Farberware Kitchen Shears: The Complete Guide
Kitchen shears are one of those tools that home cooks either swear by or never think about until they need them and realize they don't own a good pair. Farberware's kitchen shears have been a fixture in American home kitchens for decades, widely available, affordable, and genuinely useful. This guide covers the different models, what they're designed to do, and how they compare to alternatives.
What Makes Kitchen Shears Different From Regular Scissors?
Kitchen shears are built for the demands of food prep in ways that office or craft scissors aren't. Good kitchen shears have:
Blade material: High-carbon or stainless steel rather than the lower-grade steel used in household scissors. They hold an edge through food contact and repeated washing.
Blade profile: Heavier and often micro-serrated on one blade to grip food during cutting rather than letting it slip.
Blade separation: The blades of quality kitchen shears separate for cleaning, essential for hygiene when you've been cutting raw meat or poultry.
Bolt design: Adjustable bolt systems allow tension adjustment for different tasks and make cleaning easier.
Additional tools: Many kitchen shears include a bottle opener, jar opener, nutcracker, or herb stripper built into the handles or blade notches.
Spring mechanism: A spring-loaded return reduces hand fatigue during extended use.
Farberware's kitchen shears incorporate most or all of these features depending on the specific model.
Farberware Shears Models
Classic Series Shears
The base Farberware kitchen shears are the most widely available. Features include:
- Stainless steel blades that separate for cleaning
- Micro-serrated lower blade for grip
- Spring-loaded return
- Bottle opener in handle
- Screwdriver tip on handles
- Dishwasher-safe designation
These are the shears most people picture as "standard kitchen shears." They handle the full range of basic tasks competently.
Professional Series Shears
Some Farberware lines include heavier-duty shears with:
- More substantial blade thickness
- Improved pivot hardware
- Better blade alignment under pressure
- Comfort-grip handles with more ergonomic shaping
These are better suited for demanding tasks like breaking down whole birds or cutting through thicker bones.
Poultry Shears
A subset of Farberware's offerings includes dedicated poultry shears, curved blades designed specifically for spatchcocking chicken and turkey, with more leverage-friendly pivot placement. These are purpose-built for cooks who regularly break down whole birds.
What Farberware Kitchen Shears Are Actually Good For
Breaking Down Poultry
This is the most commonly cited use case for kitchen shears, and Farberware shears handle it well. Spatchcocking (removing the backbone from a whole chicken) requires cutting through rib bones on either side of the spine. Farberware's spring-loaded shears make this less tiring than using a knife, and the serrated blade grips bone rather than sliding off it.
Breaking down a whole chicken into parts, separating legs, wings, and breasts, goes faster with shears than a knife for most home cooks.
Herb and Vegetable Prep
Snipping fresh herbs directly into a pot or bowl is dramatically faster than knife-chopping. Cutting spring onions, chives, parsley, or basil into a dish while holding them over the pan takes seconds with shears.
Cutting green beans, asparagus, and similar vegetables is also faster with shears for some preparation styles.
Pizza Cutting
Shears work for cutting pizza, especially deep dish or thick-crust variations where a rolling cutter struggles. Cut from the center outward in sections, it's quick and doesn't drag cheese like some wheel cutters.
Fish Preparation
Cutting fish fins, trimming tails, and portioning fish can be done with shears faster than switching to a dedicated fish knife for basic tasks.
Packaging and Prep
Cutting open vacuum-sealed packages, trimming fat from meat edges, portioning dried pasta, cutting canned whole tomatoes in the can, shears are genuinely faster for these small tasks than pulling out a cutting board and knife.
Dried Fruit and Sticky Ingredients
Shears handle sticky tasks like cutting dates, dried apricots, or marshmallows better than a knife, especially when lightly oiled to prevent sticking.
How Farberware Shears Compare
vs. Wusthof Come-Apart Kitchen Shears: Wusthof's shears use harder, thicker stainless steel and have a more precise blade alignment. They're about 3-4x the price. For home cooks who use shears occasionally, the performance difference doesn't justify the cost. For daily heavy use, Wusthof is worth the investment.
vs. Victorinox Kitchen Shears: Similar quality territory to Farberware's better models. Victorinox shears have slightly better steel and edge retention. The price gap is modest; either is a good choice.
vs. OXO Good Grips Shears: OXO's spring-action shears are ergonomically excellent, the handle design is among the most comfortable available. Comparable price to Farberware's mid-range; the choice often comes down to handle preference.
vs. KitchenAid Kitchen Shears: KitchenAid's shears are comparable to Farberware in quality and price. Both are solid choices; most buyers choose based on what matches their existing kitchen brand.
Care and Maintenance
Blade separation: Always separate the blades for washing. Hinged shears that don't come apart trap food debris in the pivot, which promotes bacteria growth.
Dishwasher use: Farberware shears are labeled dishwasher-safe, and they handle it reasonably well. However, the dishwasher is harder on the spring mechanism over time than hand washing.
Drying: Dry the blades and the pivot area immediately after washing. Moisture trapped in the bolt joint promotes rust.
Sharpening: The micro-serrated blade doesn't need sharpening. The smooth blade can be sharpened with a small whetstone or a blade sharpener. Pull-through sharpeners work but aren't ideal for shear geometry.
Bolt tension: If the blades feel loose or misaligned, tighten the bolt slightly. Most Farberware shears have an adjustable bolt (often a Phillips-head screw).
FAQ
Do Farberware kitchen shears come apart for cleaning? Yes. Standard Farberware kitchen shears feature separating blades for cleaning. This is essential for food safety when the shears have been used on raw meat or poultry.
Are Farberware kitchen shears dishwasher safe? Most Farberware shears are labeled dishwasher-safe. Hand washing and thorough drying is recommended for maximum lifespan, particularly to preserve the spring mechanism.
What size are Farberware kitchen shears? Standard Farberware kitchen shears are typically 9-10 inches in total length. Some models are slightly shorter or longer depending on the specific design.
Can Farberware kitchen shears cut through bone? They can cut through small, soft bones like those in chicken wings and small rib sections. They are not designed for large, dense bones, use a cleaver for those tasks.
How do you sharpen Farberware kitchen shears? One blade is typically serrated (doesn't need sharpening) and one is smooth (can be sharpened). A few strokes on a whetstone or a blade sharpener restores the smooth blade. Alternatively, a professional sharpening service will do both blades properly.
What else can Farberware kitchen shears be used for? Beyond food prep, kitchen shears handle general household tasks well: cutting twine, opening packages, trimming plants, cutting craft materials. Their stainless construction makes them easy to clean between tasks.