HeavyDuty Kitchen Scissors for Meat, Bones, Shears for Lobster Multifunctional Chef Approved

Heirloom Culinary has managed to take shears, a product that has existed for ages, and do something completely new with this old tool. Deviating significantly from conventional designs, these shears are cosmetically beautiful, unapologetically expensive, functionally capable, and actively address some of the inherent problems that conventional designs have.There is something about high-end kitchen tools that I enjoy immensely. Whether it is All-Clad cookware, Konosuke or Takeda kitchen knives, a KitchenAid Artisan series mixer, a custom-made BoardSmith cutting block, or high-end kitchen shears, I get enjoyment out of using them, I cook more frequently when I have them, and I absolutely love discussing them.The core question I try to address in my reviews of high-end kitchen products, where less-expensive alternatives exist, is, “What justifies the higher purchase price?” I feel a higher price is justifiable when a company comes out with a product that makes improvements to: material quality, build quality, longevity/durability, functionality & convenience, design safety, customer service from the maker, and the overall enjoyment/convenience of usage. Based on my usage of the Heirloom Culinary Shears, I feel this product manages to make some considerable improvements in product design and for that reason I feel the 50 bucks is a very justifiable long-term investment. Beyond the improvements in product design, the company is a pleasure to deal with and truly does stand behind their products.----------------------------------------------------------DESCRIPTION OF THE HEIRLOOM CULINARY SHEARSAs you can see from the images, these shears are somewhat unconventional in design. They are a hybrid of a traditional straight-blade/single cutting plane design mixed with traditional poultry shears finished with a handle utilizing the riveted bolster system as seen with many higher-end forged German kitchen knives. At an overall length of about 10 inches (with a blade of about 4 inches with a 3.5 inch cutting area) and a weight of about 8.5 ounces, these shears are good-sized for bigger tasks.The handles themselves are relatively flat & straight, and this makes the Heirloom Culinary Shears appear smaller than they actually are. Despite maintaining a compact form-factor, the handle’s slight curvature & flared bolsters give fantastic ergonomics and it allows the user to get a firm grip to apply the necessary torque for cutting tougher objects.While shears with a closed-loop handle usually rely on the user to generate the force needed to open the blades, the Heirloom Culinary Shears use a spring action so the shears open back up on their own. This reduces the amount of effort needed to operate them. A swing lock that is placed on the rear of the frame will lock the shears in a closed position, adding a safety factor while reducing the form factor for easier storage.Where as some shears use a molded handle that meets the blades as two separate pieces, these shears use a full stainless steel skeleton with black inlaid bolsters that are riveted to the steel structure. The thickness of the steel structure does not taper at any point, and this design gives the shears considerable strength. Given a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, substantial consideration was given to the area that is often the weakest point of many shears: the pivot joint. As you can see, the pivot joint itself is MASSIVE.The shape of the blades that form the cutting head is unconventional and I find this blade shape makes it easier to physically see what you are cutting. The blade has a notch on it for when cutting bone, wood, plastics or other harder or round materials that are prone to slipping. These shears are fully ambidextrous, and do not disassemble. There is absolutely zero lateral play and absolutely zero pivot play; these tight tolerances are not negatively affected by heavier duty work. Designed in the United States and manufactured in China, these shears come with a lifetime warranty, and this lifetime warranty comes from a company which stands behind that warranty 100%.----------------------------------------------------------IMPORTANT NOTE ON USAGE: THESE SHEARS HAVE TWO VERY DISTINCT CUTTING AREAS/PLANESThe unusual design of these shears allows them to multi-task roles that historically have been limited specifically to either poultry shears or regular shears. This design relies on the user to correctly utilize this feature. The primary straight side of the blade closest to the tip (which in the images I refer to as “Cutting Area 1” excels in cutting lighter materials and it is capable of cutting even thin materials, such as a napkin or paper. The side with the bone notch that is closest to the handle (“Cutting Area 2”) excels in cutting heavier objects, including ones prone to slipping such a bone, round vegetables, or round stems.The area in which these two cutting areas meet at forms a very small portion on the blade that is not as sharp as the rest (it has a different angle than the rest of the blade, which improves smoothness in operation, and can account for the long-term wear that occurs with any & every product over time.) This area will cut most materials without a problem, but a cut should NOT be started in this area because the sharper portions on either side will require less effort and start a much cleaner cut. So starting your cut either within Cutting Area 1 or Cutting Area 2 will allow the cut to be cleaner, even, and with lower effort.As a general rule, starting finesse cutting of lighter materials starts best in Cutting Area 1, and heavier duty & round materials starts best in Cutting Area 2. If the material is round, placing it firmly up against the bone notch will allow the shears to get the necessary traction to avoid slipping (as pictured in the attached image.)----------------------------------------------------------HOW THE HEIRLOOM CULINARY SHEARS IMPROVES UPON CONVENTIONAL SHEARSThe Designer of the Heirloom Culinary Shears systematically built a tool that addresses many of the weaknesses of conventional designs. The steel is thick, hard, and capable of withstanding impact and cutting damage. The edge geometry is very consistent. The handles are single-piece stainless designs (with handles riveted into the frame) and so they cannot crack off or warp/bend like a plastic handle. Unlike a looped handle, these accommodate different sizes of hands. Perhaps most relevant here though is the strength: with the usage of a gigantic pivot joint and a very thick frame, you will never have to worry about these breaking at the pivot and springing apart (which can be extremely dangerous.) In that sense, the Heirloom Culinary Shears can make cutting safer when working with harder/tougher materials or round objects prone to slipping.----------------------------------------------------------THE ENJOYMENT OF USING THESE DAILY OVER OTHER PRODUCTSHow good are these for daily usage? They aren’t just great looking…they’re very functional as well! These shears are incredibly comfortable and, despite being heavier, they are well balanced and easy to maneuver with. They help reduce fatigue from prolonged usage and allow you to use shears to cut materials that most shears cannot handle. These will work great regardless of your hand size and I find these super easy to use given the spring opening action greatly reduces the effort needed to operate these. If one of the issues you have with conventional shears is rapid hand/wrist fatigue, I think you will like the handle design of the Heirloom Culinary Shears & and ease of operation it provides.I tend to operate these side-by-side with a pair of 4-inch shears from Victorinox. The Victorinox Shears are light-duty flat blade shears that are quite thin and have screaming sharp edges…I use these for cutting lighter materials in which super-precision and the cleanest of cuts are ideal. When cutting a tougher material that tends to slip around and can be brutal on blades, I reach for these Heirloom Culinary Shears. These shears hold up better to more brutal tasks and they can withstand usage that would severely damage most other products I have owned. Despite using them on everything from bone to thick plastic bottles to hard raw vegetables, the blades remain sharp and without any sort of chipping or rolling damage. So together I’ve got the ideal cutting tool for just about any circumstance.----------------------------------------------------------FUTURE REVISIONS/EDITIONS?This is an absolutely awesome design and I really hope to see more kitchen tools from Heirloom Culinary in the future. While I love the overall design, there are a few things that I think future generations could potentially improve upon.The biggest feature I wish the Heirloom Culinary Shears had is the ability to be disassembled, although I am not sure if it is possible to create shears this strong with that feature. While the fixed pivot has been chosen specifically to increase strength, cleaning a pivot on shears that do not disassemble is a longer and more difficult process. I like being able to disassemble my Victorinox shears and then spraying them down with accelerated hydrogen peroxide to disinfect them, and this is especially important to me if using shears to cut raw meats. An effective disinfectant can still safely disinfect shears that do not disassemble, but the process generally takes longer and requires more attention. If gunk gets caught up in the pivot joint on a pair of shears that do not disassemble, it is generally difficult to clean it out (flushing with alcohol is generally the best way to clean a fixed pivot that is gunked up.) Additionally, I find shears to be easier to sharpen when they can be taken apart. (It’s worth noting though that thus far these shears have not dulled whatsoever in the least, so the need to sharpen these will presumably be very infrequent.)The locking mechanism used to hold the shears closed is also a little on the flimsy side and over time it can loosen up. If this lock piece loosens to a certain point, the friction/force it uses to hold the shears closed or locked to the open-use position decreases. The lock piece and joint cannot be replaced by the user, nor can the tension on it be easily adjusted. If the ability to adjust (and even remove/replace) the lock piece were added, this would be a very useful feature given this is the kind of product that last decades, and hence the ability to adjust moving parts will help account for & offset normal age-related wear. Additionally, adding a plastic- or fabric-molded sheath that goes over the blade to hold it closed would add more security to holding the shears closed, and simultaneously adds an extra layer of safety for transport and storage.----------------------------------------------------------OVERALL—WHEN A PRODUCT THAT PUSHES THE LIMITS, TO ME THAT JUSTIFIES PREMIUM PRICINGWhile not an inexpensive product, the Heirloom Culinary Shears is a unique tool of excellent quality & performance. It uses a design that is a radical departure from other shears, and this improves the utilitarian value of the tool. It has been made by a company that truly stands behind their products...and such kind of customer support is a rarity these days.Shears are a tool you use every day, and these Heirloom Culinary Shears makes improvements in both convenience and safety. They also open up the possibility of using shears to cut products that most standard shears can’t cut without risk of damage to the shears or injury to the user (or both.) I have no doubts that these Shears will have exceptional longevity, even with heavy usage, and I will update this review every few years to report on the progress.So if you are considering these but unsure of them due to price, based on my usage of the product and interaction with the company, I highly recommend the Heirloom Culinary Shears. This is an awesome kitchen tool to have in your cooking arsenal.

We absolutely love these! They are made well and very sharp. I would definitely buy these again.

I love this company! When I first received these scissors I could tell that they were quality. I am a seamstress who knows and appreciates quality scissors. They make all the difference in the world. I was very excited to use these scissors. That says a lot because cutting up chicken is very low, or should I say not on my list of exciting things to do! But I believed that I would like it much better now that I finally had the proper tool to assist me.I had no problem breaking the bone in the bone notch. It cracked the bone in half perfectly. However I was having problems cutting the meat. This I could not understand and neither could my husband. We could tell the blades were sharp and there is no doubt that they are made from high quality stainless steel. These are not flimsy in any way. When I looked closer as I was cutting I could see the blades weren't tight. I figured that I would just have to tighten the bolt but wanted to speak with the manufacturer to discuss this. I had some problems getting a hold of them. The problems were truly innocent on behalf of both parties, the manufacturers and myself. For some reason I thought that it would be best to go straight to the website that came with the scissors (I don't no why I didn't just contact the seller through amazon). On the other end, somehow when the website was being designed by a website company the default generic number in the layout was never replaced so when I called the number it obviously didn't work. Heirloom Culinary was not aware of this issue and was as confused as I was. Thankfully the problem has been resolved and quite frankly I'm glad that this happened because I was able to speak directly to the owner of the company and help the resolve an issue with their website that could have kept others from these top of the line scissors. "El Captain Jack" is a very honest and sincere man. He stands behind his product which is pretty easy because it is a great product! All I could think of while talking to him was my grandpa, another honest and sincere business owner. The resemblance was so prevalent that it actually brought tears to my eyes because my grandpa left us 8 years ago. I have complete confidence in this company and their product. As you know a product of any sort is only as good as the company who stands behind it! Let it be known people, there are still good companies out there that believe in doing the right thing.The Captain is sending me a new pair and I have no doubt in my mind that they will be anything less than perfect and I will update my review to proclaim the fact to everyone here on amazon.Support honest, do the right thing people and companies. Buy these great scissors!

It works fantastic until the spring breaks.Since spare springs are not available, it renders the scissors useless.We used ours for less than a year when the spring broke and had to be replaced. Although we bought a replacement, it would have been great if the spring could be of higher quality, or spare springs are offered for sale.