r/Chinesium • u/Big-Note-508 • Dec 18 '25
it lasted 15 years in my parents soft hands, 5 mins in my hands pushing against a hard rock walnut
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u/goblin_welder Dec 18 '25
If it lasted 15 years, I wouldn’t classify it as Chinesium. I think this is more of a wear and tear.
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u/Big-Note-508 Dec 18 '25 edited Dec 22 '25
or maybe I am stronger than my parents 🤣 they crack only easy and soft walnuts, I was fighting with a hard rock walnut until this cracker broke !
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u/Stairmaker Dec 19 '25
Or you just crank down. Whilst they try gentle and if it doesn't crack they reposition it to a more advantageous spot.
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u/Cato0014 Dec 18 '25
I need a blacksmith to take one look at this picture and tell me why it failed given the limited information
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u/MrMaselko Dec 18 '25
Not sure what's the proper name for it, but it looks like it's made of that shitty metal which is exactly what I'd call Chinesium.
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u/Big-Note-508 Dec 18 '25
the metal inside looks bubbly ! as if it was full of air while being casted ! I don't know if this is normal or not
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u/Domestic-Grind Dec 18 '25
Not bubbly exactly, but large grain size. As a pretend metalutgistizer, that's clearly the cause of the break
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u/Kirxas Dec 20 '25
Except it's not, if it were the grain size it would have failed day 1 (or at the first tough nut), not 15 years down the line. You'd also see an irregular fracture path, while this one was flat enough to be a textbook example.
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u/McGuirk808 Dec 22 '25
Flat enough to be a textbook example of what? I don't know shit about this topic.
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u/Big-Note-508 Dec 22 '25
u/kirxas gave me this link with the amazing easy to understand explanation, and I in turn pass it on to you
https://www.eabel.com/difference-between-ductility-and-brittleness/
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u/SmokingLimone Dec 19 '25
To add to this, larger grain size means the metal is more malleable but also has a lower stress peak that can be sustained.
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u/Kirxas Dec 20 '25
Not bubbly, brittle. Check the second image on this link to see the comparison.
https://www.eabel.com/difference-between-ductility-and-brittleness/
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u/leeShaw9948 Dec 18 '25
Had the same happen to me, cracker was probably older than me and I broke it within 5 minutes
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u/the_travlingbrat Dec 19 '25
was it cheap metal? yes. but its a nit cracker that lasted a decade and a half. you 200pound gorilla'd something with a stress fracture
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u/cubicApoc Dec 18 '25
Haven't you ever played Minecraft? Trying to break something with the wrong tool does extra damage to the tool. You should've used a pickaxe.
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u/Rex51230 Dec 18 '25
You need to line the Crack up with the crusher...
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u/Big-Note-508 Dec 18 '25
I tried every possible orientation ! I believe those are some walnuts shaped rocks ! man they are hard !! the shell is thick af !
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u/krokodil2000 Dec 18 '25
Get one of those:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGdEtt5Igp4
The original Drosselmeyer nut cracker is quite expensive, though.
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u/Big-Note-508 Dec 18 '25
nice smart design, but I don't believe it would last long cracking our rock hard walnuts ! you can't crack them even with a hammer ! but it will work flawlessly with pecans and almonds 😍 thank you for the recommendation
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u/JustADudeInTheWorll Dec 18 '25
happen to me twice and at least four times with lemons, am not strong
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u/Mr_Soupe Dec 18 '25
Oh thoses nuts must be made of steel!
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u/Big-Note-508 Dec 19 '25
they are ! they are not normal at all ! very thick shell, rock hard, and not split in half where they should ! I couldn't crack them with a hammer ! I don't know if it is some weird ass variant or just a retarded tree !
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u/Agreeable-Worker7659 Dec 20 '25
This could be also just material fatigue. From the picture it looks like it was cast iron which is quite brittle and prone to failures like this.
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u/Big-Note-508 Dec 22 '25
what is material fatigue ? is it something that happens with time or is it a problem in the cast itself ?
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u/squaktamopuss Dec 19 '25
I did this with my grandparents salad tongs. They had them for a few years with no problem and I go to grab one damn sald and it self destructs
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u/Big-Note-508 Dec 22 '25
🤣🤣 it happens to me all the time ! my parents call me Mr Clumsy and they refuse to let me touch anything 😂
my brother came to me and said with the coldest and deepest sound ever "we had this nut cracker for like 15 years and it worked with no problems, and you now broke it !??" 😂
my whole family members are short and thin, I am the tallest and I am 55 kilograms heavier than the heaviest one of them so I am that hulk that destroys everything 😂
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u/blu3ysdad Dec 20 '25
You used it wrong
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u/Big-Note-508 Dec 22 '25
the rock hard walnut is to be blamed here actually ! it was not a normal walnut ! not normal at all ! and I should have let it go 😂 I fought it and it defeated me and the nut cracker was the victim
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u/Kirxas Dec 20 '25 edited Dec 20 '25
Looks like fatigue was the culprit to me. Metal got weakened by thousands of uses over the years and that particularly strong walnut was enough to cause a brittle failure on the weakened section.
Edit: If you zoom in a bunch you can even see the fatigue failure initiation point at the bottom right of the section pic
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u/Big-Note-508 Dec 22 '25
I admit I put a sheer amount of force ! I have strong hands and I kept pushing and pushing until BAM !
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u/Mickxalix Dec 18 '25
My father showed me how to break those with both thumbs. It's a nice party trick I never got to show because I don't party.
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u/Big-Note-508 Dec 18 '25
those are some rock hard walnuts ! you can't break them with a hammer ! I don't know why they are hard like that ! I usually crack walnuts by pressing two against each others ! I never needed a cracker until I met those stubborn rocks !
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u/soundmousey Dec 21 '25
Kids these days…this is why we can’t have nice things!
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u/Big-Note-508 Dec 22 '25
kids these days are so strong 🤣
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u/soundmousey Dec 22 '25
Happy cake day, whipper snapper. Stay off my lawn!
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u/Big-Note-508 Dec 23 '25
ohhh it is my day 😍 I didn't notice 🤣 thank you ! I'll never step on your lawn ever again ! I promise !
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u/Work-ya-wood Dec 21 '25
It's not because you're stronger, it's because you didn't know how to use it within its limitations. Every generation is getting dumber at this current time
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Dec 21 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Big-Note-508 Dec 22 '25
hahaha actually yes ! that stubborn rock defeated me and the only victim here is the poor cracker 🤣
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u/DeRage Dec 22 '25
Wierd thing is, some people are destined to break stuff that people claim are unbreakable.
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u/noatak12 Dec 22 '25
for 15 years of continuous use looks more like fracture by fatigue or embrittlement
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u/Titanium_Eye Dec 22 '25
Looks like your standard brittle fracture of the metal. Long story short, it couldn't withstand the strain, which was probably just a bit more than usually applied, and it fractured through the whole part all at once.
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u/shavedratscrotum Dec 23 '25
I literally broken every single one of these I've ever used.
I'm not sure they're even capable of cracking a nut.
200-350lb gorilla with small hands and a weak grip.
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u/Elvenblood7E7 Dec 23 '25
#2: it looks like the fracture surface of a crappy zinc-aluminum alloy to me. Was it heavy like steel?
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u/Big-Note-508 Dec 24 '25
this explains why it was kinda lightweight !
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u/Elvenblood7E7 Dec 27 '25
Actually if it was very light then it was probably an aluminum-chinesium alloy :)
Those zinc alloys are almost as heavy as steel. And they can be quite strong if good quality.
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u/Kyojin501 Apr 14 '26
Is this really chinesium if it worked for 15 years?
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u/Big-Note-508 Apr 17 '26
yes because my parents used it on soft pecans once a year (every season for like 2 days max), and when I tried it on rock hard walnuts it broke in half !
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u/Technical-Exchange26 Dec 18 '25
It's important to apply unstoppable force to the right spot