Whether you want to spatchcock, trim some herbs, cut your pizza, open a bottle of soda or just cut some parcel string, then the chances are that kitchen shears will do all of this and just a little bit more. If you have never owned a pair of kitchen shears, then read on to find out why you should always keep a pair close by.
Larger and heavier duty than scissors, kitchen shears really come into their own for meat preparation, but as a versatile tool they have many other uses around the home, including those which would damage ordinary scissors or kitchen knives. We reviewed the best kitchen shears on this article.Quick Comparison: Top 10 Best Kitchen Shears
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1. Wusthof WU5558 Kitchen Shears
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The Wusthof WU5558 kitchen shears are forged high carbon stainless steel. They dismantle for deep cleaning and easier sharpening. As these are made from high carbon stainless steel they do have a higher risk of corrosion or rusting than full stainless steel shears. They are suitable for left or right hand use and come with a lifetime warranty against any manufacturing and material defects.
These shears also have a built in bottle opener and screw top opener. As these shears do dismantle, you should always take care to ensure that they are tightly screwed back together after taking them apart to reduce the risk of them coming apart during use.
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2. KitchenAid Aqua Sky Kitchen Shears
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The multipurpose KitchenAid aqua sky kitchen shears have extra thick stainless steel blades with micro-serrations for improved cutting. You do need to take extra care to wash and dry thoroughly straight after use to minimize the risk of rusting. Although dishwasher safe, the manufacturer recommends hand washing as cleaning them in the dishwasher can increase the risk of rusting or corrosion.
As these shears cannot be dismantled for deep cleaning, a suitable sanitizer may be needed after you have used them to cut raw meat to make them ‘food safe’ once more.Pros
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3. Moricai Kershaw Taskmaster Shears
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The Moricai Kershaw Taskmaster shears are multipurpose shears, complete with jar opener, lid lifter, two screwdriver tips and a built in nutcracker! The handle is a tough nylon synthetic polymer that has glass threads through it to increase its strength. The handle grip may be a little small for some hands and because there are screwdriver tips on the back of the handles these may sometimes catch your hands.
These shears are high carbon cutlery grade stainless steel and one blade is serrated to allow easy cutting through tougher materials. This also has a bone notch – suitable for small bones or even flower stems. The blades come apart for deep cleaning and the shears are dishwasher safe. If you dismantle for cleaning, you will need to take extra time and test that they properly tight again before using. Regular checking that the tensioning screw or nut is tight may also be helpful.
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4. Gidli Kitchen Shears
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Made from heavy duty stainless steel, the Gidli kitchen shears are suitable for various tasks such as raw meats, fruit, vegetables and herbs. One blade is serrated for tougher cutting. There is also a built in bottle opener and nut cracker. These scissors also come with a bonus pair of seafood scissors, suitable for a variety of fish and seafood tasks such as scraping scales or cleaning shrimp.
They have ergonomic soft grip handles although some left handed users may have more difficulty using these properly. Although dishwasher safe, these shears do not come apart for deep cleaning.Pros
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5. Heirloom Culinary Heavy Duty Kitchen Shears
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These Heirloom Culinary heavy duty kitchen shears are recommended particularly for meat tasks such as boning or spatchcocking, which may limit their usefulness as multipurpose shears. As these cannot dismantle for deep cleaning, use of a suitable sanitizer and scrubber or brush may be needed to make sure that traces of raw meat are all removed before re-use.
The thick stainless steel blades are full tang and triple riveted, which means the blade steel runs through to the end of the handles. The handles are spring loaded for easier cutting and they are also ergonomic - designed for all sizes of hands and suitable for left or right handed users. If you do have smaller hands though, you may struggle with using these shears comfortably for any length of time.
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6. R.H Forshner by Victorinox Kitchen Shears
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R.H Forshner by Victorinox kitchen shears have 56 Rockwell high carbon stainless steel blades that can be re-sharpened regularly. Although very sharp blades, their design means that they not be suitable for the full range of tasks that a pair of heavy duty shears could undertake.
The black ergonomic propylene handle is NSF certified, although these are part tang blades, so you should avoid exerting too much pressure on the handles as there may be an increased risk of handle damage. The handles may also be too small for some users with larger hands.Pros
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7. Shun Silver Kitchen Shears
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These Shun kitchen shears are high carbon molybdenum-vanadium stainless steel. These are heavier weight shears that some users may find difficult using for any length of time, especially those with smaller hands. Although Shun offer sharpening for its knives, it is unable to sharpen shears, so you will either need to sharpen yourself or find a local sharpening specialist.
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8. Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Select Kitchen Shears
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Complete with hand sharpened micro-serrated blades, the Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin Select kitchen shears are a special formula stainless steel for high corrosion resistance. Although dishwasher safe, the blades do not dismantle for easier sharpening or for deep cleaning.
Although they help make these shears even more sturdy, the stainless steel handles may become slippery if your hands are wet or you are cutting greasy foods. As there is no coating on the handles they may also become uncomfortable if using for a while. The shears have a built in bottle opener and rotary opener for screw top lids.Pros
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9. All-Clad C3220908 Kitchen Shears
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The All-Clad C3220908 kitchen shears are a heavy gauge brushed stainless steel with a bone notch and built in bottle opener and screw top opener. The upper blade is micro-serrated for more precise cutting and the blades come apart for deep cleaning. The stainless steel handles are a smaller grip and if using for any length of time you may find them uncomfortable.
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10. Lamson Kitchen Shears
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The no-stain high carbon stainless steel Lamson kitchen shears are pointed and have extra sharp fine edges to help with easier trimming. One blade also has micro-serrations. The steel handles may be slippery if greasy or wet and as the handles are ergonomically shaped, they may not be suitable for left handed users. Careful washing and drying is necessary during the lifetime of these heavy duty shears as they will be more liable to rust than full stainless steel shears.
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Things to Consider Before Buying The Best Kitchen Shear
The Difference Between Kitchen Scissors and Shears
Kitchen shears and scissors can often be interchangeable. Shears do perform the same function as scissors, but they are shears when they are a little larger and can undertake heavier tasks such as meat preparation.
Just for a bit of trivia, scissors have been around for quite a while now. An ancient form of scissors were in use about 3500 years ago. The ancient Egyptians used a piece of metal formed into two blades controlled by a strip of metal that kept the blades apart until pressed. The Romans changed this design around 2000 years ago by adding a pivot – making them more like today’s scissors. The modern form of scissors are attributed to a guy called Robert Hinchliffe who back in 1761 used steel to mass produce them for the first time in Sheffield, UK.
Uses for Kitchen Shears
Kitchen shears are useful for many home and kitchen tasks, not least helping with raw meat preparation. Whether spatchcocking or other types of meat or fish preparation, kitchen shears can deal with bones, fins and tails –things that a typical kitchen knife can really start to struggle with. From a safety view, shears are also much easier to control than a knife when cutting through meat or small bones.
Shears are also useful for specific tasks such as cutting raw bacon, opening food packaging, cutting herbs, bread or pitas, pizza, whole canned tomatoes or even dried fruits. Many of us also use them for other tasks around the home and garden, such as cutting cardboard, paper, fabrics or even some occasional light pruning outdoors!
Kitchen Shear Blades
The two blades on shears often look quite different. The cutter blade usually has a straight edge and is key in the cutting action. Like a knife, the cutter blade is double beveled, which means the edge of the blade is ground down on both sides to the cutting edge. Unlike knives, the bevel is usually at a greater angle of 50° to 70°, this also means that the blade edge is sturdier and less likely to get damaged during cutting.
The anvil blade is often thicker and serrated and this acts to grip and secure the food as you are cutting – which really helps when trimming fish, spatchcocking or cutting any greasy foods such as raw bacon.
Selecting the Right Shears
What type of shears you buy depends on what you want them for. If it is just for easy kitchen jobs such as cutting herbs, twine or plastic packaging, then basic shears will suffice. If, however, you want them for the heavier duty tasks such as meat preparation, then you will need to look at shears which will be sturdy and more versatile.
Straight blade shears are multipurpose while curved blades can be particularly useful for poultry and other kinds of meat preparation. If you do want to keep your shears multipurpose then you are probably better investing in straight shears rather than a curved pair.
Not only do micro-serrations on the blade improve the sharpness of shears, they also help shears keep their sharpness for longer. Many shears also have a bone notch to help break through tougher bones, or even twigs; if you use your shears for other tasks around the home.
Other Things You May Want to Consider When Selecting Shears
Shears should always open and close smoothly. If you do think that a drop of oil now and then would help your shears, always look for a food safe oil. Some shears may have spring-loaded handles that help with heavier tasks.
Many of us prefer non-slip handles, particularly when working with wet or greasy food, although steel handles are heavier duty and can be useful if you do use your shears a lot for meat. Whatever is the best type of handle for you, always look for one that is ergonomic and best suited for the size of your hands.
Shears that dismantle may have a specific locking mechanism (which also acts as a tensioning screw) at the pivot that attaches the two blades. Shears that do not come apart just have a tensioning screw at the pivot.
If your shears are a little tight then you can slightly loosen the tensioning screw, or if too loose, then you can tighten it a little. When you adjust the tension, it also widens or shrinks the gap between the two blades. You may find it better to work with tighter blades (less gap) for finer cutting such as herb trimming and looser blades (wider gap) for heavier duty tasks such as meat preparation.
Many shears are ambidextrous, suitable for use by right or left-handers, but if you are a ‘lefty’ you may want to check reviews or even contact the manufacturer just to make sure they will be OK before you buy. Some shears also come with a safety catch or blade sheath which is particularly helpful with younger kids around.
Sharpening Kitchen Shears
Shears that dismantle are usually easier to sharpen, especially at home. Some home sharpeners are fine for sharpening your shears, but if you do need to buy a sharpener do check it will be OK for sharpening serrated blades. Otherwise, if the manufacturer is not able to sharpen them for you, then a local kitchen store may be able to recommend a reputable scissor sharpening service.
Conclusion
As a multipurpose tool, kitchen shears really do have a variety of functions and will often be the ‘go to’ tool for all sorts of food preparation tasks and odd jobs around our homes. Although the style of shears are often similar across ranges, they can function in quite different ways, whether the heavy duty shears for meat preparation or an all-purpose pair that may even have other tools such as bottle openers or even screwdriver tips on them.
Whether you want to buy your first pair of kitchen shears, or you are just replacing an old worn out pair, we hope that the information provided in this review will help you to select the best kitchen shears for your home.