The ANVIL looks like the nutcracker you’d get when you combine Flintstones with Alessi. It’s functional yet fun, and doesn’t compromise on the nut-cracking ability. You don’t need a manual to use it, and it’s designed in such a foolproof way, you’ll get it right every single time. Created by Düsseldorf-based designer Lennart Ebert, the ANVIL is simultaneously old-fashioned and modern, aesthetic and practical. Its two-piece design is modeled on the basic theory of a mortar and pestle – featuring a base for holding the nut, and a large weight for cracking the nut’s outer shell. The design, however, comes with a cup to hold the nut, a tray to gather the fragments of broken shell, and a pestle with hollow base that makes cracking the nut an easy affair. The name ANVIL probably comes from the large cast-iron block used by metallurgists. The nutcracker has a similar ‘heavy-looking’ design, and comes with a mildly textured metal surface too. Just like an ironsmith hammers hot molten metal on an anvil, the ANVIL lets you hammer away at a walnut, shattering its hard outer shell to reveal the edible nut within. It helps that the ANVIL comes with a nice wooden handle too. Not only is it more comfortable to hold onto, it also creates a beautiful visual contrast with its smooth surface and wood-grain pattern against the rough-looking coarse metal body of the nutcracker. It’s probably not coincidental that the handle’s made from walnut wood too!