We evaluated 18 nail clippers, including models from Edjy, Japonesque, Revlon, Seki Edge, and Tweezerman. See which ones made the cut—literally.
The best nail clippers from CR’s evaluations had sharp, aligned blades, smooth joints, and solid construction.
By Laura Murphy
Nails grow about a tenth of a millimeter a day. It’s not a lot, but it adds up. And, depending on how short you like to wear your nails, you could be reaching for a nail clipper anywhere from 12 to 52 times a year.
For many of us, nail clippers are kind of like umbrellas—we may have a few nail clippers knocking around the bathroom that get the job done, but they don’t do it particularly well.
Speaking for myself, nail clippers are one of those items that I don’t think about until I’m hovering over the trash can, trying to pare my nails into a uniform shape, thinking, Oh my gosh, I have got to get a better pair of clippers. And then I don’t think of them again until a couple of weeks later, when I repeat the whole process.
This is a mistake, according to Alexandra Jachno, a celebrity and fashion nail artist and manicurist.
“Nail clippers may seem like a small purchase, but they’re a foundational tool for nail care,” Jachno says. “Using a sharp, well-designed clipper and proper technique can help prevent damage and reduce the need for more aggressive nail treatments later on.”
So what makes a great nail clipper? I asked a few experts, and here’s what they said to look for.
What to Look for in a Nail Clipper
Sharp, aligned blades: When it comes to nail clippers, it’s all about the blades. Dull clippers with blades that do not meet evenly are more likely to snag, tear, and break your nail. “The better the blade, the more cleanly it will cut, and will be less likely to produce jagged edges,” says Dr. Dana Stern, a board-certified dermatologist and an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of the nail.
Smooth joints, solid construction: Most nail clippers feature a lever that must be spun upward, then pressed down to close the blades and clip the nails. The points at which different parts of the nail clipper must work together to create this motion are the joints—and just like with your knees, you don’t want any creaking, catching, or stiffness.
“Better-designed clippers will have smoother joints, enabling better leverage, and be superior ergonomically,” says Stern.
High-quality materials: Nail clippers are typically made out of durable metals like stainless steel, but some are made of metal alloys or a combination of stainless steel and other metals. “Cheaper grade metal can warp, dull or break sooner,” Stern warns. “Lower quality metals can also rust more easily.”
Other Factors to Consider in a Nail Clipper
Blade shape: Nail clipper blades come in two varieties: curved and flat. Which one you choose comes down to personal preference, and which nails you’re cutting.
“Curved clippers generally work best for fingernails because they follow the natural shape of the nail,” says Jachno. “Flatter or straighter clippers are better suited for toenails, which are thicker and benefit from a straight cut.”
Lifestyle: You may think that if you mostly get your nails done at the salon, you don’t need to invest in a good clipper, but actually, the opposite is true.
“If you regularly get professional manicures or wear gel or structured coatings, it is important to choose a high-quality, very sharp clipper that cuts cleanly without stressing the nail plate,” says Sofia Mazur, a nail artist and educator.
She also says that athletes or people with thicker nails may benefit from stronger, heavy-duty clippers with a powerful lever and stable grip, since they typically need to trim their nails more often than a regular person.
Grip and mobility: “Those with limited hand strength, arthritis, or mobility issues should look for ergonomic designs with a larger handle, softer tension, or assisted leverage for easier control,” says Mazur.
Clippers in different sizes: “Using separate clippers for fingers and toes is a good idea,” says Jachno. Toenails require more strength and a larger cutting surface. “For toes I like having two options. One extra large nail clipper for the big toes, this helps cut a single straight-across cut, and then a slightly smaller clipper for the rest of the toes.”
She also notes that having a separate set of clippers for fingers and toes is helpful for maintaining good hygiene.
Extra features: Nail clippers are simple tools, but the maximalists among us will appreciate those that are a little bit more like a manicurist’s Swiss Army knife. Some clippers come with a little box that catches your clippings. Others may sport a file and a pointed tip for under-nail cleaning. Others come in fancy little pouches or boxes.
Cleaning your clippers: It’s important to clean your nail clippers after every use to prevent the spread of bacteria, viruses and fungal spores.
Stern recommends cleaning by tapping out debris, washing with warm soapy water, drying the clippers thoroughly with a paper towel and then swiping them with alcohol. She also cautions against sharing your clippers with others.
Nail Care for Seniors and the Elderly
Nail care becomes more complicated with age.
“People who are older may have dexterity and flexibility issues,” says Pamela D. Wilson, a caregiving expert. “Some cannot bend to clip their nails, and nails get thicker with age, making it more difficult to cut through the nail.”
Grip strength and steadiness along with deteriorating vision may also make wielding a nail clipper safely more difficult.
“In these cases, some people may be able to avail themselves of some accommodations such as a magnifying glass stand with lights to make it easier to see, a more ergonomic clipper that requires less grip strength, and taking a footbath before clipping to soften up the nail,” says Wilson.
But seniors and caregivers should approach nail care with caution. “Physical impediments aren’t the only concern,” Wilson adds. “If the skin is cut while clipping, that makes the person more vulnerable to infections, slow-healing wounds, and other complications.”
If the nail is too thick to cut through with a good pair of clippers or if the person has a complicating medical factor such as diabetes, it’s a good idea to consult a professional. A podiatrist can show seniors and caregivers how to clip their nails safely. There may also be a local nail clinic where nurses offer nail care to those who need assistance.
Best Nail Clippers We Evaluated
Consumer Reports sent me 17 nail clipper sets to test—three shy of my current allotment of fingers and toes. I needed backup. So I divided my evaluation of the clippers into two parts: a usability test and a functional evaluation.
For the usability test, I invited seven of my most discerning friends to a manicure/pedicure party and asked them to evaluate the clippers based on the criteria listed above. For the functional test, I snagged a pack of acrylic nails in the “long stiletto” shape from Amazon and used each of the clippers to trim them down to a demure almond shape.
Some clippers were a cut above the rest, others were on the cutting edge, and many didn’t make the cut at all.
Nail Clippers for the Elite Home Manicurist
These clippers transformed nail clipping from a chore of basic hygiene into a ritual of self-care.
Photo: Consumer Reports
Seki Edge SS-112 Nail Clipper
My user testing group unanimously favored these sharp, sturdy clippers. The cut is precise and the blades are nimble enough to use on fingernails and little toenails, but there’s enough force to the lever that they can be used on thicker nails, too. I was able to whittle the acrylic stiletto nail down to an almond shape with no odd cuts, rough spots, or breakage.
Made by master blacksmiths in Japan, the Seki Edge nail clippers have a cult following. Each clipper is sharpened by hand and made of high-quality stainless steel. They’re also one of the most expensive clippers on our list—a fact I did not tell my usability testers—but fans online claim that once you buy them, you’re done buying nail clippers for life.
Photo: Consumer Reports
Green Bell (Takumi No Waza) Stainless Steel Nail Clipper
But wait! Did you balk at the high price of the Seki Edge Nail Clippers? Never fear. You can get the exact same pair of clippers for less on Amazon under the brand name Green Bell (or Takumi No Waza). The Seki Edge is made for the American market, while the Green Bell is made for the Japanese market. But in a global marketplace, you can save a few bucks by shopping Green Bell on Amazon. I can verify that these clippers are identical, down to the sharp blades, the built-in nail file on the lever, and the stamp on the bottom that says, “Green Bell, Stainless Japan.”
Photo: Consumer Reports
Zwilling Premium Nail Clippers with Nail Catch
“A great pair of nail nippers starts with one main essential factor: proper sharpening!” says nail artist and educator Sofia Mazur. She likens trying to cut your nails with dull clippers to trying to cut a tomato with a dull knife: “Poorly sharpened or low-quality nippers do not trim the nail—they tear or ‘chew’ it.”
So it makes sense that Zwilling, a German kitchenware brand, would put their sharpening skills and stainless steel materials toward producing a high-quality pair of clippers. My usability testers called the Zwilling clipper “the fancy black one” and felt that its lightly curved blade worked particularly well on thick toenails.
The clippers come sheathed in a black collection box for clippings, which you can easily empty by sliding the clippers out. The copy on their website claims that the clippers have a built-in nail file, but the pair I received did not have this feature.
Photo: Consumer Reports
Hawatour Nail Clipper Set
“Chic,” my usability testers agreed, when contemplating the Hawatour nail clipper set. The fingernail and toenail clipper pair comes nestled in a bright yellow tin. Both clippers have a nice weight and gently trim the nails. The stainless steel fingernail clipper blades are lightly curved, while the toenail clipper blades cut straight across. They both performed well on the acrylic nails.
All in all, the Hawatour Nail Clipper Set gives the elevated experience of many of the more expensive models at a far more reasonable price point.
Sturdy Nail Clippers That Get the Job Done
You might not be ready to invest in a pair of nail clippers for life. If you’re just looking for a pair that works but isn’t fussy, one of these nail clippers might be right for you.
Photo: Consumer Reports
Tweezerman Stainless Steel Combo Clipper Set
Best known for their delicate, pincer-like tweezers, Tweezerman is a classic brand in the beauty tools space. Their nail clippers are “not fancy,” the testers agreed, but they like the lightweight yet sturdy hand feel and the sharpness of the blades. “It’s a good basic,” one tester declared.
The combo set is made of stainless steel and comes with a fingernail cutter with a lightly curved blade and a larger toenail clipper that features a flat blade. The clippers cut through the acrylic blades cleanly, and I was able to get down to a decent almond shape—though to get the nice curves my local manicurist can achieve, I’d have to pull out a nail file. The only complaint my testers had about the clippers was that they came in hard-to-open plastic packaging.
Photo: Consumer Reports
Amazon Basics Nail Clipper Set
True to its name, the Amazon Basics nail clipper is a sleek, simple set. Both clippers have curved blades and are made of alloy steel—which is a durable material, but less rust-resistant than stainless steel.
My user testers found them “perfectly adequate” and they were similarly adept at trimming down the acrylic nails. They may not last for life, but at $6, it won’t hurt too much to replace them.
Photo: Consumer Reports
Harperton Ultra Sharp Nail Clippers Set
The Harperton Nail Clipper Set advertises itself as an ergonomic option for women and seniors, but our testers didn’t find that it was meaningfully different than the other premium-to-mid-tier clippers we tried. The stainless steel set features a smaller clipper for fingernails and a larger one for toenails. Each sports a built-in nail file and they come in a bright yellow zippered pouch, which makes them great for travel—and for finding in the dark recesses of your dop kit.
The blades are sharp and the clippers themselves are sturdy. They cut cleanly into the acrylic nails and could handle more delicate detail whittling as well.
Nail Clippers With Special Features
These nail clippers stood out for their helpful features, ease of use, low cost, or accessibility for seniors or individuals with adaptive needs.
Photo: Consumer Reports
DrMode Long Handled Nail Clippers
Specifically marketed for seniors, these clippers were still a hit among my younger-aged usability testers. While most nail clippers require curving your wrist around to feed your toenail into the clipper, DrMode’s long handle enables you to hold the clippers at a 90 degree angle to your toes, while still seeing whatever it is you’re clipping. The long lever also lets you maximize leverage and multiply your hand strength.
The clippers are made of stainless steel and feature a wide, sharp jaw with a slightly curved blade. Although the clippers are designed for toenails, testers also found them easy to use on their fingernails—again, the long lever required less force to get a cut. The cut itself was less precise than some of the other clippers we tested—this is a pair you’d definitely want to follow with a nail file. But the design had many converts; one tester bought herself a pair after the mani/pedi party!
Photo: Consumer Reports
Mr. Green Anti-Splash Fingernail Cutter Ergonomic Stainless
There’s something uniquely frightful about encountering a little pile of someone else’s nail trimmings in your home. Or—maybe worse—discovering trimmings one by one scattered around your bathroom, in crevices and buried in the bathmat. In my experience, people who do this cannot be trained to clip their nails over a trash can or a toilet bowl like the rest of us. Forget nagging: Gift this human a pair of Mr. Green Nail Clippers, which come equipped with a highly effective catcher for nail trimmings.
The clippers themselves are made with stainless steel and feature a flat, sharp blade that sliced through both the testers’ nails and the acrylic nails easy-peasy. The brand claims the clippers have an “anti-splash design” that prevents ricocheting fingernails from flying in your eyes. I’m not sure how it works, but no flying fingernail trimmings occurred during our tests.
The catcher is made of ABS resin and it’s easy to remove, empty, and clean the tray. Whether your housemate actually takes this step is beyond the ability of a simple nail clipper to predict.
Photo: Consumer Reports
Edjy Fingernail Cutter
Got a lot of awkward silences to fill? Get yourself the Edjy Fingernail cutter. This clipper caused a lot of consternation among our testers at first—and then it won some converts. Sheathed in a polymer case with a ring on the end that could be attached to a bag or keychain, it gives “I often need to clip my nails on-the-go.” The design is very millennial water bottle, if you know what I mean.
The clipper itself is something of a wonder. It looks like a mini stapler—and that’s sort of how it works, too. Except, instead of stapling your nails, it slices them. So really, it’s more like a mini paper cutter, if we’re using office supply analogies. Some testers complained that they couldn’t get a good view while making their cuts, but others loved the almost one-cut-and-done efficiency of the cutter. I found that while they weren’t quite as crafty at whittling down the acrylic nails into a particular shape, they left the nail tips very smooth and did better detail work than I had anticipated.
And, similar to the DrMode clippers, the ergonomic lever of the Edjy is such that it’s a good pick for anyone with strength or mobility issues. It also comes with a catcher that scoops up your trimmings.
Photo: Consumer Reports
Trim Neat Feat Deluxe Toenail Clipper with File
This is the clipper that everyone already seemed to have at home, though one tester claimed that Trim clippers have become “harder to find.” Trim is a best-selling brand with an unbeatable price. Are those empty shelves a recession indicator? Maybe.
Out of the box, these clippers got the job done for our testers. Of the inexpensive clippers on our list, it was the most precise, but I did struggle a little bit with the thicker, harder acrylic nails. These clippers may be too flimsy if your nails are especially thick or tough. They’re made out of steel—not stainless steel. The blades on these clippers are ground rather than hand-sharpened like the premium clippers on this list. Which is to say, be prepared to replace them when they get dull, rusty, or fall apart.
Photo: Consumer Reports
Klipp Nail Clippers for Men With Catcher
“These are like the R.E.I of nail clippers,” one of my user testers observed.
“They are very masculine,” another said, turning the heavy-duty black Klipp clippers over in her hands.
Constructed (“ruggedly constructed,” claims the brand) out of high-quality stainless steel and zinc alloy, the curved blades on these clippers are sharp, but the testers didn’t like the way that they cut. The blades flattened their nails, making it challenging to achieve the shape they wanted. Some testers said that it caught on their nails, but others observed that the sharpness of the blades and the forcefulness of the lever meant that they didn’t have to work too hard to get the job done. I found this to be true–I whittled the acrylic nails down to an almond shape in no time. But when I used the clipper on my own softer nails, it felt too aggressive.
The clippers feature a catching tray that gathers nail trimmings and is easily emptied. And, they come in a zippered pouch for convenient storage, which makes them a useful object to gift to a man (or woman!) in your life who needs heavy-duty clippers because they’re tough as nails.
Clippers That Didn’t Make the Cut
Photo: Consumer Reports
Japonesque Fingernail and Toenail Clippers
Though these clippers feature sharp blades and stainless steel construction, our user testers were unhappy with the amount of force they inflicted on the nail. When trimming, the clippers would flatten the nail, resulting in uneven cuts, and the sense that the nail could break.
Photo: Consumer Reports
Equate Clipper Set with Catcher
Testers described these clippers as flimsy, and their chrome-plated construction doesn’t bode well in the damp environment of the bathroom, where they’ll be vulnerable to rust. The blades nibbled at the acrylic nails and left bumpy, chewed tips.
Photo: Consumer Reports
Ulysia Nail Clipper Set
The blades on these stainless steel clippers were sharp at first, but after a few rounds with the acrylic nails, they started to dull. Testers thought they worked okay, but some struggled to get the blades through thick big toenails.
Photo: Consumer Reports
Firiker Nail Clipper Set
While testers liked that these clippers come with the “little digger” tool (a.k.a. a built-in nail file and under-nail cleaner), the clipper snagged on nails and didn’t cut cleanly.
Photo: Consumer Reports
Revlon Nail Clippers
These clippers performed similarly to the Trim clippers during user testing—which is to say, they were “fine.” But they fell apart while I was using them on the acrylic nails.
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