Review - Clauss Professional Titanium Safety Shears

"For those who live their craft."™ 

When most folks think of sex toys, they would usually envision things like vibrators and dildos.  If they come from the kinky side of the tracks like Serafina and myself, they might think of a lot of other items too.  People associate things like leather and latex, rope, restraints, blindfolds, hoods and corsets with BDSM, and certainly those are all common components of the experience.  But, when I think about it, the complete BDSM toybox has room for an almost endless array of items.

As an example, I'll include a short but far from inclusive list of impact toys: floggers, cats, canes, rods, paddles, crops, straps, belts, tawses, quirts, hairbrushes, spoons, spatulas, swatters, and of course the classic - whips.  As I said, that list is far from being totally inclusive.  And, every one of those items has a number of types and variants.  All the little distinctions really do matter to the true aficionado.

Even with all of that toybag diversity, most folks living a BDSM lifestyle would not automatically consider a pair of glorified scissors a sex toy.  But, if you've been reading along here at SpiritualBDSM.com, you already know that when adult play includes rope or restraint, safety shears are an absolute necessity.

Clauss 18053 7" True Professional Titanium Snips (picture by Serafina Samadhi)

If my memory is correct, I picked up my first pair of safety shears in Chicago at a store called "Male Hide Leathers," sometime back in the mid 1990's.  They weren't cheap, but they were cheaply made, and I never really trusted them.

The metal was soft and tinny, and it always felt as though they might give way before the rope.  Not a truly serious tool, when I used them they really felt like a pair of first grader's safety scissors.  Although they did (barely) fulfill their intended purpose, they didn't survive beyond their first serious use, and are now just a memory buried in some landfill.

More recently, I've added pair of EMT Shears from twistedmonk.com to my rope bag.  I didn't make a separate purchase, the shears were a part of a bulk rope kit I bought from the site.  The "Monk's Shears" (as I've taken to calling them) were a significant step up from that first pair.

Sharp and solid, they felt significant enough to be trustworthy, and test cuts on some spare braided nylon rope were very successful.  In fact, I felt confident enough in the shears from Twisted Monk that I poked a little fun at the product I'm about to review today.  

Mea culpa (a latin phrase meaning "my fault,") or, as Homer Simpson would say -- DOH!!!

My first safety shears really did remind me of primary school supplies, but the generic EMT Shears from Twisted Monk are nothing like those blunt ended monstrosities we tried to use as kids.  Monk's EMT Safety Shears (pictured directly below) will certainly be more than sufficient to provide a necessary measure of safety and security for any Shibari/Bondage Master's rope bag.

EMT Shears (top) from  twistedmonk.com - Bandage scissors (bottom) from our medicine cabinet (picture by Serafina Samadhi)

The "Monk's Shears" are quite good, but, I have discovered they are not as solid, or as well built, as the product I am about to review today.  As the title already told you, in today's post I'll be detailing the newest purchase for my Shibari and rope bondage kit, a very nice set of Clauss 7" True Professional Titanium Snips.

These shears are very much a premium product.  I may have previously poked fun at their comfort cushioned handles, which may be a useless feature for a product we hope is used infrequently, but, as with any product designed for cutting, it's the blades that really count.

On the topic of blades, the advertising copy thoughtfully provided by Clauss will tell you:

"The Titanium-bonded blades are 3x stronger than stainless steel alone and will resist corrosion and adhesives."

I don't know if the 3x claim for sharpness is literally true, but I can tell you that the serrated blades are very much sharper to the touch than any other EMT Saftey Shear in my rope bag or experience.  Once again, how the edges feel when I run my fingers across the blades is one thing, what really matters is how well they cut rope.  And, I must say that these blades are noticeably superior at doing what's really important.

These Clauss shears cut everything from cardboard to rope easier, with more authority and confidence, than any other EMT shear I've ever used.  That's undoubtedly the most important feature in a tool reserved for emergencies.  Those outstanding blades are what makes these shears superior to their competition, everything else I discuss in this review are really just luxuries.

includes a Lifetime Warranty - (picture by Serafina Samadhi)

Do the other features, things like comfort grip handles and the corrosion and adhesive resistance of the blades matter at all?

Well, human perspiration is pretty darn corrosive.  My first pair of cheap shears suffered from surface rust in a fingerprint pattern, caused by a single handling with sweaty hands after a long and intense scene.  With that in mind, the corrosion resistance offered by these over-sized scissors is truly useful for a Shibari/bondage master who probably doesn't want their safety tools to be totally disposable.

At first, it was my belief that the adhesive resistance offered by these Clauss shears would actually be nothing but wasted potential in the bondage or Shibari master's rope bag.  Certainly, adhesive resistance would be a much more useful feature in a tool for use in the BDSM workshop, where, by the way, these snips would also be an excellent addition. 

After a few moments channeling my inner Don Draper type ad wizard, I did come up with an (admittedly weak) advantage for adhesive resistant shears when used in cutting rope with taped ends.  Rope ends have to be finished by some technique to prevent the the various rope strands from unraveling, and taping is the easiest of the home techniques for that purpose.

Granted, Shibari rope has a special knotted ends, and many premium ropes come with the added alternative of whipped ends, so it's not like cutting taped rope will be a common need for a toybag tool.  I had some old cotton clothesline with taped ends in my rope bag that I only recently discarded, so it's not a totally uncommon thing either. I'd guess that the adhesive resistant quality of the blades is only somewhat useful in the bondage/Shibari toybag.

Clauss 7" True Professional Titanium Snip (picture by Serafina Samadhi)

Which brings us to the final obvious difference between these EMT shears and the more generic versions offered elsewhere, those pretty comfort grip handles.  When first posting about the importance of including safety shears in your toybag, I had little fun at the expense of the comfort grip handles on these sweet shears.  I mean, who wants a Dom that has enough emergencies to need such a feature?

Upon further reflection, I realized that not all dominants have hand strength equal to my own.  What is simple for a burly man (linebacker style build) like myself, may not be as easy for an individual with less physical size or/or strength.

It's also worth considering a number of various infirmities and diseases that should also be considered when recommending a safety shear for everyone's use in their bondage toybag.  A wide range of conditions can effect an individual's hand strength and ability to use shears in an emergency.  Everything from MS (Multiple Sclerosis) to fibromyalgia and diabetic neuropathy can, and will, cause widely varying abilities to effectively use EMT Safety Shears.

So yes, those comfort grip handles really are a truly useful feature in a pretty good number of circumstances.  When considering these shears for inclusion among essential BDSM gear, the comfortable and secure handles are second in importance only to the outstanding quality of the blades.

cuts thru rope like a knife thru butter - demonstrating the Clauss Titanium Safety Shears in our makeshift photo-booth (picture by Serafina Samadhi)  

CONCLUSIONS - I can't say this part too often - If you are going to play adult games including bondage or restraint, a pair of EMT Safety  Shears are an absolute essential.  That's not a statement which is open to debate, responsible adults playing BDSM games must be prepared for potential emergencies.

The generic safety shear sold by Monk is a good useful tool, but these shears by Clauss are significantly better.  The current price for "Monk's Shears" is $5.50 while the Clauss 7" True Professional Titanium Snips are selling today at Amazon.com for $8.10.  Those are the item's retail prices, postage and handling fees are not included.

If figured in terms of percentage, the cost difference is significant, the Clauss Shears have something like a 40% higher retail cost.  In the grand scheme of things, however, percentages are pretty irrelevant in this price range, unless you are purchasing some kind of large quantity.  We are talking about a cost difference of less than $3.00, it's just not enough to justify settling for the inferior product.

These shears are a high quality tool, significantly superior to the competition in actual use.  If you don't already have a pair of safety shears, then don't consider any others, buy these.  If you already own EMT Shears, these just might be enough of a step up in quality that you'd consider replacing your old gear.

We recommend that anyone partaking in Shibari or bondage activities include them in their toy or rope bag.  They are inexpensive enough that you may wish to have several pairs, one in the rope bag, and others close at hand anywhere you may play bondage games in your home.

Safety is no laughing matter, but I can't help saying that these Clauss Shears are a real "cut up."  These scissors come with a Lifetime Warranty, and the trademarked motto on the back of the package says; "For those who live their craft."  

Now there's a motto worthy of a BDSM dominant if I've ever heard one . . .

an essential tool for the bondage/Shibari rope bag - this thick braided nylon rope cut very easily with the Clauss EMT Safety Shears (picture by Serafina Samadhi) 

DISCLAIMER - Michael and Serafina Samadhi are not associated or affiliated with the manufacturer(s) and/or vendor(s) of the Clauss Professional Titanium Safety Shears in any manner or form. We have not received any compensation or consideration in return for this posting. Product was purchased thru Amazon.com and we do reserve the right to add affiliate links to the product at a later date while concurrently changing this notice to reflect our current Amazon.com affiliate status.