Bar Knife

Eight to Ten Centimetres, Straight-Edged

A paring knife of 8 to 10cm with a straight edge and a fine point. A chef's knife is too long to control over a small board, and a serrated blade tears citrus skin rather than parting it.

The point does more work than people expect. It lifts a pip out of a lemon half, frees the end of a twist from the pith, and trims a peel square.

Thin beats thick. A heavy blade wedges the fruit apart as it goes and crushes the cells at the cut, so the juice ends up on the board instead of in the wedge.

A Sharp Blade Is the Safer Blade

A sharp edge bites the skin where you place it and goes where you push it. A blunt one skates across the curved, waxy surface of a lime, and when it finally catches, it does so with all the force you have been adding.

Most garnish cuts happen that way: on a blunt edge, at speed, with the holding hand in the wrong place. Curl that hand's fingertips under, so the knuckles face the blade, and set the board on a damp cloth so it cannot slide.

Sharpness also protects the garnish. A clean cut through citrus leaves the cells intact and the wedge holding its juice; a blunt one bruises the flesh and leaves a ragged, weeping edge.

A Kitchen Knife Works, at a Cost

It will cut a lime. What you lose is edge life and a clean taste.

Citrus acid is hard on steel, etching carbon blades and dulling anything left wet. A knife that spends its evenings in lemon juice and its days on onions needs sharpening more often and carries both flavours.

Garnishes go into drinks raw, so the blade that cuts them should not have touched raw meat, garlic or anything strongly flavoured. Keeping one small knife for fruit settles that.

Honing Keeps the Edge Between Sharpenings

Hone before each session with a few light passes on a steel or ceramic rod. That does not sharpen; it straightens an edge that has rolled over, which keeps the knife usable between sharpenings.

Sharpen on a whetstone every month or two, or take it somewhere that does. A 1000-grit stone followed by a 6000 is plenty for a paring knife.

Wash and dry it by hand straight after use, never in a dishwasher, where detergent and the rack both blunt it. Store it in a block, a sheath or on a magnetic strip, never loose in a drawer or under water in the sink.

Common Questions