German Nutcracker: Erik the Red (Large Viking)Erik the Red was a Viking explorer and warrior who sailed west and discovered Greenland. He also happens to be pretty handy cracking nuts. Handmade by artisans at the Christian Ulbricht Company (they've been making nutcrackers by hand in Germany's Erzgebirge Mountains, where wooden nutcrackers first originated, since 1928). This is a large working nutcracker (the lever in back operates his jaws), made by hand of solid natural finish and glazed woods.