Why do nails have pointed ends and what stress types do they experience?

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ermines
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Guys, why do you think the standard nail is designed with a pointed end and where the top has a cap? What does this imply to the 2 kinds of stress which are normal stress and shear stress? Isn't the pointed end kinda works like a wedge?

Also, why does a homogenous material when broken is always cut at an angle of almost 45 degrees?
 

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Keep going on the lines of a wedge. A very small area, i.e. a point and a large, sudden force applied =?

In pure axial loading, the 45° plane is the plane where the max shear stress resides.
 
i kanda understand now the nail part. But about the pure axial loading, I'm still having trouble with it...?

umm, can you somehow give me a starting equation that might explain this and all the necessary conditions needed for this to happen? :D