Last Updated on April 2, 2021

In our day-to-day life, we often use tools to make our work a bit easier. Scissors and shears are such tools. There are a variety of uses of them on a daily basis such as in the kitchen, in beauty salons, in fabrics, in gardening, etc. So choosing the right tool could increase our productivity significantly. In this article, we will first distinguish the difference between shears and scissors and then we will move on to the usage and recommendation section.

 

difference between scissors and shears

 

Scissors are multipurpose cutting tools that are characterized by two attached blades; usually less than 6 inches long. The two blades revolve around a fulcrum and the forward motion of the blades slice objects. On the other hand, shears are scissors; which have blades longer than 6 inches and the finger holes are typically asymmetrical, also shears are usually used for specialized purposes while scissors are a run-of-the-mill jack of all trades.

 

Difference Between Shears and Scissors

Now let’s move to the discussion about various shears and scissors and their application. First, we are going to classify the most common areas of usage, which are as follows

  1.  Household
  2. Kitchen
  3. Garden
  4. Beauty Salon
  5. Sewing

 

For household use, one might need scissors and shears that can cut paper, scotch tape, string, etc. Ideally, regular scissors can do the job but there are also options to buy durable and rugged household shears that have extra sharp edges and would last way longer.

 

For kitchen use, one might need scissors or shears to cut the tin foil, poultry, fruit, vegetables, etc. Naturally, shears would work better in these customized needs. Imagine slicing cooked poultry with regular scissors, it’s impossible.

For garden use, one might need shears to trim hedges, grass, or unwanted branches, etc. The recommendation for this type of work is very straightforward. For pruning, you would need pruning shears, and for trimming hedges you would need long shears with big blades and big handles specially made for gardening purposes.

 

In beauty, salon scissors are used for cutting and trimming hair and beard, trimming nails, eyebrows, and for other beautification purposes. So for beauty salons, shears are usually not needed. Hair scissors and manicure scissors would be sufficient.

 

For sewists and quilters choosing the right scissors or shears is very important. In the case of string and thin fabric, regular scissors would suffice. But in the case of wool or thick fabric or layered fabric strong shears are needed. Otherwise, the thick fabric might cut intermittently or not at all. So it is recommended that proper tools should be selected accordingly.

 

Scissors and shears are both very useful tools that have their area of strengths and weaknesses. Often we confuse ourselves between the two but one thing is certain, neither a gardening shear can trim your mustache nor a trimming scissor can clear your bushes. Understanding the difference between shears and scissors could potentially change your work output. Therefore opting to choose the right tool could make your labor a whole lot easier.

 

You may also like to read –

1. Best Embroidery Scissors

2. Best pinking shears

3. Best paper cutting scissors

4. Best fabric scissors

 

Jennifer Salvo

Hello, I’m Jennifer Salvo, mother of two children. I’m passionate about sewing, crafting, and giveaways. I want to help you learn more about sewing through my blog. I hope to inspire you with amazing craft ideas and help you with your sewing equipment purchases.

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