Left cut snips are for making to the left and straight cuts. Right cut snips are for making straight and cuts to the right. Straight cut snips (not shown) are for making straight cuts and shallow cuts to the right or left. Right hand tin snips are suitable for cutting straight lines and cutting off in an anti-clockwise direction. Best suited for right handed use. hand tin snips are suitable for cutting off in a clockwise direction and for cutting straight lines. Best suited for left handed use. Types of Tin Snips. When shopping for tin snips, and specifically for aviation snips, you'll notice several types: straight-cut, right-cut and left-cut snips, often marked with yellow, green and red, respectively. Each is suited to specific cutting tasks. The forged steel jaws of these left-cutting or right -cutting snips are set at a 90- degree angle to allow easy gripping when cutting sheet metal in tight spaces or overhead. The operator can follow tight circular or square pattern left or right cuts with either a pushing or pulling motion. They are also useful for making long cuts through sheet metal, should you need to. However, you're going to make a long cut through sheet metal, especially a straight one, a pair of snips with offset handles is the way to go. Each color signifies a different direction that the snips are made to cut. Red snips cut left. Yellow snips cut straight or left and right. Green snips cut right. HVAC and sheet metal pros agree: When making long, straight cuts in thinner-gauge sheet metal, tinner snips are the way to go. They're a simple, economical, and durable cutting solution for many sheet metal and HVAC applicatioN.