Hickory nuts

I got about 5 gallon of shagbark nuts without the hulls for my dad last year. Never knew if he at them or not. What is the best way to get the meat out, they are some rough shells.

The woods in Frankton is usually loaded with them but I had to hunt for a few the other day. I just planted them in my yard to see if they will sprout along with a pocket full of acorns.

Add another vote for a hammer! I would also add that they need to be hulled very soon after collection otherwise you will likely have a problem with grubs.

Dad shells black wallnuts with a jerry rigged C-clamp fashioned in a wooden crate and some other pieces so all he does is drop the nut in crank the handle a couple times, the nut falls into the container and he repeats the process, till he is tired. He does it while sitting on the porch watching TV. It is a pretty good techinque, but time consuming. You could slip a sleeve over the handle to give some torque if needed. Then once he has a bucket full or when he is tired he will pick the meat out. The C-clamp is a beefy one, works sort of like a hydralic wood splitter I guess. If you were a machinist or could fabricate it, a wedge on the end of the C-clamp with a box to hold the nut while whole and open bottom so once split would let the pieces fall through would be pretty cool, but a bit unnecessary I guess.

I told him he needs to think of a technique where he can crack several at a time. Sort of like a home cider press. Not sure how that would work with black wallnuts and hickory nuts. They are some tough bugers.

I might take a bucket with me this weekend and really gather some hickory nuts and give a go at shelling them.

Vice & bucket.