Ikura Bartender’s Knife Review

Paring knives are great, but when I need to peel some fruit, cut detailed shapes, or slice an apple for a snack, I reach for my Ikura Bartender’s Utility Knife. Made by the high-end barware experts at Cocktail Kingdom and designed in collaboration with a top Los Angeles bartender, this utility knife sounds like an incredibly specialized tool for mixology. But after testing it for more than a decade, I can attest that it’s a versatile, well-built knife at a solid price that I’ve used in my kitchen almost every day.

Ikura Bartender’s Utility Knife

The Ikura utility knife has a narrow blade with a sharp point on the end, allowing for precise control. It’s “perfect for precision cuts, ensuring garnishes look sharp and professional every time,” says Kip Moffitt, head bartender at Superbueno in New York. He uses the knife for standard citrus wedges, wheels, and more detailed cocktail garnishes like carved ice cubes and thin-sliced strawberries. 

Some subtle characteristics make this knife especially useful. The bottom is flat for making clean individual slices rather than the rocking and chopping motion typically required by curved chef’s knives. It’s quite light overall, yet well-balanced for maneuverability. The bolster makes a vertical notch for your index finger to sit against in a safe and firm grip. The handle has a rectangular profile that won’t twist in wet or greasy hands, but the corners are rounded for comfort. The blade shows up super-sharp, and the hard steel holds its edge for a long time every time you re-sharpen it.

I’ve had my Ikura utility knife for nearly a decade, and I use it for everything except cocktails. I use it to chiffonade fresh herbs, chop fresh garlic and ginger, and slice cucumbers for a summer salad. It’s built solidly and has held up to a good bit of abuse; mine has developed a hairline crack in the handle, but that hasn’t gotten worse and doesn’t affect performance.

The person we have to thank for this excellent blade is Aaron Polsky, a longtime Los Angeles bartender and the founder and CEO of canned cocktail brand LiveWire. “When I started prototyping the knife in 2013 or so, I noticed that bars everywhere were buying beautiful barspoons, mixing glasses, and gold-plated tins but were still cutting grapefruits with knives that were three inches long,” he says. “I wanted to create something with a Japanese cutlery aesthetic with a long enough blade to competently handle any fruit, while also having a tip that allowed for precise preparation of garnishes. It needed to have a high level of hardness that was also affordable.”

The Ikura Bartender’s Utility Knife succeeds on all those fronts, and it’s a great blade for home cooks to consider. It’s honestly a shame they market it so specifically to bartenders.

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