These early nutcrackers are believed to have been of the lever type - usually a pair of nutcrackers, the screw-based nutcracker probably first appeared in the 17th Century.
Wood was the earliest material used and it is likely that pincers forged by local blacksmiths formed the basis for early wrought iron nutcrackers, these were then further developed in other metals such as bronze and brass.

These nutcrackers are in the Secq des Tournelles Museum in Rouen, France.

Many early treen (made of wood) nutcrackers have not survived but those that have are often of figural form, representing humans, animals and a wide variety of other decorative subjects.

Nutcrackers were available from mail-order catalogues in the late 19th Century which is when the change from one-off hand-produced nutcrackers to commercial industrial production took place. Once a design was created (and sometimes registered), there were often many production runs so date of registration can't always be relied on as date of manufacture.

It was also in the 19th Century that, largely due to the increase in tourism, souvenir nutcrackers started to be produced in large numbers, particularly in Germany, Switzerland and the Tyrol.

By examining Patent and Registration records it is possible to see what a wide variety of nutcrackers were designed in the 19th and 20th Centuries, lever, screw and percussion types dominate but other hybrids do exist.