What Are Those Metal Teeth Between Kitchen Scissors? Their Real Purpose Explained
If you’ve ever looked closely at a pair of kitchen scissors and wondered why there are strange metal “teeth” hidden between the blades, you’re definitely not alone.
The feature shown in the image is not a broken part, a manufacturing mistake, or a second cutting blade. On many multipurpose kitchen scissors, those opposing serrated sections are designed as a gripping and cracking area. Depending on the particular scissors, they may function as a nutcracker, shell cracker, jar or cap gripper, or general-purpose gripping notch.
And if you’ve already cut your fingers on them, there’s one important thing to know: they are not meant to be touched while you’re using the scissors.
What Are the Metal Teeth Actually For?
The easiest way to understand them is to think of the teeth as a tiny pair of metal jaws.
When the scissors are partially closed, the two toothed surfaces move toward each other. Instead of cutting like the main blades, they grip an object between them.
The teeth prevent smooth or rounded objects from slipping.
This can be useful for things such as:
Cracking certain nuts
Gripping small bottle caps
Holding slippery food
Cracking or gripping shellfish
Holding tough stems
Gripping small hard objects
Providing extra leverage for certain kitchen tasks
The exact purpose depends on the design of the scissors. Not every pair is designed for every one of these jobs.
Why Are the Teeth So Sharp?
This is probably the part that makes the feature particularly frustrating.
The teeth need to be relatively pronounced so they can grip hard or slippery objects. They’re not necessarily supposed to be sharp like a knife blade, but their edges can definitely hurt if a finger gets caught between them.
That’s why the safest approach is to treat that entire area as a working mechanism, rather than somewhere to hold the scissors.
If you’re holding the scissors normally, your fingers should stay inside the handles and away from the central cutting and gripping mechanisms.
They Can Act Like a Mini Nutcracker
One of the most common uses for this style of serrated section is cracking nuts.
If the opening is large enough and the scissors are specifically designed for it, a nut can be positioned between the opposing teeth.
When you gently squeeze the handles, the pressure is concentrated around the shell.
The teeth help prevent the nut from shooting out or slipping away.
However, there’s an important limitation:
Don’t assume every kitchen scissor is strong enough to crack every nut.
Large or extremely hard nuts can put considerable stress on the pivot and blades. If the scissors feel flimsy, bend, twist, or struggle, stop.
A dedicated nutcracker is safer for repeated nut cracking.
They May Also Help With Bottle Caps
Some multifunction kitchen scissors incorporate a bottle-opening feature into the handle area.
Depending on the design, the serrated section may provide grip around a cap, while another part of the handle provides leverage for opening it.
This is one reason kitchen scissors can have several strange-looking features.
They’re often designed to be a sort of all-in-one kitchen tool rather than simply a pair of scissors.
