The Quick And Easy Hack That'll Keep Your Kitchen Shears Perfectly Sharpened

Kitchen shears are definitely considered an essential kitchen tool for many a home cook, and they can come in handy for a variety of cooking tasks. From snipping herbs to cutting poultry, this versatile cooking accoutrement can make everyday culinary prep quicker and easier. However, maintaining the sharpness of your shears — along with your other kitchen knives — is paramount to maintaining safe kitchen practices.

Using dull kitchen shears can de dangerous and ineffective, especially if they've been used to cut hard non-food items, such as plastic, which accelerates their wear and tear. The good news is that maintaining the sharpness of your shears doesn't have to be tedious or difficult — and you don't have to own a sharpening stone. In fact, there's an unexpected kitchen item that you can use to effortlessly restore your shears in minutes. Odds are that you even have it in your cabinet right now: aluminum foil. 

This simple method works due to the friction created between the foil and the blades. It doesn't technically sharpen your blades, but instead improves their ability to make crisp cuts by clearing them of residue and removing any roughness that has developed along the blade's edge. This allows for a significantly smoother cutting performance. All you need is some sheets of foil, and in a few short steps, you'll have your kitchen shears back to premium quality in no time. 

Once you have the right shears, using the foil method is easy. You'll simply roll out about seven to 12 inches of foil and fold the sheet in half about six times, until you have a handful of foil layers. Then, you'll want to cut through those layers with your shears — make sure you use the full blades to cut. This hack will have a similar (but way more accessible) effect to cutting into sandpaper, and it will help combat the edge abrasiveness that makes cutting into thicker foods, such as poultry, more difficult. 

Be sure to wipe off any residual foil pieces that may have accumulated on the blades during cutting with a wet towel, and you're golden. Want to wash your blades instead? Make sure you hand wash them (don't put them in the dishwasher) and dry them thoroughly to keep rust and residue at bay. Repeat this process roughly every six months to keep your kitchen shears in tip-top shape.

It's important to note that the aluminum foil method is specifically for shears that are somewhat dulled and need some simple fine tuning — seriously damaged shears will need to be restored with a sharpening stone or other heavy-duty tool.