Chikamasa T-600 Almighty Shears

Buy it here for $26.90

While sharing and celebrating any well-made object with you is always a pleasure, introducing a legendary retailer to buy that well-made object from is a double-whammy of joy. This November will mark forty years of living without a respectable entry-level gardening shear, so I recently made a pilgrimage to the legendary Japanese tool emporium, Hida Tool, in Berkeley.

Stepping through Hida Tools' unassuming bamboo portal on San Pablo Avenue was like a mild journey through time and space—specifically, the 90s and perhaps a sleepy corner of Tokyo. Inside the tall, narrow retail space, a mesmerizing array of beautifully packaged Japanese tools climbed from floor to ceiling, obediently lined up along shelves, filled plywood cubbies, and dangled quietly from hooks on old pegboard. The sheer variety and quality of the tools left me pleasantly overwhelmed, circling the store two or three times in an attempt to take it all in.

Remembering my original reason for coming, I placed myself squarely in front of the wall of garden shears, and my body language must have suggested to the knowledgeable shopkeeper that I was finally ready to communicate. I expressed that I was distinctly unqualified for the upper echelon of shears but excited to spring for a click-up from the cheapest option. The shopkeeper enthusiastically suggested the Chikimasa T-600 shears because their carbon steel blade and plated steel handle consutrction was a bananas value for twenty eight dollars. I agreed.

Chikimasa began in 1910 in Japan as a single-person quest to make a better floral scissor. Over time, they designed other agricultural shears for specific purposes, such as harvesting grapes, persimmons, herbs, and onions. I enjoyed browsing Chikimasa's website and learning about all the slightly different types of specialized scissors they have designed over the years. The most impressive aspect of their business is that they still manufacture everything in their own factory in Japan, pridefully orchestrating an industrial waltz of robots and craftspeople that can deliver an exacting quality for an impressively reasonable price.

Post Script: In a very amateur way, I strolled around my yard, testing what I could or could not cut with my shears. Inch-thick blackberry vines and new apple tree branches were no problem. I live in California, and it hasn't rained in months, so there's not much else to test them on ;)