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Kitchen shears are about as essential and versatile a tool in your knife collection as a chef’s knife. I reach for mine to have the utmost control in breaking down a chicken, removing fins from a fish, snipping herbs, or powering through cutting a pile of vegetables. And while they might look similar to the scissors you keep in your junk drawer, they’re actually quite different: Kitchen shears are ambidextrous. Their finger holes are the same size, so they can be used comfortably whether you’re right- or left-handed, and their balanced shape makes it easier to take on tougher tasks than what your usual scissors can handle.
Treated with the same respect as your favorite chef’s knife, a good pair of kitchen shears can easily last your lifetime (and beyond). That said, you want a pair that can take wear and tear — so for this assignment, I put a dozen pairs through the usual kitchen prep and tasks far beyond the conventional. I used them to garden, snipping dead twigs and cutting open plastic planter pots containing evergreen trees. I cut through flat-iron steaks and spatchcock chickens, and also used them to cut thick fabric, because why not? And, of course, I ran most of them through the dishwasher many times.
To round out the list, I polled chefs from all over the country, asking them to open up their knife kits and tell me about the scissors that they bring with them wherever they go. Chef Jeremy Umansky of Cleveland’s Larder has an heirloom pair that has likely been prepping vegetables since before he was born. “I’ve got a pair from Le Cordon Bleu, from their school kit! They look like something a surgeon in the Civil War would have used,” he told me. My favorite pair, perfect for small hands, travels with me between my home kitchen and professional kitchens. Like my toothbrush, they’re sort of like my “don’t leave home without it” item, except they definitely won’t make it through a TSA checkpoint.
Here, you’ll find all of these shears and more. And if you’re looking for more ways to best slice, dice, and chop your food, check out our guides to chef’s knives, knife sets, and food processors.
What we’re looking for
Material
Kitchen shears are generally made of stainless steel, since they are often exposed to moisture and would otherwise rust. Handles are sometimes coated with plastic or rubber for cushioning fingers — and for pairs that have a handle covering, I’ve indicated which kind. Fully stainless-steel shears can last longer than those with rubber- or plastic-covered handles, but might require a bit more dexterity.
Style
Kitchen shears come in two styles: with fixed blades or blades that pull apart. Handles fall into two categories, as well: D-shaped and oval. Which style you choose will depend on how you intend to use them. If you know you’ll be cutting through piles of firm vegetables like asparagus stems, a fixed blade would be best, and if you prefer to run your shears through the dishwasher after cutting meats, you’ll want to look for a pull-apart blade for ease of cleaning and sanitizing.
Length
The length of the scissors can determine the task they’re best suited for. Generally, lengths range from six to nine inches. If you plan on cutting delicate herbs, you’ll want shorter shears, and if you are breaking down poultry, you’ll likely want longer shears.
Best overall kitchen shears
Material: Stainless Steel / Style: D-shaped, pull-apart / Length: 8.5”
WÜSTHOF is a legendary brand that’s famous for its knives — not to mention the brand that makes our best knife set overall. And so it’s no surprise that WÜSTHOF’s brushed stainless-steel kitchen shears are favored by many professional chefs and unanimously received the most mentions. When I tested them, I loved how easy they were to pull apart and clean, and that they never separated in my hands during the toughest kitchen tasks. They also have a satisfying tension when you’re snipping with them, which gives your fingers more control.
Don’t just take it from me. According to chef Jeremiah Langhorne of the Dabney and Petite Cerise in D.C., the shears are “very high quality, keep their sharpness well, can be sharpened, and are very versatile.” Chef Diana Widjojo of Philadelphia’s Rice & Sambal also reaches for this pair constantly, using them to cut through everything from snow-crab legs to spatchcock chickens. “I’ve had them for years and I use them weekly for cutting herbs, mostly, but also for nontraditional things,” she told me, adding that she even uses them to pull fish bones out if she can’t find her tweezers. The fact that you can take them apart and thoroughly sanitize them is a big plus in her book too.
Chef Chris Morgan of Joon in Vienna, Virginia, is also a fan, and owns a couple of pairs of WÜSTHOF shears. “I don’t usually lean German with my kitchen tools, but I found these are really durable,” he says. “They’ve lasted me a really long time. I use them for poultry and meats, larger fish with thick fins, and any backbone work.” Langhorne, Widjojo, and Morgan are just a few of the chefs I polled who reach for their WÜSTHOF shears. Other chefs told me that they use them to strip stems off flowers and even cut tarts. Overall, this pair was hands down the most well made, easy to use, and versatile — earning them our crown of best overall.
Best less-expensive kitchen shears
Material: Stainless steel, plastic handles / Style: D-shaped, fixed blades / Length: 6.5”
If you’re looking to spend less, take note from Langhorne, who told me that while he usually goes for his WÜSTHOF stainless-steel shears, “for a more affordable option I really like Joyce Chen’s scissors.” (Langhorne’s one caveat about the pair is that the plastic handles don’t last as long as uncoated stainless-steel handles.) Melissa Pellegrino of Heavy Metal Sausage Co. is also a fan of the shears. “Joyce Chen’s are our daily drivers in the shop. We use them mostly for cutting sausage ropes into individual links, but they are so versatile. They can be used for cutting delicate things like herbs up to cutting through small fish or chicken-rib bones. They are more durable than you would expect for a small scissor and their size makes them easy to keep close by. They are also just really comfortable to use.” My husband, who is also a professional chef, keeps a pair of Joyce Chen’s shears in his knife kit primarily for cutting twine for meats and kitchen tape for labels. When you’re labeling quart containers a hundred times a day, having this lightweight pair on standby to cut kitchen tape is helpful and makes neat labeling less of a chore.
Best kitchen shears for herbs
Material: Carbon steel / Style: Traditional Japanese, no finger holes, does not pull apart / Length: 4”
Yes, these are technically sewing scissors, but when it comes to cutting delicate flowers and herbs in the kitchen, nothing else is faster. Rather than slipping my fingers through holes, I just pinch these shears’ pincer handles, allowing for delicate, rapid motions. Though these come in a couple different formats (with or without threads), mine are wrapped in white-and-red thread for grip. Just don’t put these in the dishwasher — I recommend washing with a soft sponge and letting them air-dry.
“I use sewing shears to clean all my herbs,” says chef and culinary consultant Christine Lau. “These make it super, super fast to pick and cut herbs.” Lau told me she first discovered hers at a center for textiles in Hong Kong, but that they’re now available everywhere. “I like them because they stay super sharp — and you can sharpen them,” she says. “They have a small, pointy tip so you can get to the base of the herb where you want to pick quickly and accurately.” She adds that the U-shape of these lets you focus on cutting the herbs using just your thumb and forefinger.
Best rubber-grip kitchen shears
Material: Steel, plastic handles / Style: D-shaped, pull-apart / Length: 9”
I spent a week with these Cangshan shears and used them to trim hedges in my backyard and cut plastic planters of four newly purchased evergreen trees in half. Then, after thoroughly sanitizing them, I used them to trim the fins off a side of salmon I was breaking down for dinner. For all of these tasks, I found that this pair performed beautifully and didn’t hurt my hands, thanks to the no-slip rubber grips. And while my hands are on the small side, these are comfortable for all sizes. My husband, a chef whose hands are larger than mine, tried them, too, and told me, “I feel like I can do anything with these.” Indeed, this pair is built to do just about anything: They have a nut or crab-leg cracker serration in between the handles and a hollowed-out notch in one blade for opening jars or bottles.
Best kitchen shears for small hands
Material: Stainless steel / Style: Round, pull-apart / Length: 8”
For years, I used a cheap KitchenAid pair of kitchen shears, and they were generally fine, but using them for long periods of time caused my hands to ache — which I thought was normal. That is, until trying these from Ciselier. They are handmade by Fennek, a Premanese scissor-maker founded in 1895. They feel remarkably hard and durable, like I can use them to cut up any chicken (and I have), and they pull apart easily for cleaning. They’re lightweight without feeling flimsy and they’ve stayed sharp through two years of constant, heavy-duty use in both professional and home kitchens. There are built-in serrated notches to crack nuts and a smooth circle in the middle of the design to open bottles. And, most importantly, they don’t hurt my small hands after hours of use.
Note: Ciselier’s Fennek shears consistently sell out and are currently available for preorder, shipping in May 2024.
Best kitchen shears for large hands
Material: Stainless steel, antibacterial plastic handles / Style: D-shaped, pull-apart / Length: 8.66”
“I like Silkies because they are a bit more sturdy, and they fit into my hands best,” says chef Brandon Dienger of two-Michelin-starred Jônt in Washington, D.C., who stands at six-foot-three and has large hands to match his height. “They also keep their sharpness.” The pair is a go-to for chef Yun Fuentes of Philadelphia’s Bolo, as well. “They have proven sharp enough to trim herbs as well as tough enough to handle fish bone,” he says. “These particular scissors are compact and contour to your hand, making them a great and useful tool when attention to detail is essential.”
Best lightweight kitchen shears
Material: stainless steel, rubber handles / Style: D-shaped, pull-apart / Length: 10”
These Hammer Stahl shears are surprisingly lightweight, which will come in handy for anyone using shears for long periods of time (or who has joint pain in their hands). They’re on the longer side — which makes them appropriate for bigger tasks like breaking down poultry or trimming sides of salmon — with excellent no-slip grips and uniquely sharp and pointy tips.
I made my husband use them for a few kitchen services, and we determined that they comfortably accommodate both my tiny hands and his larger ones. While I may not have the same dexterity with them as he might, they still get the job done. Plus, I liked how versatile these are. You can pull them apart, and a single blade can be flipped around and used to scale fish. The other blade has a notch to open bottles and jars. The notches between the handles can be used as a nutcracker.
Our experts
• Brandon Dienger, chef at Jônt
• Yun Fuentes, chef at Bolo
• Jeremiah Langhorne, chef at the Dabney and Petite Cerise
• Christine Lau, chef and culinary consultant
• Chris Morgan, chef at Joon
• Melissa Pellegrino, butcher at Heavy Metal Sausage Co.
• Jeremy Umansky, chef at Larder
• Diana Widjojo, chef at Rice & Sambal
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