Best Kitchen Shears

Despite popular belief in my household, kitchen shears are not made for opening Amazon packages. I have always known this, of course, but teaching the youngest people in my home this information has not been easy. I understand their logic: When a package arrives at our door, the scissors in our knife block are the most convenient pair to grab.

But whether you’re an experienced chef or not, a good pair of kitchen shears can really up your cooking game, according to Claude Booker, MS, a classically trained chef and creator of Booker’s Soul Food Starter Kits.

“Shears are one of those things, you don’t know until you know,” he says. “I’m a chef, I’m old school. When my wife bought kitchen shears 10 years ago, I was like, ‘Why’d she buy these damn scissors?’ I’ve got these beautiful knives. I’ve got Henckels. I’ve got Dexters. Gerbers. I mean, I’m a knife guy [but] man, I fell in love.”

He’s not alone in his adoration. Professionals use them to complete a long list of tasks, including cutting herbs, meats, pastries, and much more. Melodie Beal, head of culinary development for Amazon Fresh, thinks a good pair of shears is something everyone should invest in. 

“You’ll find so many uses for them in the kitchen, but keep them exclusively for kitchen tasks and keep your regular scissors out of the kitchen,” she says. Great shears can be found for as little as $20, much less expensive than most kitchen knives. And you won’t have to worry about dulling your expensive blades while cutting through bones, she says.