Black Walnut Cracker Jaw for 4" Bench Vise

Update 10/14/25: I've found these work better if you only use one, and leave the other jaw flat. Put the round end of the nut in the cup, and the point against the flat jaw. You might need to use a cheater bar, and I'd recommend a towel over the nut to contain any explosions - but with this method I consistently get whole quarters falling out on their own.

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I recently tried my hand at foraging black walnuts, and turns out it's super easy. What's not super easy is getting the stupid things open. A hammer risks crushing the meat and pieces flying across the room, and using my bench vise just made them crack in half, so I had to keep re-crushing the pieces to get at the meat.

I looked at a commercial black walnut cracker and noticed it held the walnut with a little cup. I did some tests and found that the cup crushes the walnut evenly, so the outer shell breaks rather than the thing just popping in half. 

I figured since it was pure compression, I'd try printing special jaws for my bench vise in glass fiber nylon. I did 100% infill as well (fully solid). It worked! it's so much easier to pop these little guys open. looking forward to these fall snacks for years to come!