Crackers?

[T i m]

<snip>

Whilst that might work for one type of nut (in repetition) probably wouldn't work for different nuts or anything that can range in size quite a bit, like the almonds I have here.

Plus, if you pick up a slightly smaller nut, go to use it and find it only holds, not breaks the nut, you have to release it again, tighten the adjustment screw before trying again.

If you then leave it set as is and the next nut (of the same type) is a larger one, would you still have the crushing power and what might it then do to the kernel?

I'm not suggesting Mole grips wouldn't work at cracking 'a nut', just that they might be a bit clumsy at cracking a batch of nuts when done individually and with a random selection of types.

Cheers, T i m

[Fredxx]

Did the Tofurkey come with a warning of which part of the Amazon rain forest was cleared to farm your curdled Soy milk?

And how may Kg of fuel burnt to ship it to the UK?

Do be careful of the magnesium toxicity from the coagulating agents.

[NY]

The best sort that I have seen for being controllable (ie no danger of crushing the entire nut) are those which use a worm-gear action to advance the jaws: you turn a handle and the jaws are screwed together - but the screw thread prevents the jaws from suddenly coming together as soon as the resistance of the outer shell is removed. You probably still need to cup your hand around the jaws to prevent the nut being fired across the room. It may be comparatively slow compared with instantaneous cracking using conventional nutcrackers.

I think nutcrackers (of any sort) are most effective if you apply the pressure to the seam between the two halves of the nut (for an almond) because that tends to split the shell at the seam. Likewise for a brazil nut, line up one of the corners of the (roughly!) three-side nut in the jaw. But you have probably already discovered that - the nut-cracking equivalent of teaching granny to suck eggs!

[NY]

I have often wonder how the hell walnuts are cracked commercially without breaking the kernel into several pieces as it is being taken out of the stiff membrane that covers it at the seam in the two halves of the shell. I presume a machine (and not an army of low-paid people) *is* used.

[T i m]

<snip>

Good idea.

I don't that's such an issue if the nut is stable in the jaws in the first place. Like with the conventional nut crackers with their specific 'jaw areas'.

And that's the compromise isn't it, speed V *controlled* power. Eg, a

3' long lever and a floor mounted base you stand on would probably crack anything but that's not exactly 'convenient.

Agreed.

Yeah, they are the most unpredictable I think.

Quite. ;-)

The thing is, say we only have a 75mm 'grip span' and use crackers that are rarely able to provide that as we make contact with the nut ... (*and* still have sufficient mechanical advantage to crack the worst of the nuts), we often find the span of the crackers too great to deal with a nut in one jaw and already mostly closed in the next.

The conical tapered ones that were referenced elsewhere look like they may go some way with dealing with the grip / range but may still suddenly 'collapse' on the nut on a really hard one. I think I'll get one as they look to be worth a go.

Cheers, T i m