Crackers?

[T i m]

No, not the trolls, nut crackers of some sort that can actually crack say an almond shell without risk of:

You breaking the crackers (done that twice now so it's not down to the effort you can (or can't) apply).

Crushing the entire nut.

Firing the nut across the room.

Taking ages.

Daughter dropped off a Tofurkey and some other bits yesterday along with a bag of mixed nuts-in-shells (as she knows I like them) and a pair of 'conventional' crackers (bless her, we did already have some) but neither feel like they will do the remaining nuts without breaking themselves. I did all the walnuts in my bare hands and either nut-cracker will do the hazelnuts.

So, whilst it's a bit late for today, can anyone recommend some nut

-crackers that will do all nuts nicely please?

Cheers, T i m

[Owain Lastname]

Some form of adjustable spanner from Screwfix?

Owain

[Tricky Dicky]

The results from nut crackers that work on leverage are very hit or miss as wether the nut survives whole, due to the pressure you put on it followed by the sudden lack of resistance as the shell succumbs. There are types available that work on a screw thread which I imagine would allow greater control at the expense of taking longer to operate.

Richard

[R Souls]

Mole grip works perfectly.

Ron

[No Name]

[e-mail]

works with damaged nuts......

pop one of your nuts into the hole ring

simply use a spanner on the bolt and the anvil will then split your nut open.

Due to the closed circle there is no way your nut is going to fly or break into a million pieces.

the set of four caters all the way from tiny pea sized nuts all the way to walnut sized nuts.....

[T i m]

Ah, I see what you did/// snipped there and it really was funny (on the sherry already)? ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

Now that is a bit of lateral thinking, especially if it was driven electrically (for speed / effort)?

If it was electrically motor driven with a current / load sensor you could probably drive the motor forwards till you monitored the nut-shell yield point then back the drive off etc? ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

<snip>

I was wondering if there was something with a compound (or ratchet) mech that would allow you to apply the load but in a more controlled way?

That's what I was thinking (and getting the nut in / out etc).

It needs to be something like an engineers quick vice where it gets to the nut (size) quickly (spring tension?) and then allows you to provide the required force quickly but controllably (and easily).

The longer pair of conventional nut crackers I have here (170mm) only open to 90mm at the end of the handle. It has three 'openings' and whilst *I* could probably still get say an almond in the first 'jaw' (near the hinge) and still be able to encompass the end of the handle (large hands), I can't because the opening is restricted (and it's not easy to adjust)?

The shorter pair (150mm) can be opened to any angle, only has two jaw spaces but are lighter built and seem to be on the edge of breaking when I grip them hard.

If they worked more like a pair of pliers but with longer handles that limited the 'close' (without pinching) to the smallest likely for a nut kernel and with a fast closing 'jaw' that coped with any sized nut you are likely to find (excluding coconuts etc). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[Chris Hogg]

Ratchet types work pretty well, like these

.

[T i m]

<snip>

But how much 'adjustment' do you need to go from a Brazil not to a hazelnut?

I haven't looked but something like that had sufficient crushing force of some large Mole grips but with a fast electric 'pre-load' (solenoid) feature (and release)?

Cheers, T i m

[Michael Chare]

I bought a pair of these some years ago.

[Michael Chare]

Brand name is Crackerjack, and Made in England.

[T i m]

<snip>

That's sorta what I was working up to in my head.

Turns out they have been about for a while: ;-)

If you could restrict the amount they open between actions (so you don't have to ratchet them back from a walnut to the hazelnut you are about to crack), even only if only with your fingers etc, that would be cool (like daughters hydraulic log splitter when you release the valve but can stop it re-opening fully by closing the valve).

Or you could probably close them manually first (for speed), then finish off with the ratchet handle?

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

Or 'were', I wonder why they stopped?

I'm assuming you can close the jaws manually (against the spring) to save having the ratchet the jaws closed onto a smaller nut ... and only allow the jaws to open sufficiently for the next nut (after releasing the remains of the last nut)?

eg. If you were only doing walnuts you could probably do one and then just release the jaw fully and then not be to far away for the next walnut but if you were doing a batch of hazelnuts ... ?

Cheers, T i m

[Michael Chare]

There is no spring on the jaws. The jaw that moves is stiff enough to move so that it does not drop dowm. Your 2nd paragraph is correct.

The lever that moves does have a light spring that tries to keep the lever in the open position.

[Bob Eager]

THat was going to be my suggestion. Adjustable for size of nut, too.

[Jeff Layman]

I've used some Cricco ratchet nutcrackers for years, but they seem difficult to get now. See

. They are very strong, but even they won't crack thick-shelled almonds. For those I use a 4 or 5" G-cramp.

Many years ago I had a walnut in a packet which I could not break with nutcrackers or even a G-cramp. I decided to saw through it to see why it was so difficult to break. That took longer than I expected with a hacksaw, but when the two halves separated I found the shell was 8mm thick and incredibly hard! The kernel was edible, but there wasn't much of it.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Yes mole grips inside a plastic bag? Brian

[T i m]

That would restrain the flying nuts Brian but I'm not sure Mole grips (well standard ones anyway) would have enough cracking power if left at an opening that would allow the insertion of all sizes of nut?

I have some round jawed Mole grips so can give them a try.

Cheers, T i m

[Tim+]

These are the best type I?ve come across. Easy to control the amount of crush and to reduce flying shrapnel.

Tim