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These are a cut above the rest.

A good pair of kitchen shears is essential. We’d argue that it’s just as important as a trusty chef’s knife. Yes, really. Kitchen shears are more than just a pair of scissors that lives in the kitchen; they're super sharp, powerful, and most certainly not for slicing open cardboard boxes.

Kitchen shears can cut through meat and bone, which is useful when you’re spatchcocking a turkey or cutting a chicken breast into cubes. (Pro tip: When snipping up raw chicken, no need to dirty a cutting board—simply open the package of chicken and snip pieces directly into a bowl.) Kitchen shears are also fantastic for clipping herbs right onto a plate of food, cutting perfect parchment circles for cake and pie pans, and so much more.

And, be sure to check out our picks for other useful kitchen tools including the best can openers, best baking sheets, and best food scales.

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Our best overall pick checks all the boxes: high-quality stainless steel blades that resist corrosion, micro serrated blades for precise, slip-free snipping, and even a serrated area between the handles that can crack nuts and open bottles.

Delish deputy editor Rachel Tepper Paley swears that the Henckels Heavy Duty Kitchen Shears are “easy and comfortable to hold and make easy work of spatchcocking a chicken. They also easily come apart for cleaning in the dishwasher, which makes my life a heck of a lot easier.”

Wüsthof is a household name when it comes to knives, so it’s no surprise that its kitchen shears are also on point. Delish associate food editor Makinze Gore is all about this particular pair.

“I love my Wüsthof!” she said. “They are sharp and sturdy, and they come apart completely so that I can clean them more easily. They are a little bit bigger which helps when I need them for tougher projects like butterflying a turkey.” The design of the Wüsthof Pull Apart Shears also makes for easy sharpening.

Tiny but mighty, these red kitchen scissors have a loyal following—which includes our very own assistant food editor Justin Sullivan. He notes that these are the “sharpest scissors you’ll ever buy.”

In addition to their sharpness, the Joyce Chen Original Unlimited Kitchen Scissors are popular for their versatility. One reviewer notes that you’ll want a pair for every room in your house, as these delicate, precise scissors can cut up a whole chicken one minute and trim wrapping paper for a present the next (with a thorough clean in between, of course).

These German-made shears are sharpened and ground with ice via a fancy, Zwilling-specific process that makes them very sharp and durable. They also have a built-in bottle cap opener, screw cap opener, and jar lid lifter.

A reviewer notes that in addition to being high quality and well-made, the red color of the Zwilling Multi-Purpose Kitchen Shears makes the shears "easy to find when I need to grab it for a quick use."

These shears are designed to trim and cut poultry with ease. The notched blade holds bones in place while the handle loop and bolster keep your hands from slipping. The blades themselves are curved and tapered for optimal precision (and to get into hard-to-reach spots), and the spring-loaded handles offer maximum cutting power while minimizing hand strain.

One reviewer notes that the OXO Good Grips Spring-Loaded Poultry Shears were a hit at Thanksgiving and helped them spatchcock a turkey with ease.

Chopping herbs can be tedious, but these scissors actually make it fun. Equipped with five blades, the Jenaluca Herb Scissors do the same with two snips as a knife does with 10 chops.

The gadget comes with a comb cover tool that helps remove herb bits from the blades and protects them for storage. One reviewer uses them to cut up herbs from their garden (like cilantro, basil, and parsley), and likes them so much that they ordered four pairs to give as gifts.

Equipped with one serrated blade and one straight blade, these Japanese-made shears are ready to tackle a variety of kitchen tasks. Trim meat, slice dried fruit, cut out parchment paper, and more with this multipurpose tool.

One reviewer says that they’ve had the Shun Classic Kitchen Shears for more than three years and they’re still going strong, with some sharpening from time to time.

We reviewed options from a variety of retailers and read dozens of customer reviews. Our top picks are comfortable to hold, easy to use, and ready to handle a multitude of kitchen tasks. Many of our top picks are designed such that the blades come apart via a locking mechanism, which makes it easy to wash and sharpen them.This roundup includes kitchen shears designed for specific purposes, like cutting through meat and bone or trimming herbs, as well as versatile pairs to use for almost anything.