A tool that cracks the shell of a whole nut so the kernel inside can be removed, ideally in one piece. The traditional form is a pair of hinged lever arms, often with two notches for different sizes; others use a screw that is turned down onto the nut, or a ring the nut sits in while a plunger strikes it. Walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, almonds and Brazil nuts are the usual work; the same lever cracker opens lobster and crab claws at the table.
Shelling nuts at home is slower than buying kernels, but shelled nuts go stale and rancid far faster than nuts in the shell, and freshly cracked walnuts and pecans for baking taste noticeably sweeter. The ornamental wooden soldier figure is a cracker in form only.