Published November 1, 2006.
We found two favorites—one for right-handed users and one for lefties.
We tested several pairs of "take-apart" kitchen shears, focusing on core tasks—snipping chives, cutting butcher's twine and parchment paper, trimming pie pastry, and butterflying chicken. We excluded poultry shears, with their characteristic bulky, curved blades, because while a good pair of kitchen shears can handle poultry with ease, poultry shears are awkward and unwieldy for other tasks.
On that note, beware of poultry shears in kitchen shears' clothing. Two models performed well in our chicken test, thanks to the bulky, curved blades that define poultry shears. But they were unwieldy for any other task.
Our favorite shears are precise and super-sharp. A slip-resistant handle and slim blades make these shears agile without sacrificing their brute force. The only downside is a definite right-hand bias. We found a second favorite for lefties which performed well, with greater comfort.
