Kitchen shears

chowhound

chowhound

New member
I'm looking for a TNT decent pair of kitchen shears. Does anyone have a pair they use and like?

I've broken two of the plastic handled ones in the last two months, doing nothing but using them on crab legs. One I know was a cheapo pair that came with some cheap knives and I'm not sure where the other pair came from. The handle separated on both of them. I have an old, old pair of metal ones to see me through, but the blades rust easily and they need scotch-brited every time I use them.
I only need them for crab legs, but something good enough to be used on poultry might be nice in case I get the inkling.

Thanks
 
I have Kitchen-Aid ones that I've used on EVERYTHING and had for about 10 years.
ooo that reminds me i stuck a beer in the freezer i better get out before it explodes.....
 
Kitchen-Aid? Thanks Suzi. I didn't even know they made cooking tools. I thought just appliances and motorized stuff. If you've used them on everything for ten years... I'll take that as a TNT endorsement!
Amazon here I come :^D
 
I have a pair of Shun shears shown here at amazon.com.
http://www.amazon.com/Shun-Classic-...4?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1233178749&sr=8-4
I've had them about 3 or 4 years and are excellent and can be sharpened though I don't recommend it unless you are a pro. I also have a set that belonged to my grandmother from Italy and no brand on them but super shears but had to have them resharpened last year. My guess is these are about 50 years old.

Some I've heard good things about are the Cutco (hate saying this) but their shears are very expensive but great which is about all they make that is great. Tojiro also makes shears that get super ratings though they might be harder to find. If you want Korin's ( http://korin.com/site/home.html ) if they don't show them on their site can probably get some pretty quickly. They are about the price of the Shun pair I have.
 
I have Wustof too Charlie. I love them!! Mine come apart for easy cleaning. I also have a cheap pair that I keep for opening bags and such.
 
Mine can't be adjusted and I don't have a problem with that Joe...but I do agree with the need to have them come apart for cleaning! That's for sure.
 
If they can't be adjusted then they can't be sharpened so when they go dull it new shear time.
 
Good point about coming apart, but my other ones didn't come apart and they seemed to clean up OK. I just made sure they were put in the DW in an open position. And since these will be going in the DW, I think I'll stay away from the finer, Japanese shears.
Oh, and when I say DW, it does not mean dear wife.....
 
chowhound said:
Good point about coming apart, but my other ones didn't come apart and they seemed to clean up OK. I just made sure they were put in the DW in an open position. And since these will be going in the DW, I think I'll stay away from the finer, Japanese shears.
Oh, and when I say DW, it does not mean dear wife.....
Click to expand...

LOL, I knew that, yet my mind could not help but wander off...... :whistling:
 
joec said:
If they can't be adjusted then they can't be sharpened so when they go dull it new shear time.
Click to expand...
Come on, of course they can be sharpen, everything can be sharpen, even spoon.

Mine do not come apart either. have not had any problem with them.
 
Actually the can't be realigned if they can't be adjusted. Shears are not a knife and will need to be adjusted to line up the edge after sharpening. Hair shears can cost thousands of dollars but a good pair of kitchen shears for less than $50. Now if you buy them at the dollar store they are cheap enough to simply through away and buy another.
 
In spite of the great suggestions, I went with these
The offset design really attracted me, especially for their main use... crablegs. Dishwasher safe, come apart and I like the way they close tighter where you would stick a claw to crack. If they suck I'll report back.
 
They look good except the dumb screwdriver coming out the back. If they work good, I might get a set and grind that nub off. lol
 
That's exactly what I thought about that stupid screwdriver blade. Some kitchen shears come with a lot of crap on them.
 
Just to say, I finally used my new kitchen shears for something other than cutting backbones out of cornish hens and opening foodaver bags, I used them on 2.13 lbs of snowcrab legs last night. They work great, no slipping on the shells and very sharp. And I really like the offset design, like I thought I would. They come apart so easy for cleaning, I'm surprised the fit is so good when they are put back together, as there's nothing to tighten.
So I give them :thumb::thumb:, in spite of the screwdriver nub on them.
 
Enjoy using them. I have loved my kitchen shears because I can more easily and quickly remove a backbone from a chicken.
 
I have these
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KA1SHTK05-Sheartoku-Kitchen-Shears/dp/B000PGXLCS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1238255194&sr=8-1[/ame]
that I got from Amazon last year for $6. I didn't expect much from them at that price but they are fantastic. I bought 5 more pairs for my kids and friends.
 
If you only need them to crack crab legs, you can do what we do. We keep several nut crackers (the V-shaped ones used during the holidays) in our kitchen drawer for that purpose. If they can crack Brazil nuts, they can crack crab legs. They're cheap, too.
 
Tickle Me Elmo said:
If you only need them to crack crab legs, you can do what we do. We keep several nut crackers (the V-shaped ones used during the holidays) in our kitchen drawer for that purpose. If they can crack Brazil nuts, they can crack crab legs. They're cheap, too.
Click to expand...

True, I do a little cracking on the claws, but I also use them to slice up the leg on a piece the meat does not pull out of.
 
Here ya go Fred:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgtkQOJ7e_0"]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KgtkQOJ7e_0&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KgtkQOJ7e_0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/ame]
 
hmmm, so what does he do with the piece he broke off? That holds a lot of meat in that part where the legs attach to the crab. I find a good pair of kitchen shears handy to have around when eating crab, but good vid. Makes me want to have crablegs again tonight!
 
I just bought some crab legs last night, they were on sale for $5.99 lb.
That's how I usually crack them. I'm not saying I get the meat out like the video all the time, but most times it does work. I use my seafood fork to get the rest out. LOL We also use the nut crackers.
 
I bought 3 packages on sale for 5.99/lb yesterday, too Barb. The ones I ate were from the freezer and marked 4.99. I always try to have some on hand and stock up when they are on sale.
 
joec said:
I have a pair of Shun shears shown here at amazon.com.
http://www.amazon.com/Shun-Classic-...4?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1233178749&sr=8-4
I've had them about 3 or 4 years and are excellent and can be sharpened though I don't recommend it unless you are a pro. I also have a set that belonged to my grandmother from Italy and no brand on them but super shears but had to have them resharpened last year. My guess is these are about 50 years old.

Some I've heard good things about are the Cutco (hate saying this) but their shears are very expensive but great which is about all they make that is great. Tojiro also makes shears that get super ratings though they might be harder to find. If you want Korin's ( http://korin.com/site/home.html ) if they don't show them on their site can probably get some pretty quickly. They are about the price of the Shun pair I have.
Click to expand...
The [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Shun-1120-Kershaw-Taskmaster-Mulit-Purpose/dp/B0002IMMEW/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_3"]Kershaw Taskmaster Multi-Purpose Shears[/ame], Model 1120, are the exact same thing as the Shun Shears, except they don't include the swell plastic sheath with the attached magnet. There's about $8 cheaper, also from Amazon. You can find them for even less on line, but when you add tax and shipping, Amazon has the best price (no tax, free shipping on orders over $25)..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top