In this paper we present a new model for the formation of shatter cones. The model follows earlier suggestions that shatter cones are initiated by heterogeneities in the rock, but does not require the participation of an elastic precursor wave: the conical fractures are initiated after the passage of the main plastic compression pulse, not before. Numerical simulations using the hydrocode SALE 2D, enhanced by the Grady–Kipp–Melosh fragmentation model, support the model. The conditions required for the formation of shatter cones are explored numerically and are found to be consistent with the pressure range derived from both explosion experiments and the analysis of shock metamorphic features in impact structures. This model permits us to deduce quantitative information about the shape of the shock wave from the shape and size of the observed shatter cones. Indeed, the occurrence of shatter cones is correlated with the ratio between the width of the compressive pulse and the size of the heterogeneity that initiates the conical fracture. The apical angles of the shatter cones are controlled by the shape of the rarefaction wave.