The Best Grass Shears types for cutting grass manually & manual lawn trimming

Last Updated on March 25, 2024 by Editors

Have you been worrying about your lawn grass lately because it’s not ending up how you imagine it to be? Then it is time to invest in the best garden tool that will make detailed grass cutting as easy as it can get. A pair of garden grass shears will add the last touches when you have to deal with lawn edging, cutting grass and lawn trimming.

In addition, if you have a small to medium size lawn, then chances are you want to save money and avoid the nasty smells of lawn mowers or weed whackers. In this case, consider using hand tools for cutting grass instead of a lawnmower or a grass trimmer.

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Our Recommendation for Best Grass Shears

Fiskars 36 inch Long-Handle Swivel Grass Shears (92107935J)

This Fiskars Grass Shears is a great garden tool for cutting grass along walkways or around trees and shrubs. It features a 36” long handle, making it simpler to operate than traditional grass shears. The ergonomic design allows you to comfortably hold the lawn tool while cutting grass without straining your back.

Additionally, this grass cutting hand tool features an innovative blade swiveling system that lets you easily adjust the angle of the blade as you trim. In our opinion, this is excellent for grass runners. The swiveling head lets you cut at any angle, while its ergonomic design provides comfort and ease of use. This makes it easier to get into tight spaces and cut grass without bending over.

It’s the best garden shears for cutting grass under $100. Generally, the long-handled garden grass shears from Fiskars is an affordable manual tool and you can use it even for grass cutting of centipede or Bermuda grass. On the flip side, it’s not ideal for overgrown weeds or woody branches. Read our complete review.

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What are Grass Shears

They are garden cutting tools that look and operate like scissors. Wait, isn’t that the definition of other garden shears tools? Yes, but as their name implies, the grass shears are grass cutting scissors. Sometimes they are called grass scissors, lawn shears or lawn scissors.

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What are Grass Shears Used For

Every Spring, people are searching for the garden tools that will remove the grass that a lawn mower, lawn edger or a string trimmer failed to cut. Grass shears are garden hand tools for garden and lawn perfectionists who want to have a well manicured lawn.

And, who doesn’t want to have a perfect lawn? Garden shears can be used for cutting grass, lawn trimming and to trim the grass border with precise, easy cuts. Furthermore, some of their types can cut through tough sod and you can use them to shear small hedges.

The above are the proper uses of these garden shears. However, if you don’t have any lawn mower (motorized or manual) or a string trimmer then you can use garden shears to cut your grass. Depending on the size of your lawn area this can be very easy and fun or very hard and frustrating.

Hand Grass Shears vs Trimmer

There are two common ways to cut grass: manually and mechanically. Manual lawn trimming requires you to use a hand tool like manual grass shears to cut grass by hand. On the other hand, mechanical lawn trimmers and lawnmowers are more convenient if you know how to use them properly. However, they are loud and noisy. Additionally, they require energy to operate and the ones who use gas for energy emit foul odors. Generally, The type of tool you choose depends on the size of your lawn and your budget.

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Why you Should use Garden Shears for Cutting Grass

The lawn shears are the best garden clippers to manually trim grass in hard-to-reach areas. Unfortunately, a string trimmer can damage tree trunks, damage or accidentally slice down plants. For this reason alone, you should avoid using it near them. On the other hand, if you use grass shears for grass borders in between your lawn and flower beds, the result will be better and safer for your flowers or other plants.

With these gardening scissors it is easy to get in between tight areas where a mower or a string trimmer can’t reach. Moreover, with garden grass shears you will finish the job that you started with a manual lawn edger because you will be able to make even better, more precise and cleaner edges.

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Types of Shears for Cutting Grass

The grass shears are divided into four basic types: The grass clippers, the swivel shears, the long-handled grass shears and the edge shears. The first two types are one-handed small shears and the last two are long-handled garden tools. Many of them feature a spring that opens the blades after each cut. Also, some models have a locking mechanism that is supposed to keep them closed when you don’t use them.

1. Grass Clippers

These grass cutting hand tools are for those who don’t mind to bend or love to come in touch with their lawn and trim it on their hands and knees. The hand grass clippers are the most common type of grass shears. They are one-handed garden shears and have a scissor cutting action.

You hold them in your hand and squeeze the grip like scissors. The length of their blades varies from 4 to 7 or more inches. Also, some of these manual grass shears have a compound lever mechanism that multiplies the cutting power up to two times more than the single-pivot grass shears.

2. Swivel Shears for Grass Cutting

The swivel grass shears tool is an offspring of the grass clippers. The main difference between them and grass clippers is that these convenient gardening scissors can rotate! To rotate them you hold the handle with one hand and the blade with the other hand.

The head locks into place. You can set the rotating shears for gardening to several different cutting angles. This way you will make clean cuts at any angle, even at awkward ones.

3. Long-handled Grass Shears

Fortunately, for the rest of us who do not like to kneel or bend, there are one-handed or two-handed, long handed versions of the grass shears. The long-handled grass shears are garden tools that allow you to work in the standing position.

In this category of grass shears you can find the long versions of grass clippers and swivel shears. The long-handled swivel grass shears have a rotating blade like their smaller versions. Because of the swivel head you can use them like the next type of grass scissors, the edge shears, to make precise and clean edges.

4. Edge Shears for Cutting Grass

The edge shears are long-handled grass shears with a vertical blade. You can use the long handle edging shears to edge the border of a lawn like the manual lawn edgers. Furthermore, if there are any imperfections left by manual lawn edgers, the edge shears will remove them and will make beautiful edges in border gardens.

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Grass Shears Maintenance

To keep your shears for grass working properly and safely for a long time you should do some standard maintenance. Moreover, they have blades with cutting edges that need to be sharp enough to cut grass well and clean. For this reason, they require some careful attention every now and then.

Cleaning

Firstly, remove the grass and other plant remains. Then, clean your garden shears with warm water after each use. Also, if there is grass stuck on the blades you can use a brush to remove it from the blades. These garden tools have sharp blades. For this reason, use a towel or some other thick cloth to remove the moisture and avoid traumatization.

How to Sharpen Grass Shears

As surely as the sun rises with each day, the blades of this tool must be really sharp to be able to cut grass and not fold it. To sharpen grass shears you can use a sharpening stone or a fine sharpening file. After sharpening it, use a thick cloth to remove any metal debris and oil the blades. Always wear gloves when you sharpen tools.

Solutions to Common Grass Scissors Problems

First of all, to avoid reading this paragraph again, remember to lubricate the lawn shears moving and other metal parts and pivot joints, regularly.

1. This tool is used for cutting grass. Grass is green and has plenty of moisture. Additionally, the blades of most grass shears are made of high carbon steel which is not rust resistant. If you notice any rust then use a sandpaper or rub it with white vinegar to remove it and apply some oil or an anti-rust solution afterwards.
2. Sometimes the blades of this garden tool stick together. Firstly, try to adjust the blades. Loosen or tighten the screws. If this didn’t work, then oil the spring mechanism and the pivot points. If the problem persists, then polish the cutting edges with fine steel wool.

Storing

Lock the blades and store the grass shears in a dry and protected place like an outdoor storage cabinet or your garage. This location must be far away from children’s reach. Also, oil it well with WD40 if you are going to store it for the Winter.

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In Summary

Shears to cut grass are an important hand tool in the garden and lawn industry. Cutting grass with shears will help keep grass trimmed and looking great all year round. Moreover, a hand tool for cutting grass is necessary if you want to leave a smooth and even finish.

Lawn & grass shears are useful grass cutting hand tools for maintaining a clean lawn edge. Manual grass clippers are great for cutting grass around bushes, hedges, and other plants that might get caught in the blades. If you need to cut grass close to a wall or fence, then you can use long handled grass clippers. They are easy to use and give you complete control over what gets cut.

However, the garden shears for grass are not essential gardening tools for every garden or yard with a lawn. On the flip side, they are extremely important to us who value the perfection of our lawns and edgings. The good news is that a good pair of grass scissors is not expensive.