Seafood Scissors

Kitchen shears are ideal for butterflying chicken and snipping herbs but not so great for thick, curvy seafood shells. When we’re cooking lobster, crab, or shrimp, we reach for seafood scissors, designed with small, curved blades that snip open shells without marring the seafood within. Our previously winning pair was recently redesigned, so we bought the updated version plus four new products, priced from about $7 to $15, and snipped our way through pounds of shellfish.

Sadly, the redesigned pair was a bust. While it had excellent blades, the new, smaller handles cramped even the most petite hands. Of the remaining models, two had either comfortable handles or strong, sharp blades—but not both. The final two contenders fared better, but one model was the clear winner. These scissors had comfortable, sturdy handles and strong, sharp blades that snipped through tough lobster claws and delicate shrimp shells with ease, leaving the meat within pristine and ready for plucking.