Cutting-Edge Tools

Aviation Snips
This metal-working tool is bent to let the user grip it with a straight wrist, getting more power for cuts on overhead ducts or thick sheets of stainless steel. Snip handles are color-coded to the cuts the tool makes: red goes straight and left; green goes straight and right.

Wire-Cable Snips
Hardened jaws with a compound pivot have extra force to gnaw through tough metal rods and cables, such as piano wire or guitar strings.
Hard wire rope cutter, from Midwest Snips, $50

Napping Shears
Carpet installers use this odd-shaped tool to trim rug pile. The wide blade rests on the carpet while the curved edge follows along baseboards.
Duckbill napping shears, from Heritage Cutlery, $18

Serrated Snips
General-purpose snips have spring-open handles and serrated blades that mow through everything from vinyl to flashing to window screen.
Multi-Snip, from Fiskars, $13

Tinner's Snips
Twisted blades can follow straight lines and moderate curves in thin sheet metal, such as flashing.
Wiss metal-cutting snips, from Cooper Tools, $19

Poultry Shears
Curved blades with serrated edges cut cleanly and close to the bone on cooked or raw chicken, turkey, and all manner of fowl.
Poultry shears, from Zwilling J.A. Henckels, $30

Laminate Nibbler
Rather than cutting brittle laminate (such as Formica) with blades, this tool, which can turn on a dime, punches out 1⁄4-inch-wide bites.
Universal laminate shear, from Klenk Industries, $36

Needlenosed Snips
A tight cut, like one for a downspout hole in an aluminum gutter, requires short, sharp blades and long handles for leverage. A coiled spring reopens the jaws automatically.
Needle Nose snip, from Midwest Snips, $15

Offset Snips
This metal worker's tool is angled to keep it from binding (and to keep hands away from sharp edges). But snips can only cut straight or curved in one direction: yellow handles are for straight cuts and gentle curves, red for straight and left, green for straight and right.
Offset snips (right-cutting), from Irwin Industrial Tools, $15

Carpet Shears
A bend in the shank of these shears lets carpet installers level pile while keeping their hands clear of the surface.
Offset shears, from Heritage Cutlery, $19

Vinyl Siding Snip
Vinyl siding is really tough, but these snips have leverage for two-handed cuts through the material's thick, molded bends.
Vinyl combination snip, from Malco Products, $25

Utility Scissors
Keep these handy for cutting most everything from wrapping paper to plastic screening. Comfy spring-open handles save aching hands.
Ergonomic shears, from Heritage Cutlery, $22

Electrical Cable Snips
Sharp little blades dig through Romex and BX cable, while the notch strips insulation without touching wires.
Wiss cable cutters, from Cooper Tools, $17

Dressmaker Shears
Scissors for sewing have cranked handles and knife edges to glide through multiple layers of cloth without lifting them off the table.
Dressmaker's shears, from Gingher $32

Ergonomic Snips
Cushion-grip general-purpose snips are designed for metal but work just as well on cardboard, asphalt shingles, wire screen, and fiberglass insulation.
MaxSteel all-purpose snips, from Stanley Tools, $20

Replaceable-Blade Snips
No resharpening is necessary, with blades that change at the turn of a screw on these tin snips made from lightweight magnesium.
Replaceable-blade snip, from Midwest Snips, $27