Why use hardware-store shears when you could use traditional Japanese garden scissors? These are incredibly beautiful, made from forged carbon steel and sized perfectly for ikebana, kitchen gardening, cut flowers, dead-heading, and light pruning. Note that Japanese steel is hard, sharp, and more brittle than you might be used to, so don't use these scissors for wire, metal, stone, plastic, or even super hard plant materials like bamboo or other hardwoods (especially those with knots or burrs.) Always cut branches diagonally and with even pressure. For heavier cuts, use the base of the blades, and save the tips for smaller precision work. Keep them dry, clean them regularly to remove leaf resin, rust, and other debris, and sharpen with a #1000 grit stone once they start to lose their edge. Anyway, it's a super-special pair of garden scissors and makes a great, where-did-you-get-that host gift... bring a pair along with cut flowers.