Fiskars Titanium Nitride No. 8 Shop Snip (12-79266984), 12 Meters, Orange

over time I have bought several of these snips for a good reason - they are very well made, robust in workshop or home use, cut with clean edges, and stay sharp for a long time (one pair in the office is still going after 4 years.) I use 3 pairs in the workshop - 1 for fabrics, another for general cutting, a third for thin metal and anything else. Seems a bit OTT but the reason for 3 is that fabrics particularly need a keen edge that cuts from tip to hinge so I keep a pair separate for that. soft metals like sheet aluminium or brass will cut fine but steel will eventually wear the cutting edge. The 'general cutting' such a card, rubber sheet, plastic sheet etc, eventually 'move down' to metal cutting when that pair can no longer be sharpened with a diamond sharpener. These snips can be sharpened with DMT fine or similar, although that will of course remove the titanium nitride coating. They may cost a little more than other similar snips, but they last a long time, cut clean and from tip to hinge, without the frustration of snips that don't cut well. As an aside, I would keep these snips well away from young children - they are spring loaded open when the catch is released, more than sharp enough for carpet, 3 mm rubber and 0.5mm thin steel sheet. There are probably other snips of similar quality out there but why hunt and test them when these do all I need them consistently and well?

This is the best tool I have found to open all sorts of plastic bubble packaging.

We use these to trim the hooves on our goats, so this may be a little different than the standard review. The snips are solidly built, with a good set of quality contoured grips. The spring action is smooth and allows for fine control when working around the "quicks" on the hooves, helping to avoid any damage or accidental cuts. The lock can easily be operated with a thumb or fore-finger (depending on how you choose to hold them) so it's great for one-handed operation (important when you're wrestling with goats). The tips of the snips are narrow enough that they can clean out the inner gap of the hoof (even for our Nigerian Dwarves), but just rounded enough that you won't jab their tissue. They do a good job of accurately and sharply cutting, so there is no tearing of the grown out hooves, which can lead to infection. It may not be their intended primary purpose, but they are perfect for what we use them for!

Excellent cutters. Slightly higher cost but these are well made cutters. Easy operation and very smooth opening and closing. Bought these as an article recommended these for trimming goat hooves. Easy to handle sharp and worked great. Will also cut thin metal and wire mesh with ease. Will get another one for my stepsons tool collection.

Great cutting power. Ergonomic. Used to use all the time to open clear plastic packages until I found d the Word electric cutters.

The first thing I noticed was that the blades are not very sharp. But they do cut cleanly. I tested it on plastic clam shell packaging & the plastic paper-type material the package came in. it has no problem cutting through things; it just takes a bit more effort, probably due to one blade being serrated. At first, I thought, "Who needs a serrated blade on shears?" But after testing them, I realized that the serrated blade grips the item & prevents it from slipping forward as you squeeze the handles. The shears do not operate very smoothly or quietly, but that's not as important as how they cut. And the latch that keeps the shears closed is difficult to operate, but I imagine it will smooth out with use & some lube on the pivot points.

Despite the many negative reviews, I have had three pairs of these and have ended up giving two of them away because people like them so well they didn't want to wait to order their own. I find the biggest problem people have with the misfit they say it's hard to open them when they're locked, they need to squeeze the handles together and that lab practically Falls open it's really easy. And remember that it's a straight edge so it doesn't always cut round its things easily it's meant to cut straight edges. I use it to cut branches on trees that are at least a quarter inch thick or more oh, I use it for 10 for a felt for one pair for wool ( I try to keep one pair for Fabrics, and one for metals - just like you would regular scissors) . I would not be without a pair of these they are really good the well-built my first pair I still own and you're probably 25 years old or more and they get used frequently. So I would recommend at least getting them and trying them oh, and remember when you're opening the lock you need to squeeze the handles together and then they decide to pop right open. That's the biggest complaint by sound from people.

I have some cheaper Fiskars shears and in my humid tropical environment they rust. These, however, are as shiny as new after about 5 months of use, and they are still nice and sharp. They even cut light landscape fabric that jams in other scissors. Worth every penny.