turn on you?
Please reply.