Milwaukee Tool’s scissors are quite possibly the only tool in their entire product catalog that can serve everyone’s needs.
I had to open some packaging last week, and my Milwaukee scissors were the go-to.
Cutting rubber sheet material? Twine in the garden? Twist ties holding a bunch of wire together? Cardboard? Milwaukee scissors got it done.
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They’re plenty durable, too.
I used my scissors in a way I’m not proud of yesterday, to tap a garden stake a little deeper into the soil. I should have walked back to the garage and grabbed a mallet, but the scissors were already in my hand.
It was kind of asking for it, with the exposed metal through-tang part of the handle all exposed like that.
The scissors are comfortable to use, and after several years they’re still easy to open.
It also turns out that the scissors are 100% true to Milwaukee’s claims, that the “bolt lock technology” prevents the blades from loosening over time.
There are two versions – straight scissors, and offset.
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Technically the title should be “the two Milwaukee tools for every tool box,” but I consider them to be variations of the same tool.
I have found that either one will do the job maybe 95% of the time. If I had to pick one over the other, it might be the straight scissors.
The straight scissors are more compact, and I tend to favor them for this if given the choice.
The offset scissors keeps my hand a bit further away from whatever I’m cutting, which can make a difference when cutting sheets of something.
So, I will generally use whichever is closest to me, but will grab the straight scissors when moving around or on the go, and the offset scissors when making longer cuts.
The straight scissors look to be more popular, judging by the review count for the new version on Home Depot’s website. They’re also less expensive by a few dollars.
Milwaukee calls these jobsite scissors, and while I don’t doubt their usefulness in a construction setting, they’re definitely highly versatile, convenient, and well-performing beyond pro usage environments.
I have bought quite a few of these scissors over the years, and like to give them as gifts. Everyone can use strong high quality scissors, right?
Price: $15.97 (straight), $18.97 (offset)
Home Depot is offering free shipping for either model right now, with no minimum order amount required. Both styles can usually be found at most stores.
MoogleMan3
Agree COMPLETELY.
When home depot had the two pack (one of each style) on sale a few years back I grabbed a couple of sets. Excellent utility scissors.
Robert
I had a hard time telling in the store.
Is the plastic the same as on the Packout boxes?
Blocky
My guess would be ‘no’ or at least these probably don’t have the glass fiber content that gives the packout boxes much of their impact strength. Full ‘tang’ gives these their structure. Glass fibers would increase wear on the molds.
They might have a similar feel, regardless. And I might be wrong.
Xrh07
Packout isn’t using GF. It’s just polypropylene with some aluminum corner supports.
blocky
re xrh07: Oh, you’re right. I shouldn’t have assumed.
Robert, It could be the handles are also PP. I’m pretty sure my Olfa and Allex scissors have ABS handles.
Matt C.
Wife told me to stop borrowing the house scissors for the garage…. So based on a previous post I bought the straight version of these. I’ve only had a few weeks but they served me well. This is the kinda tool you didn’t think you needed until you got it…
Tim+E.
I actually prefer the offset version, unless this new red-only handled one has the micro-serrations on the straight handle, I find that feature actually useful on the offset handle version. It’s useful when cutting carpet, fabric, or other slippery materials versus the straight handled ones. We sometimes use a lot of heavy fabrics for crafts and as great as ginghers cut, they have to be sharpened fairly often cutting some stuff. Titanium coated Fiskars are a lot better in that regard, better than the straight milwuakee ones, but the angled milwaukee are definitely the sweet spot, good clean cuts without much slipping and they’ve held up marvelously.
Blocky
Thanks, this is precisely what I wanted to know. I’ve been in the market for scissors for heavy fabrics.
Tim+E.
Hopefully they do well for you. I have a pair of both knife edge and serrated knife edge Ginghers I had dedicated to heavier fabrics and pleather and the like, still use them occasionally. The serrated ones are really nice and basically on par with the Milwaukee I’d say, but were a bit more expensive, and are “nice” scissors so I don’t like using them on rough and ready projects if that makes sense. With Fiskars, I used the titanium easy action shears and a pair of “mixed material” shears. Those were a bit cheaper than the Milwaukee, particularly if you can get them on sale, but weren’t really as good as either gingher, didn’t wow me with their cutting. I’ve been really happy with the Milwaukee, though I’ve resigned myself to likely replacing them when they get dull rather than even trying to sharpen them. But at the price, that’s still not too bad.
Franco
I have bought tons of scissors over the years some are decent and some are crap. Stuart talked about these a few months ago and he loved them, and everyone commenting loved them. So I bought some. An online retailer had a special, so I bought 5 pairs, 3 straight and 2 offset…..love them. They hold up great to people misusing them! Stay sharp pretty good and are tough. I am super happy and would recommend them to anyone needing great scissors.
If you need for heavy fabrics, like construction material (vapor or wind barriers, or similar), these will make you happy.
If heavy fabric is sewing fabric and you want to cut without fraying, you can’t beat KAI.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=kai+scissors
My wife has been sewing “professionally” for close to 20 years. Having gone through many Fiskars’s, Wescott’s, and many others, she finds for fabrics, KAI’s are the best, and worth the price.
928'er
+ 1 Kai is the parent company for Shun kitchen knives and Kershaw pocket knives.
Franco
Just wanted to add that KAI stay sharp much longer than any of her other scissors, they say they are made with Japanese steel…all I can say is that they have the right recipe for their metal. Great scissors.
MM
I’ve had largely the same experience. The Ti-coated serrated Fiskars shop shears were my go-tos for my own work and also the shipping/receiving department in my business. I found them excellent, and I still have a couple pairs kicking around. However, one pair did have the plastic fail in the handles–I suspect this was the result of abuse but I wasn’t present when they broke so I can’t truly say one way or the other. That said the Milwaukees don’t have that problem. I think if you were doing fine tailoring/dressmaking you’d probably want proper tailor’s shears but for misc fabrics, rags, felt, carpet, filter material, fine screen, rubber sheet, canvas, strapping tape, light duty hose, gasket material these are great.
Adam
I have both, and would agree they’re excellent… When new.
If you allow them to get even slightly wet, however, they rust into near uselessness overnight.
I understand the iron/carbide approach, but there seems to have been zero material/real world mitigation of rust for something sold as a site tool.
Once it gets onto/into them, the rust is exceptionally hard to remove from whatever they used.
Went from loving them enough to buy a second pair, to huge disappointment.
Bill
I was recently considering some new scissors, so this article is timely for me, but the rust issue on these is a concern. Has anyone else had problems with rust on the Milwaukee scissors?
Tim+E.
They do rust, but I haven’t had it to the extreme it sounds like Adam has. I have an older pair (red and black handle) of the straight that I use as garden/outdoor scissors, they’ve cut roots in the ground, dug in the dirt, been hosed down, and they definitely aren’t pretty anymore, have a lot of pockmarks and rust spots all over, but not what I’d call major rust and it hasn’t impaired their function as scissors.
Adam
The straight ones have rusted terribly, but the offsets haven’t. I got them second so have been more careful to keep them dry, but they’ve still had the odd bit of rain and are ok.
Both still work great for heavy stuff, but the rusted pair won’t cut anything thin/fine any more without half an hour on the wire wheel & polisher, then they just rust again.
(I’m not alone looking at the Amazon reviews.)
Wonder if Milwaukee have sorted the material and my offsets are the next iteration.
Whatever. They are fantastic scissors, and good scissors are hard to find. Just with a killer issue that’d stop me buying them again.
Mitherial
I’ve been using the similar “Tradesman’s Shears” for many years, and they are so much better than regular scissors that I threw out every other pair of scissors in my house (except for some Kitchen Aid kitchen shears, as a shorter blade length is more convenient for cooking related tasks), and keep a pair in my truck and office too. These Milwaukees look good though, I will give them a try.
Mitherial
***“Tradesman’s Shears” from Wiss
Analyst
I’m a huge fan of the Engineer Inc. compact scissors that I bought based upon your recommendation a few months ago. Looks like I’ll be buying these too!
BrianA
I want to say I got my first pair 7+ yrs ago, probably have 10 various versions and models of them all over place as anytime on sale can’t help buy another. Best scissors ever around $15, my first pair not sure which one it is but still sharp and tight.
Jim
I have two pair, one in the shop and a second in the kitchen.
If my wife washes these and doesn’t dry them in the open position yes they will rust. Mine in the shop have no rust.
I’m not a metallurgist (and I didn’t stay at a holiday inn last night) but I can put up with some rust in exchange for the steel being easy to sharpen and doing a good job at holding an edge.
Jim Felt
I’ve avoided this exact issue by always buying my wife SS kitchen and garden scissors.
Sewing scissors (mostly European) not so much but not much washing potential either.
JT
Any chance of a left handed set for us “southpaws?
James
Fiskars. In my trade (purified water technician), they always get wet. Have had my Fiskars for 7 years, abusé the heck out of them daily, and they’re almost as good as new. I bought a new pair on sale ($12?) at Canadian Tire a couple years ago because I thought my original scissors were coming home. However, the new ones stay in a toolbox and the old ones are staying strong thus far.