These are excellent scissors! I don't cut thick materials so I don't know how it works with the maximum listed, but I cut 14 gauge sheet metal very well. It's a little tricky to keep a long straight line, but I cut a 5 foot strip out of an 11 inch sheet myself. There probably should have been someone to help keep the ends going, but nobody's there when you need them, so I'm very impressed with us. me and scissors