LIVINGO Kitchen Shears Reviewed: Five Pairs and Sets Compared

The LIVINGO 8.5-inch forged pair is the one the others get measured against. It is stainless steel from blade to handle, 8.5 inches long and 3.15 inches wide, and the spec sheet gives the weight as 5.93 ounces. The blade is only 2.6 inches, with a serrated edge.

That is a short cutting edge for a pair this long. One four-star reviewer wished the blades were a touch longer. If you snip herbs and trim fat, it will not matter, and if you like long sweeping cuts, it might.

The design idea is the joint. The brand says the two halves detach and that the blades are dishwasher safe. Several buyers describe turning the handles perpendicular and pulling the halves apart, which opens up the hinge where food collects.

A reviewer in Singapore wrote that the pair dries fast and that rust or grime at the hinge is not a worry. Another noted that the halves can separate on their own if you open them wide. That reviewer called it a trait of this hinge type that you get used to.

On strength, the brand says the forging makes the steel three times harder than normal stainless and calls the blades rust resistant. Treat that as the brand's claim. What buyers add is more concrete.

A Canadian reviewer replaced plastic-handled shears whose handles snapped, and reports that this pair cut everything from paper to chicken bones. Another wrote that the product says 420J2 stainless steel, called that rust resistant but not rust proof, and wondered how long the edge lasts on a softer steel. The product description we read does not name the grade, so take that as one buyer's reading.

The brand lists a built-in can opener, bottle opener and nutcracker. Reviewers say the bottle opener works, the nut at the joint adjusts and then locks, and two small screwdriver tips can twist open a jar seal. One reviewer used the serrations to scale fish.

Here is where it falls short. One reviewer found the handle small, wrote that larger hands will not fit all four fingers, and added that weak hands may find the pair heavy. Another called it a bit heavy but found the handles big enough with no sharp corners.

Hand size splits opinion, so check your own grip. The sharpness cuts both ways too. A reviewer who keeps knives honed wrote that these arrived sharper than expected, and described an accident within half a minute of opening the package that needed skin grafting.

The reviewer blamed nobody, suggested a cut-resistant glove for meat, and stores the pair in two halves so nobody grabs it in a hurry. We would not leave this pair assembled in a drawer in a house with children.

We recommend it for cooks who want metal handles and a pair that cleans down to the hinge. We do not recommend it for small hands, or for anyone who tires quickly while cutting.

The LIVINGO 8-inch twin set takes the opposite route from the forged pair. The blades are stainless steel with a serrated edge, 2.9 inches long, and the handles are plastic. Each pair measures 8 inches by 3.2 inches.

The spec table gives a weight of 91.5 grams without saying whether that is one pair or both, so we leave it there. The brand describes a one-piece design that does not detach, and a grooved blade for opening bottles. It also says the serrated handles can crack nuts, crush garlic or loosen a stubborn jar lid.

The handles are described as soft and slip resistant, in two colors, and suitable for left and right hands. The set includes plastic blade guards. The brand says they protect the edge and make drawer storage safer, which is a real point for anyone who has reached into a drawer of loose scissors.

The star breakdown is strong. About 84 percent of ratings are five stars, and about 4 percent are one or two stars. The written evidence is thin, though.

We found a single review, from the United Kingdom, that praises the sharpness and the guards and says the reviewer has not yet tried the pair on meat. That tells you the pair arrives sharp and the guards are there. It says nothing about how the plastic handles age.

That matters because plastic handles are where buyers of the forged pair say their previous shears failed. We want to be careful, since those buyers were talking about other brands, and nothing we read says these handles break. But a single review cannot settle it either way.

The case for this set is simple. It is light, you get two pairs, and the guards make it a sensible spare for a drawer, a camping box or a gift. The case against it is just as simple.

It cannot be taken apart, so cleaning the hinge means a brush and patience. There is also too little written feedback to say how it holds up over time.

We would call it a reasonable second pair. As your only shears for poultry and bones, we would want to see more buyer reports first.

The LIVINGO 9.5-inch titanium-coated pair is the biggest and heaviest of the single pairs. It measures 9.5 inches by 3.62 inches and weighs 241 grams, which is about 8.5 ounces. Its blade is 3.47 inches and straight, against the forged pair's 2.6-inch serrated edge.

That means more cutting edge and more mass behind it. The brand says the steel is high carbon stainless and that the titanium coating helps prevent rust. It also lists a wavy edge on one side for scraping fish scales, a nut and lobster cracker in the middle of the handle, a bottle opener, a can opener and a flat screwdriver.

The brand says the shears cut vegetables, meat, chicken and small poultry bones, plus flowers, string, plastic and cardboard. It also says the pair is dishwasher safe.

There is one contradiction to know about. The brand's bullets describe a non-slip rubber grip, while the spec table lists the handle material as stainless steel. Both cannot be right, so check the photos before buying if grip matters to you.

We found three written reviews, all five stars. A reviewer in the United Kingdom bought the pair to replace one that had gone loose at the joint pin with no way to tighten it, and uses it on plastic packaging, taped boxes and zip-ties. That reviewer calls it properly weighty and super sharp, and says it cuts cleanly and feels controllable.

Another reviewer called it sturdy, sharp and durable in one line. A third, in Australia, wrote that they could not find the pair again to reorder it. That is a note on availability, not quality.

About 78 percent of ratings are five stars and about 4 percent are one or two stars, with 5 percent at three stars. That is a little weaker than the forged pair and the other sets. No review explains the lower ratings, so we cannot say what drives them.

It fits if you want one pair for food and for the packaging pile. It is a poor fit if you want to disassemble the pair, since nothing says it detaches, or if you want a light tool. At this weight, a long afternoon of snipping will tire a small hand.

The LIVINGO poultry shears are the product we have the hardest time recommending. On paper they look sensible. The blade is curved and 2.83 inches long, the shears measure 9.5 inches by 3.2 inches, and they weigh 210 grams, about 7.4 ounces.

The handles are stainless steel with a brushed finish. The brand says a locking mechanism keeps hands from tiring, and a safety lock holds the blades shut in storage.

It also says to hand wash and dry immediately. That rule belongs to this product only, and the other products give their own care notes or none.

Then there are the ratings. About 50 percent are five stars and about 26 percent are one star, with 6 percent at two stars, 7 percent at three and 11 percent at four. The other four products here sit at 1 to 3 percent one-star ratings.

One rating in four being the lowest score is a pattern, not noise. What makes this hard is that we found no written reviews. No review says whether the lock jams, the blades dull or the hinge loosens.

Without that, the honest reading is that the brand's page promises a lot and a quarter of raters did not agree. We will leave the reason open instead of guessing at one.

The description contradicts itself on small points. A bullet describes a mirror finish, while the spec table says brushed. It calls the steel anti-rust, yet tells you to dry the shears immediately, which is the care a steel that can rust would need.

Neither is a smoking gun. Together they make us trust the description less.

If you are set on a safety lock, consider whether the forged pair stored in two halves does the same job. A reviewer of that pair stores it apart so nobody can use it in haste.

We do not recommend this one. The four other products have a better record, and several have real buyer text behind them. If written reviews appear and explain the low scores, we will revisit.

The LIVINGO four-piece set is not a kitchen product in the way the others are. The brand says it holds a 10-inch kitchen shear for poultry, a 10-inch tailor's scissor for fabric, an 8.5-inch scissor for the office and a 7-inch precision scissor for crafts. Only the first belongs in the kitchen.

So the right question is whether you need a set. If your house has a drawer where every pair of scissors has gone dull or missing, four pairs in different sizes solve that. If you want one good kitchen shear, this is an odd way to buy it.

The brand describes brushed stainless steel blades and says they are three times harder than ordinary stainless. It says the thickened blades help separate meat from bones and cut fish, shrimp and ribs. The grips are rubber, and one of the heavy-duty pairs has a safety lock.

The blade edge is straight on the spec table. No care rule is stated for the set, so we cannot say whether any piece is dishwasher safe.

Buyers like the set. About 85 percent of ratings are five stars, and only about 2 percent are one or two stars. We found three written reviews.

One mentions the varied sizes, a nice heft and a good grip, and says the scissors look expensive. Another says they work great for everyday needs, and the third calls them well made with many uses. None describes cutting poultry or bone, and none is critical.

That is a gap, not a verdict. It means the set earns its stars on general use, not kitchen work. We would keep the kitchen pair for food only and use the other three for paper and fabric, which is our judgment and not a care rule from the brand.

Buy it if you want the set. If you need to know how the poultry pair handles a backbone, no buyer has said, and the single forged pair has far more evidence behind it.