Trick #3: Poultry bones, beware
Now, this is all dependent on the quality of your scissors. Actually, if they are heavy-duty (indicating that they are poultry or bone shears), you can use the ridged portion to assist in snapping through small bones; think chicken wings or thighs, as in breaking down a bird.
With the bone gripped in the ridged portion, apply steady pressure (the key here is a firm but controlled grip), and it will assist in opening it without your shears sliding or slipping. Just be mindful: this is not the time to try it with your $5 grocery-store shears; if they aren’t cut out for it (pun intended), you could ruin them and injure yourself in the process.
Bonus uses that you might not have considered
That toothed area isn’t only for jars and nut cracking. Think outside the box:
Gripping slippery plastic caps (like vacuum-sealed juice jugs)
Cracking crab legs or lobster shells
Twisting soft corks out of bottles (mainly synthetic ones)
Holding a stubborn twist-tie or stuck plastic seal to slice it cleanly
Essentially, any time both your hands are slipping, slipping, slipping, and you’re about to snap with frustration—that little grip might be your answer.
Why do manufacturers even include this?
Because they can offer more options; that is the simple answer. There are more and more kitchen tools that were inspired by multi-use tools. Their purpose is really handy for those in small kitchens (hello, apartment dwellers).
Instead of buying a jar opener, nutcracker, and poultry scissors separately, a decent pair of kitchen scissors with its built-in gripper can do the work of all three. Just a quiet space-saver that can do more than its share for the space.
kitchen scissors
source: Walmart
Does your pair have it?
Not all kitchen scissors do. It’s most often found in:
Heavy-duty kitchen scissors
Poultry or bone shears
Utility scissors that are marked as ‘multipurpose’
Just look in the area between the handles—does it have a notched or ridged section that aligns when you close them? That’s your built-in gripper ready to roll.
A few quick safety reminders before you go full throttle
Don’t push it. If something is hard, like an uncrackable nut or thick bone, don’t force it. Remember, these aren’t pliers.
Watch your fingers. Keep your fingers off the teeth when you’re twisting or pressing down on something.
Clean it up good. Especially if you have used it on raw meat or sticky stuff. That little section can be tricky to clean if you’re not paying attention.
Don’t use it on non-food things. Yes, it seems like it could pop paint cans or twist wires, but please don’t. That’s how scissors die.
That random ridge is actually a little bit of a power move
At first glance, it doesn’t look like it should do anything—just a goofy notch. A design grunge leftover. But that toothed part of your kitchen shears? It’s quietly capable of a lot. It gives your ordinary shears multi-tool-like capability, allowing you to twist, crack, grip, and open with little effort.
So next time you reach for your kitchen scissors, remember, in addition to cutting, these are a problem-solver. You have a jar gripper, a nutcracker, a mini bone press, and who knows what else waiting just a flip of your hand away.
You just have to actually use it.
