Kitchen shears review and compare

03.Product profiles

Profiles - what to buy

Cuisena Kitchen Scissors 949668

Price $10

Good points

• Excellent cutting performance.
• Well balanced.
• Unconditional guarantee.

Bad points

• Small, hard plastic handle may be uncomfortable for some users.

Zwilling J.A Henckels Twin Select 41471-000

Price $125

Good points

• Excellent cutting performance.
• Very smooth cutting action.
• Well balanced.

Bad points

• Small blade area.
• Thin metal handles may be uncomfortable for some users.
• Very expensive.

Victorinox Super Schere 7.6363

Price $30

Good points

• Very good cutting performance.
• Excellent for cutting paper and chives.
• Smooth action.
• Comfortable handles.
• Well balanced.

Bad points

• Small grip.

Messermeister Kitchen Take Apart Scissor DN2070

Price $20

Good points

• Very good cutting performance.
• Smooth action.
• Large comfortable grip.
• Well balanced.
• Pull-apart.
• Dishwasher safe.
• Lifetime warranty.

Bad points

• Nothing to mention

Wiltshire Kitchen Shears Laser Edge LASE9809

Price $13

Good points

• Very good cutting performance.
• Smooth action.
• Fairly large grip.
• Well balanced.
• Five-year warranty.

Bad points

• Nothing to mention.

Note - Wiltshire claims the "laser edge" never needs sharpening. In any case it cannot be sharpened due to the design of the finely serrated blade.

What about the rest?

For the reasons that the rest of the shears didn't make the What to buy list, see the results table. They include:

• The Wüsthof has a small grip that some people might find uncomfortable.
• The Zwilling J.A. Henckels Twin has a stiff action and it’s difficult to apply force when cutting chicken.
• The Cuisena Kitchen Shears didn’t cut very cleanly in some tests.
• The Zyliss showed resistance to cutting chicken, hard stems and chives.
• The Messermeister Utility blades became misaligned cutting a stem.
• The Oxo Good Grips Kitchen & Herb Scissors showed resistance to cutting, especially chicken.
• The Oxo Good Grips Kitchen Scissors don’t cut accurately and the spring doesn’t always rebound after cutting.
• The Wiltshire Resolution is hard to open wide if you have small hands.
• The Mundial Take Apart’s short blades don’t give much leverage, and showed some resistance to cutting.
• The Victorinox 7.6375 has a stiff action and small, uncomfortable grip.
• The Homemaker has a stiff, uncomfortable action, small grips, and failed the durability test.
• Cutting chicken is awkward with the Victorinox Poultry Shears.
• The Fiskars aren’t easy to use for tasks requiring accuracy.
• The Victorinox 7.6350 took enormous effort to cut through bone.
• The blades on all three samples of Mundial Poultry Shears were blunt. They’d do better if sharpened, but for $80 you’re entitled to expect good performance straight out of the box.