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10 best kitchen scissors for 2023
Make the switch to kitchen scissors for all your food chopping and you’ll never look back. Here’s our pick of the best kitchen scissors to buy this year.
By Laura Martin | Last updated Jan 6, 2023
Most of us keep a pair of scissors in the kitchen for everyday use, but if you really want to up your food preparation game then it’s time to invest in a decent pair of kitchen shears – an extra sharp heavy-duty version of your average craft or office scissors that will save some serious time and hassle in the kitchen.
A good pair of kitchen shears can improve your food preparation efficiency in countless ways. Making swift work of slow cutting jobs, they avoid the need to move back and forth between other tools and knives, and you won’t need to use a chopping board either.
What’s more, they’re often a lot safer than a kitchen knife as they keep your fingertips out of harm’s way. You can even use them to chop meat – bones included!
Look out for a come-apart design so that you can also use the blades for peeling and scraping. They’ll be much more convenient for thorough and safe cleaning in the dishwasher too.
So if you’re here considering buying a new tool to make food preparation easier, or you want to update a well-used pair of kitchen scissors, then save yourself some precious time and take a look at our top picks below. You’ll soon wonder how you ever lived without them.
Here are the best kitchen scissors to buy in 2023.
1. Best overall kitchen scissors: Oxo Good Grips Kitchen Scissors
Price: £14 | Buy now on Amazon
With thousands of happy customers, we think the Oxo Good Grips Kitchen Scissors are the best pair of kitchen shears you can buy.
Perfect for cutting meat, veggies, twine and more, the soft handles feature cushioned pads to absorb pressure.
The herb stripper above the handles removes fresh herbs from tough stems, and the micro-serrated blades separate for easy cleaning. A superb all-rounder at a fantastic price.
2. Best budget kitchen scissors: Nuoshen Kitchen Scissors
Price: £9 | Buy now on Amazon
We’re always on the lookout for bargains to help parents save money wherever possible, so if you’re looking for a decent pair of kitchen shears but don’t have much to spend then take a look at these fantastic scissors from Nuoshen.
Razor-sharp, and strong enough to make light work of meat, vegetables and anything else you fancy chopping up, these kitchen scissors are amazing value for money and come highly recommended by thousands of reviewers.
They come apart for easy cleaning and also feature a handy bottle opener in case you’re ever caught without.
3. Best quality kitchen scissors: Fiskars Kitchen Scissors
Price: £15 | Buy now on Amazon
Loved across the globe for five decades, Fiskars sturdy orange-handled scissors are a design icon and bring all the durability and superiority of the famous brand.
Ideal for cutting food and opening packaging in the kitchen, these scissors make a great addition to your utensil drawer.
Their serrated blades keep materials in place so that you can cut away with precision and confidence, and they also come with adjustable blade tension for additional comfort. If they need cleaning after a messy job, you can simply pop them in the dishwasher.
4. Best stainless steel kitchen scissors: Livingo Forged Kitchen Shears
Price: £17 | Buy now on Amazon
If you’d prefer a plastic-free pair of kitchen scissors, then look no further than these forged kitchen shears made from carbon stainless steel, offering the ultimate in robust durability.
The rust-resistant blades are manufactured in a forging press which produces high-density steel three times stronger than normal stainless steel.
This makes the Livingo shears sharper, and also easier to sharpen, than most other kitchen scissors – all of which results in a smoother and quicker cutting experience for you.
5. Best left-handed kitchen shears: Fiskars Left-Handed Universal Scissors
Price: £14 | Buy now on Amazon
These excellent scissors from classic Finnish brand Fiskars combine all the reliability and superiority of their standard kitchen scissors with handles and blades specifically designed for left-handed users.
The stainless steel blade ensures comfortable cutting and will last you years, and the adjustable blade will give you the perfect cutting tension for your task.
6. Best poultry kitchen shears: Aperil Heavy-Duty Poultry Shears
Price: £11 | Buy now on Amazon
These fancy kitchen shears have from Aperil been designed specifically for cutting up poultry like a professional.
Featuring a sprung-loaded mechanism and ultra-sharp stainless steel blades, they make chopping up chicken a piece of cake.
The front part of the blade effortlessly cuts through the meat while the serrated rear section makes light work of butchering the bones, resulting in quick and easy poultry preparation.
7. Best pizza kitchen scissors: Fiskars Non-Scratch Kitchen Shears
Price: £21 | Buy now on Amazon
Relegate your relic of a pizza wheel and move into the 21st century, where it’s all about cutting up pizza with scissors.
These innovatively-designed kitchen shears from Fiskars make slicing up pastries and pizzas as easy as pie.
The unique handle shape leaves toppings in place and keeps your hands away from the food while the heat-resistant nylon base allows these non-scratch kitchen scissors to cut food without damaging surfaces or dirtying a cutting board.
When dinner is over, simply separate the blades and toss them in the dishwasher for easy, thorough cleaning.
8. Best kitchen scissors for herbs: Plant Theatre Herb Cutting Scissors
Price: £12 | Buy now on Amazon
While you can, of course, use any pair of kitchen shears to chop up your herbs, this clever tool is specifically designed for the purpose.
These innovative, but sturdy, kitchen scissors feature not one but five individual blades to make short work of cutting through everything from basil, mint and coriander to tarragon and spring onions.
We think this gourmet gadget will make a fantastic gift for the foodie in your life who has everything.
9. Best heavy-duty kitchen scissors: Global Kitchen Sharp Serrated Shears
Price: £77 | Buy now on Amazon
We couldn’t research the best kitchen shears without mentioning Global. Using only the finest materials, the revolutionary design of Global’s kitchen knives and shears have won numerous awards, and have become firm favourites of both chefs and home cooking enthusiasts.
These heavy-duty kitchen shears are made from Cromova 18 stainless steel and are ice-hardened to give the keenest of edges, which can later be sharpened easily.
Used in chef’s kitchens the world over, these perfectly-balanced top quality kitchen shears will last you a lifetime.
10. Best kitchen scissor set: KitchenCraft Kitchen Scissors Set
Price: £15 | Buy now on Amazon
Here at Mumsnet we know what it’s like when an essential piece of kit like your scissors goes walkabout, so a busy family home definitely needs more than one pair.
This smart set of kitchen scissors comes with a sleek, black storage block, which will fit neatly on your worktop or shelves. Giving your scissors a designated storage space, this set will also save precious drawer space and allow you to find whichever pair you need quickly.
There’s no compromise on quality though and the sharp blades on these shears will make easy work of cutting up anything from vegetables to poultry. What’s more, the three different sizes included give you a bit more flexibility.
What makes a good pair of kitchen scissors?
Kitchen shears are more than just your average pair of scissors. They are typically made from heavy-duty food-grade stainless steel and will often come with features like bottle openers, nutcrackers, or herb shredders built into the handle, so keep an eye out for these details if you think they will be useful.
Sharpness
The most important feature, however, is that your kitchen scissors are ultra-sharp. The sharper the blades, the quicker the cut. The best kitchen shears typically have blades made from high-carbon stainless steel for a razor-sharp edge. Plus, they can be sharpened, ensuring exceptional cutting for many years.
Serrated edge
Some kitchen scissors have serrated edges. These ensure an even tighter grip on some foods which might otherwise slip away from the blades.
It's more difficult to sharpen serrated blades, but they will stay sharp for a lot longer than non-serrated edges because their properties result in less friction and therefore less dulling of their sharpness.
Handle
A comfortable handle is also important and many chefs choose kitchen scissors with non-slip handles that have spring-hinged mechanisms to retain good balance and to relieve strain when used over a prolonged period.
You may wish to consider the size of the handle on your shears too, to ensure it is a good fit for your own hand size and shape. Most kitchen shears give detailed dimensions for this purpose.
Separating blades
Another useful feature to watch out for is that the scissors have separating blades. This means that the blades can be used for peeling or scraping, and then cleaned separately and more thoroughly after use for maximum hygiene.
Are you left-handed?
While most scissors can be used by both right- or left-handed people, if you’re left-handed you may want to consider purchasing a pair that have handles and blades designed specifically for you.
Related: The best personal blenders to buy »
Can you put kitchen scissors in the dishwasher?
Most kitchen scissors can be put in the dishwasher, but you should always consult the manufacturer’s instructions when it comes to cleaning your kitchen scissors.
A regular feature of kitchen shears is that they come apart which makes them easy to clean in the dishwasher.
What are the best kitchen scissors?
The best kitchen scissors you can buy are the Oxo Good Grips Kitchen Scissors. Featuring soft-grip handles and micro-serrated blade, they are a superb all-rounder and a fantastic price too.
How we chose our recommendations
Because we know that there’s nothing like a real recommendation from a real parent, we first headed to the Mumsnet forums to find out which kitchen scissors discerning Mumsnet users had bought for their homes.
We then did some research across the wider web, looking at which kitchen shears and scissors had won accolades or been featured in ‘best buy’ lists across websites and print media, and what customers reviews said about them.
Having collated all that information, we picked the kitchen scissors we thought would make the best buys in several interest categories.
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