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Snips, also known as shears, are metalworking hand tools used to cut sheet metal and other tough webs. Workers use various types of snips, with the cutting edges being straight or curved to various degrees. The style of edge employed will depend if a straight sheer or some type of shape cut is necessary. There are two broad categories: tinner's snips, which are similar to common scissors, and compound-action snips, which use a compound handle system to increase the mechanical advantage.
Other common blade patterns include the circle pattern or curved pattern and the hawk's-bill pattern. Circle pattern snips have a curved blade and are used to cut circles. Hawk's-bill snips are used to cut small radii on the inside and outside of a circle. The shape of the blades allow for sharp turns without buckling the sheet metal. A common use is cutting holes in pipes.
There are three cutting styles for compound-action snips: straight cutting, left cutting, and right cutting. Straight cutting snips (generally have yellow colored soft grips) cut in a straight line and wide curves; left cutting snips (usually red) will cut straight and in a tight curve to the left; right cutting snips (usually green) will cut straight and in a tight curve to the right. These different cutting styles are necessary because metal is stiff and heavy and does not move out of the way readily when cutting around a curve. The respective styles move the material out of the way when cutting in the direction they are designed for. The blades are usually serrated blade to prevent material slippage.
In addition to the configurations outlined below, there are also upright and long cut configurations. The upright snip has the blades rotated 90° from the handles. This configuration is more ergonomic and commonly used in tight spaces. The long cut snip has long blades that make it easier to make long straight cuts. These snips are commonly used on vinyl or aluminium siding.
Standard compound-action snips are designed for cutting steel or softer materials, although the occasional use on stainless steel is not detrimental. For cutting through toughness materials, such as inconel and titanium, special hard snips are available. They are similar in design to standard or offset aviation snips, but have specially blades. These snips will have a different color handle to differentiate them from the other standard types.
The bulldog-pattern is a blade pattern that has longer handles to increase the mechanical advantage of the snips. In tinner's snips this means the handles are extra long. The compound-action bulldog-pattern, also known as a notch snips, has the ability to cut up to 16 gauge (1.59 mm) cold rolled sheet metal or multiple layers of sheet metal up to thick.
Some snips have replaceable blades for when the blade becomes worn out. An added advantage to this is the ability to make the rest of the snips from a lightweight material, usually aluminum. This helps to reduce fatigue.
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