The,"Squirrel Cracker"

[safariknut]

Found this little gem at a garage sale on Saturday for $5.Marked,"Woldert Grocery Co. Tyler Texas & Chicago" on the handle.Body is marked,"Squirrel Catcher Patented May 13 1913". Clamps to a table either horizontally or vertically and requires pressure on the jaw to actuate the ratcheting mechanism.Lifting the handle to vertical allows the jaw to slide up and down.
I probably needed this item like I need a third arm coming out of the middle of my forehead but I'm a sucker for old a goofy tools.

 

[thehorse13]

I would have taken that thing home too. You don't find nutcrackers like that everyday.

Cool find.

 

[eddieK]

Found this little gem at a garage sale on Saturday for $5.Marked,"Woldert Grocery Co. Tyler Texas & Chicago" on the handle.Body is marked,"Squirrel Catcher Patented May 13 1913". Clamps to a table either horizontally or vertically and requires pressure on the jaw to actuate the ratcheting mechanism.Lifting the handle to vertical allows the jaw to slide up and down.
I probably needed this item like I need a third arm coming out of the middle of my forehead but I'm a sucker for old a goofy tools.

I probably needed this item like I need a third arm coming out of the middle of my forehead

That sounds like my wife when I bring some of things home I find...

 

[My Old Tools]

Interesting. Our new house is right outside Tyler, Tx.

 

[notlob]

Patent for Wiley Gradick's Cracker

That's cool! here's the patent:

http://www.datamp.org/patents/displayPatent.php?id=50333

 

[Socket Pounder]

That's some nutcracker. You should do a video of it working.

 

[bczygan]

Get a bag of pecans in the shell......!

 

[gtodoc]

That would work great on black walnuts. They are a tough nut to crack!


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[ilovevocs]

I would have bought that up in a second.

Nuts go good with beer in the shop when work is over.

Nice score man. Thanks for sharing.


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[HeelSpur]

I bought one of those last year. Here's a couple others I have found along the way.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/razorear/29394197038/in/dateposted-public/

 

[unknownroad]

I can't imagine being so committed to eating nuts that I'd need a bench-mounted ratcheting nutcracker, but I probably would have bought the thing just like you. Pretty neat!

 

[22george]

I can't imagine being so committed to eating nuts that I'd need a bench-mounted ratcheting nutcracker, but I probably would have bought the thing just like you. Pretty neat!

What he said

 

[Richard Cranium]

Yep,, put me in the same line, I would of bought it also.

 

[GonnesChmidt]

Same company in Tyler, Texas but different cracker. I'm guessing by the name it is for Black Walnuts. If you crack walnuts will you still need to crack squirrels?

 

[The Bean]

I bet a squirrel could do as quick a job on a walnut, hence the name.

Does anyone use the word hence on this forum, my squirrels want to know.

 

[Provincial]

Black Walnuts are extremely hard to crack. The shells are much thicker and cross-braced compared to common walnuts. Black Brute is an answer to that. Look at the handle!

 

[humber2]

In my neck of the woods Macadamia nuts are the toughest nuts to crack.

There doesn’t appear to be any hand operated system that is quick and easy available.

 

[Mintgrun]

In my neck of the woods Macadamia nuts are the toughest nuts to crack.

"Macadamia nut. That was the one that would send her into... goin' crazy."

The patents on mine aren't quite as old, but the one from Waco TX. is close. The hinged one doesn't have any other markings.


I haven't tried the top one, but the bottom two work well on macadamia nuts. The inner jaw on the hinged one pinches pretty hard and so does that big screw. I assume the indents in the bottom are for little rubber feet.



The printing on this one seems upside down.


No markings on this one.



Tom

 

[four.cycle]

I gave this lovely "York Nut Sheller" to my baby sister a couple days ago for her birthday.

 

[four.cycle]

@Mintgrun's "Perfection" nut cracker patent 1117945 Nov 17 1914 Foster W. Fort

@Mintgrun's Dec 13 1921 patent nutcracker - patent 1400099 Dec 13 1921 Gottlieb A. Pueppke of Oshkosh, WI - no assignee - manufacturer unknown

 

[dchawk81]

I can't imagine being so committed to eating nuts that I'd need a bench-mounted ratcheting nutcracker

I can.

 

[four.cycle]

^ The primary staple food source of the Modoc tribe of Northern California was the acorn.

I'm sure they would have found a device like that to have come in handy.

 

[MiteyF]

I probably needed this item like I need a third arm coming out of the middle of my forehead

That sounds like my wife when I ***redacted***

Fixed

 

[bwringer]

I am descended from folk who had a taste for squirrel brains on toast.

I swear that when I read the title and first few posts, I thought it had to do with more easily cracking squirrel skulls to extract their wee little thinkers.

Oh, it's for cracking nuts. Like a squirrel.

Well. How boring.


A few years back, after some cases of a very rare and nasty brain disease, the state had to issue a warning to the folk of southern Indiana that squirrel brains are probably not safe to eat.

 

[Beerhippie]

I can't imagine being so committed to eating nuts that I'd need a bench-mounted ratcheting nutcracker, but I probably would have bought the thing just like you. Pretty neat!

Probably because you don't have a nifty bench-mounted nutcracker.

 

[larry4406]

Bunch of tool nuts here.