If You So Choose, You, too, Can Own a PNGA Master Nutcracker

Later this fall, when the weather is crisp, the hickory nuts, walnuts, pecans, and butternuts will have been harvested, cleaned, and husked. Then they need to be cracked open. To do this, Gerald Gardner’s legacy will be at work in hundreds of households across the country, helping to crack open our native nut crops.

Master Nutcrackers, built and individually numbered by Mr. Gardner, have been recognized for decades as among the best for revealing the tasty treasures inside those hard shells.

Learning that Mr. Gardner had ceased production, PNGA, as part of its mission to popularize our native nuts, decided to move forward with producing the nutcrackers. How many more people could enjoy hickories and black walnuts if they had an easier and more efficient way to crack them, rather than hitting them with a hammer or putting them in a bench vise?

We are in the final design and manufacturing stages, working with a local Pennsylvania aluminum foundry. It will be built with the right aluminum alloy to last a lifetime and increase capacity to hold our largest walnut varieties on center for a cleaner split.

The price is $120 per nutcracker. We expect the nutcrackers to be ready by the Pennsylvania Farm Show in January 2026 in Harrisburg. Upon production, we will have an in-person distribution for advance orders, or they can be picked up at the Farm Show. If the item needs to be shipped, we will require payment of the shipping fee (to be determined).