Sharp objects: A lesson in the fine art of knife-making

Catherine Woulfe spends a day at the Auckland Blade Show, a celebration of knives of all kinds. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. To make pasta you force a lump of egg and flour flat, fold it back on itself, force it flat, fold. Maybe half a dozen times. Making Damascus steel is the … Read more

Revealed: New Zealand’s most dangerous fruit and veg

Inspired by the recently publicised onion-related peril of sausage sizzles, The Spinoff goes deep into the produce aisle and finds that getting your 5+ a day can be a risky business. A few weeks ago, a story came out that shocked right-thinking Antipodeans to their very cores. Bunnings Warehouse had issued a ‘serving suggestion’ advising … Read more

Blades of glory: The knives chefs go nuts for

In a world replete with generic knives, Auckland chefs are moving towards something a little more special. Sam Mannering’s favourite knife is the one that cut his finger off. Forged by legendary Kiwi craftsman Peter Lorimer in Omakau, Central Otago, the knife sliced so cleanly through the bone of Mannering’s left index finger, just above … Read more