Processing quail- Best type of scissors?

[Julie-S]

I've never processed before so I'm nervous it will be difficult to make one clean cut. Are their neck bones pretty easy to cut through?

I just did, and I used a NEW pair of Amazon Heavy duty shears". The neck bone cut but not the skin or veins so the head flipped and did not detach, it was still having blood flow so alive. Took wire cutters instead and three cuts later my hands were shaking and I felt like a murderer. Repeat 5 more times and now I'm ready to put myself in prison. Three days of nightmares. If I don't find sharp reliable shears I will become vegetarian. Worst experience of my life! Please recommend something sharp.

 

[Whiskybear]

I just did, and I used a NEW pair of Amazon Heavy duty shears". The neck bone cut but not the skin or veins so the head flipped and did not detach, it was still having blood flow so alive. Took wire cutters instead and three cuts later my hands were shaking and I felt like a murderer. Repeat 5 more times and now I'm ready to put myself in prison. Three days of nightmares. If I don't find sharp reliable shears I will become vegetarian. Worst experience of my life! Please recommend something sharp.

crappy shears abound. If this link works, I recommend these without reservation. Just bought a second pair.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/css/order-history?ref_=nav_orders_first

 

[Nabiki]

I just did, and I used a NEW pair of Amazon Heavy duty shears". The neck bone cut but not the skin or veins so the head flipped and did not detach, it was still having blood flow so alive. Took wire cutters instead and three cuts later my hands were shaking and I felt like a murderer. Repeat 5 more times and now I'm ready to put myself in prison. Three days of nightmares. If I don't find sharp reliable shears I will become vegetarian. Worst experience of my life! Please recommend something sharp.

You can sharpen your shears. I sharpen mine before every butcher session or every 5 birds if I'm doing a lot. If you're not sure of the sharpness, give a sharp, firm tug when you cut, and the head will come off immediately. Be firm.

 

[Julie-S]

crappy shears abound. If this link works, I recommend these without reservation. Just bought a second pair.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/css/order-history?ref_=nav_orders_first

Yup those were what I used. Didn't work. Quail torture. Is there a way to sharpen them?

 

[Whiskybear]

Well… a kitchen steel is what I generally use, but sharpness is only half the battle. Blade alignment is key, and those have been the best of 5 shears I’ve tried. You’ll need a way to sharpen whatever you settle on; cutting bones is hard on an edge. As to alignment, you should be able to hold them in line in front of a light bulb and close them without seeing light between the blades at any point. The two pairs of those I bought were good. Maybe you got unlucky.

 

[Jalloway]

Whatever scissors you go with, I highly recommend you sharpen them first. Better safe than sorry, as you don’t want to have to cut more than once to dispatch

 

[Jalloway]

I’m pretty sure these scissors came with the house but they’re what I used and worked well, clean and quick after sharpening

 

[raingarden]

I really like the up-turned tip on poultry shears. When spathcocking you can feel the tip run along the side of the backbone and there is no danger of cutting an organ.

 

[Nabiki]

I really like the up-turned tip on poultry shears. When spathcocking you can feel the tip run along the side of the backbone and there is no danger of cutting an organ.

I use poultry shears too.

 

[Dandichook]

I use poultry shears as well. If you're looking for specific models, we bought two after scouring a bunch of reviews. Both have worked very well, clean kills every time.

Both are available on Amazon. (I am not an affiliate, but I always prefer it when people reference exact products they use, so that's what I'm doing.)

Henckels Kitchen Shears for Poultry, Stainless Steel 4 inch

OXO Good Grips Spring-Loaded Poultry Shears

We like the OXO best because you can take them apart to clean, but the Henckels have an adjustable nut on them which you can tighten prior to each session, ensuring a clean cut, which is very nice. Both work well for general slaughter as well as for spatchcocking. I don't have super strong grip strength and both are nice and easy to use even for me.