The Very Best 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.