I Swear by These $18 Kitchen Shears—They Have Over 4,000 5-Star Reviews on Amazon

Welcome to One Simply Terrific Thing, our ongoing series highlighting the small tools and kitchen goods that make life better.

During culinary school, I acquired many kitchen tools that I still use to this day. None of them are fancy gadgets, nor are they from widely known brand names, yet they are well-made and have stood up to the test of time.

Among these culinary treasures was a pair of kitchen shears that I absolutely adored. They were sharp, easy to clean, super strong, and could handle a wide range of jobs like snipping tender herbs with care and breaking down a whole chicken with ease.

The shears lasted for almost 12 years until they met an untimely demise when they were accidentally thrown away during a particularly chaotic day in the kitchen. (I went through garbage bags with no luck—that's the hold they had on me!)

I Found the Best Kitchen Shears on Amazon

While the shears were never recovered, I figured replacing them would be easy. I was so wrong! I was not able to find the same ones anywhere for a long time. After scouring the interwebs for a while, I found this $18 pair at Amazon, which had pretty encouraging feedback from buyers—over 4,000 5-star reviews.

While nothing is quite like your first love, these shears have far exceeded my expectations and are most like the ones I lost. They are incredibly sharp and sturdy for the price, and they come apart for easy cleaning and sharpening. Plus, my husband is left-handed and he is able to use these without trouble. If I were to lose these shears, I'd buy them again in a heartbeat.

The Best Use for Kitchen Shears Is on My Toddler’s Food

While I use these for a variety of kitchen tasks like spatchcocking poultry, prepping wings, breaking down lobster, chopping canned whole tomatoes in the can with no mess, and much more, where they really shine is prepping my toddlers' food. 

After cooking for much of the day for work and for my family, sometimes the thought of dirtying another cutting board and knife during our dinner rush sends me into a panic. Luckily, a good pair of shears can cut even the trickiest of toddler foods into bite-sized pieces right on their plates.

Seriously, have you ever tried cutting a filled ravioli with a knife? Disaster! Shears will give always me a clean cut. I love to use shears on noodles, pizza, and even baked treats into manageable pieces for my two-year-old. They also make quick work of cutting up round foods that tend to pose the biggest choking risk like grapes, blueberries, and even hot dogs.

The only thing they can’t do is convince my toddler to eat anything green. Those shears must cost extra. As a silver lining, these do come with a built-in bottle opener for all your post-bedtime cocktail needs to make it all better for me.

BUY IT: Livingo Kitchen Shears