Nutcrackers in the form of wooden carvings of a soldier, knight, king, or other profession have existed since at least the 15th century. These nutcrackers portray a person with a large mouth which the operator opens by lifting a lever in the back of the figurine. Originally one could insert a nut in the big-toothed mouth, press down and thereby crack the nut. Modern nutcrackers in this style serve mostly for decoration, mainly at Christmas time. The carving of German Nutcrackers — as well as of religious figures and of cribs —developed as a cottage industry in forested rural areas of Germany. The most famous nutcracker carvings come from Sonneberg in Thuringia (also a center of dollmaking) and from the Ore Mountains. Wood-carving usually provided the only income for the people living there. Today the travel industry supplements their income by bringing visitors to the remote areas. Steinbach Nutcrackers have become popular in the United States as well, and a recreated "Bavarian village" of Leavenworth, Washington even features a Nutcracker Museum. Many other materials also serve to make decorated nutcrackers, such as porcelain, silver, and brass; the museum displays samples. Carvings by famous names like Junghanel, Klaus Mertens, Karl, Olaf Kolbe, Petersen, Christian Ulbricht and especially the Steinbach nutcrackers have become collectors' items. Functional Nutcrackers This article is about the tool for cracking nuts. For other uses, see Nutcracker (disambiguation). A variety of nutcrackers, nutcracker consists of a mechanical device for cracking nuts. It works on the principle of moments as described in Archimedes' analysis of the lever. A nutcracker with a functional design Manufacturers produce modern nutcrackers — designed solely to crack nuts — usually somewhat resembling pliers, but with the pivot point at the end beyond the nut, rather than in the middle. End-users also utilise them for cracking the shells of crab and lobster in order to make the meat inside available for eating. How is a nutcracker made ? Background A nutcracker is a device used to break open the shells of hard, dry fruits, known commonly as nuts, produced by certain species of trees. The edible material within the shell is known as the kernel. True nuts, including familiar foods such as pecans, hazelnuts, and walnuts, have shells which require nutcrackers. Other foods loosely called nuts include many which do not require a nutcracker, such as peanuts, almonds, and cashews, and those that do, such as the Brazil nut. Nutcrackers are also used to break open other hard foods, such as lobster. A wide variety of nutcrackers are used in modern kitchens, ranging from simple tools that resemble pliers to more complex devices that rely on carefully controlled pressure to crack open shells without damaging kernels. Their continued use in an era of readily available shelled nuts is explained by the proclivity of gourmet cooks for freshly shelled nuts. Also, many people collect decorative nutcrackers, which are designed more for appearance than for daily use. These collectible nutcrackers, often in the shape of humans or animals, are usually carved from wood, although some are made of cast iron or other materials. History Human beings have eaten nuts since prehistoric times, and have always faced the problem of breaking open the shells. The earliest nutcracker was probably a rock used to smash open the nut, resulting in pieces of kernel mixed with pieces of shell. This method was improved when simple tools were developed. Early nutcrackers were probably made by connecting two pieces of wood or metal with a hinge. By placing the nut between the two pieces and squeezing them together, it would have been possible to exert control over the pressure applied. In this way, the shell could be cracked with less damage to the kernel. Although the exact details of the evolution of the nutcracker are lost to history, by the middle of the eighteenth century decorative wooden nutcrackers were carved by hand in many parts of Germany. These devices, also known as nut-biters, usually resembled a humorous human figure. The nut was placed in the figure's mouth. A set of handles were used to bring the figure's jaws together, cracking the nut. This type of nutcracker was so familiar in Germany in the early nineteenth century that the German writer E. T. A. Hoffman made one the hero of his fairy tale "Nussknacker und Mausekoönig" ("Nutcracker and Mouse King") in 1816. The Russian composer Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky adapted Hoffman's story into a ballet in 1891, and The Nutcracker has remained popular with audiences ever since, leading to an increased interest in collecting nutcrackers. The part of the world most famous for collectible Nutcrackers is Erzebrige, a mountainous region of Germany near the border of the Czech Republic. A productive mining region since the fourteenth century, Erzebrige also developed woodcarving as an important industry. The founder of nutcracker carving in Erzebrige was Friedrich Wilhelm Fuuchtner. Around the year 1870 Fuuchtner began using a lathe to carve nutcrackers in the form of simple human figures, such as soldiers and police officers. These nutcrackers were carved from woods such as pine, beech, and alder, then painted in bright colors. The village of Seiffen where Fuüchtner made his nutcrackers remains famous for its wooden nutcrackers and toys. Raw Materials Although many decorative nutcrackers are still made by hand from wood, most modern nutcrackers in daily use are made from metal. Some nutcrackers of unusual design are made from various combinations of metal and wood or metal and hard plastic. The most common metals used to make nutcrackers are steel and cast iron. Steel is an alloy of iron and a small amount of carbon. Cast iron is an alloy of iron and a somewhat larger amount of iron. The raw materials used to manufacture both of these materials are iron ore and coke. Coke is formed when coal is heated to a high temperature in the absence of air, resulting in a substance which is rich in carbon. Chromium and nickel are often added to steel to form stainless steel. They may also be used to coat steel. Some steel nutcrackers, intended as impressive gifts, are coated with silver or gold. The Future Although the nutcracker seems to be a simple device with little room for improvement, inventors are always working on better ways to break open shells without damaging kernels. Various designs have been proposed which are much different from the traditional plier-shaped nutcracker. One simple but innovative device consists of a metal screw which rotates into a small plastic bowl. The nut in placed in the bowl and the screw is twisted until it cracks the shell. A more complex device which uses a similar mechanism consists of a small metal handle attached to a large handle which contains an opening. The nut is placed in the opening. Pulling the small handle toward the large handle causes a knob to be cranked up a notch toward the nut. Repeating the action increases the pressure until the nut cracks. Both these devices allow the amount of pressure placed on the nut to be carefully controlled; too little pressure fails to crack the shell, but too much pressure shatters the kernel. A more radical design is found in the Texas Native Inertia Nutcracker. This unusual device, made from oak, steel, and aluminum, uses a rubber band to power a battering ram which cracks the nut. Imitations of this innovative device are usually made from hard plastic and might be shaped like a gun whose trigger pulls the rubber band. The future will continue to see changes in nutcracker design, while collectible wooden nutcrackers carved in the style of nineteenth century artisans will continue to be popular. |
