This Underrated Home Tool Has a Secret That Won It a Coveted Design Award

From opening packages to helping in the kitchen, this often overlooked device gets a major glow-up that makes it better than ever.

By Sean Tirman

Published July 8, 2025

·

Updated July 8, 2025

Every product is carefully selected by our editors. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more

A Red Dot Award is among the most prestigious product design accolades anyone can receive. This year’s winners were just announced across a myriad of categories, including everything from cars to, well, the kitchen sink.

Among them was a staple home tool that, at first glance, seems pretty innocuous and unassuming. However, a closer inspection reveals that the Horl Scissors are an exceptional blend of craftsmanship, innovation and convenience.

Hell, they might just be the last scissors you ever buy.

Horl Scissors in hand — At first glance, these look like run-of-the-mill scissors, albeit gorgeous ones.

Snip snip

At first glance, the Horl Scissors might look like any run-of-the-mill pair. Granted, they’re clearly elegant in their form, but they look a lot like most pairs of scissors do.

However, that’s a major part of their charm. Despite their hidden innovation and masterful design, they blend in. These aren’t showy, gaudy or boastful; they’re refined and driven by purpose.

Horl’s scissors are sleek and stunning, like something you might find on a crafting or drafting table.

One of their best features is that, unlike most household scissors, they come apart. To be fair, that’s a pretty common feature among kitchen scissors; it makes them easier to clean and care for. But it’s still noteworthy.

Unlike other kitchen scissors, however, these retain an elegant minimalism. Instead of big plastic handles with jar openers built into them, Horl’s scissors are sleek and stunning, like something you might find on a crafting or drafting table.

But that’s still pedestrian compared to their most significant innovation.

Horl Scissors coming apart — With one simple motion, the Horl Scissors come apart. They’re just as simple to put back together.

Honed to perfection

The biggest problem with most scissors is that they are extremely difficult to sharpen. In fact, those that don’t come apart are nearly impossible to hone back to factory sharpness. At the very least, a portion of their length must be left dull, which can be frustrating in use.

Even kitchen scissors that come apart can be difficult to sharpen. You can’t run them through an easy-to-use two-stage tabletop sharpener unless it has a scissor-specific slot. (Scissors usually have a chisel grind, where only one side of the edge is sharpened, making them impossible to use in traditional multi-stage sharpeners.)

The biggest problem with most scissors is that they are extremely difficult to sharpen … Thankfully, Horl has taken the guesswork out.

Even then, the angle could be off. And don’t get me started on the difficulty in trying to learn how to use sharpening stones. Thankfully, Horl has taken the guesswork out.

Both sides of the scissors are made to stand up on a flat surface at the precise right 45-degree angle. All you have to do is roll one of the brand’s honing wheels back and forth over the edge. Yes, it’s really as simple (and elegant) as that.

That transforms these from a forgettable tool into something you can turn to time and time again, whether for complex kitchen work or even something as simple as opening packages. It’s no wonder they won one of the most prestigious design awards in the world.

Horl Scissors being sharpened — Each half of the scissors is made to stand at the perfect angle for sharpening — no guesswork.

Available and pricing

The Horl Scissors are now available on the brand’s site for $349. However, to use them fully, you’ll also need a sharpener set, which starts at an additional $179.

That said, these are the last scissors you’ll ever have to buy, and they’ll certainly pay for themselves over time.