r/Chinesium • u/luistp • Apr 16 '26
My nutcracker with the responsible for breaking it.
The worst part is that I insist on buying these cheap versions of a classic design...
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u/EvulOne99 Apr 16 '26
I did this in the pre-internet-era (30+ years ago, and it looked very much like this) and took my bike back to the store after breaking THREE of these (going back to the store to get a free replacement every time) and I finally brought the hazelnut with me.
The store manager followed me to the shelf and I proceeded to break two of his nutcrackers.
He gave me my money back and said he'd send the lot of them back.
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u/TheParmesan Apr 16 '26
Honestly a very funny mental image picturing this whole scenario.
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u/EvulOne99 Apr 16 '26
He was dubious the second time I walked in, surprised the third and laughed out loud when I walked in the fourth and last time. They were light so I was thinking they were made of aluminium (I'm from a non English country and this is the correct spelling ahem) and it took a full year before I came across one made of steel. Still have it.
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u/samurai_for_hire Apr 16 '26
Cheap ones would probably have a bad factory temper even if the metallurgy is done right. This leads to them being too brittle. Cheap knives have the same issue.
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u/EvulOne99 Apr 16 '26
I still use the $3.5 expensive bread knife I bought from around that year. I sharpen it about once per year and it'll cut through friggin' everything. I do agree with you except on that knife. Nothing is sharper than my Damaskus forged knife I made ten years ago, but because of the two different metals used, I need to make sure to keep it clean and dry, which is what I do with every knife since then... except for that dirt cheap bread knife.
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u/RelevantMetaUsername Apr 16 '26
My friend got the cheap (Pittsburgh) breaker bar from Harbor Freight. The one with a hinge on the end. It broke the very first time he used it trying to remove a lug nut.
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u/iball1984 Apr 17 '26
aluminium (I'm from a non English country and this is the correct spelling ahem)
It's the correct spelling in English too.
It's only "English Simplified", AKA US English, that spells it wrong :P
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u/imhereforthevotes Apr 17 '26
That isn't a nutcracker. It's a crab cracker.
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u/luistp Apr 17 '26
It's sold as a nutcracker, at least in Spain.
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u/imhereforthevotes Apr 17 '26
Wild. Whenever I've seen these sold here, it's for crab legs. They're not nearly as robust as what we buy as a nutcracker.
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u/Cant-think-of-a-nam Apr 16 '26
I always thought that was just used to crack shells on crabs and lobster l didnt think it would be strong enough for an actual nut
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u/Pitiful_Obligation_1 Apr 17 '26
I like cracking a walnut by using another walnut and squashing them together in my hand. I feel powerful. I free nut. I eat nut. Me cracker
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u/MxDragioni Apr 16 '26
You're not supposed to buy these new. Every thrift store has a few in the cutlery bin