I wanted to disable an item in Windows context menus so I found the key relating to it. Deleting this key may solve my problem but is there any other way than deleting it would do the work? Perhaps adding a "--" string before its 'default' value?
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Without knowing the type of verb we are talking about it is hard to give an exact answer.
If it is a static verb (...\xyz\shell\open) then inside the "open" key create one or more of the following empty string values: Extended, LegacyDisable or ProgrammaticAccessOnly.
If this verb has DropTarget and/or DelegateExcute you might have to rename those.
If it is a dynamic verb (...\xyz\shellex\open) you need to change the guid (subkey or value) to make it invalid. Prepend any character before {.
You can also prevent Explorer from reading the key by changing the ACL. Right-click the verb key and select "Permissions" and in the standard security dialog go into advanced mode and deny yourself or your group the query and enumerate access rights.