The increase in width below the cut nail head followed again by decrease tells us something about the manner in which this cut nail was sliced from the iron blank and thus more about its age, as we'll explain below. So we can be pretty sure that this is a lath nail. Look at where it's found: this is a strip of wood lath. Take a look at this little antique cut-nail - it's twisted so you may be fooled but this is a machine made but small cut nail. What is the history of the area where the nail or spike was found? See our examples belowĪnd at ESOPUS MEADOWS LIGHTHOUSE ISLAND SPIKE - using historical context of surroundings to guess the purpose and age of iron nails artifacts. If the nail was found in a building, what is the age of the building and when were renovations or additions made to the building?Īlso what type of building was it: home, barn, commercial structure, deck, wharf, ship, boat, or even an antique aircraft? Age of nail's surrounding materials - contextual information So you may find a machine made nail in an area where there was no nail making machinery at all.ġ775-1783 American Revolution: American colonists shifted to local production of nails and nail import from England was reduced. For example in North America nails were imported to the Colonies from Europe. Keep in mind that nails were often imported from one area to another.
Where was the nail, spike, tack found: Country, city, building, lake, river or streamįor example the the first mass produced nails appeared in Europe in the 1400s The First Nail Making Machines appeared in Europe around 1590 as Slitting Mills.
Other contextual clues must be considered when guessing at the age of a nail or guessing at the age of a building, boat, ship, or other item built using the nail, such as the location where the nail was found, the history of that site, what industries or activities occurred there, and.You need to determine if the entire building was built at one time or if it is comprised of multiple constructions built at different times.You need a sufficient number of nail samples.No single nail should be used to guess the age of a building, ship, or other item.Watch out: experts warn that examination of old nails, used with discretion, has proved useful and reliable as a technique for estimating the age of a building (Nelson 1988 US NPS). In turn, nail details can establish the time of original construction of a buildingĪnd the time of modifications to the structure. Nelson (NPS) and other nail chronologists point out, however that a wealth otherĭetails can describe the date of production and use of each of those three general nail types. or Canada, also on the spread of nail making equipment across the country. The earliest-date of different styles of nails, hand-wrought nails, cut nails, machine cut nails, and machine made round or wire nails depends on the country where the nails were manufactured and for large countries like Australia, the U.S. The earliest known nails date from at least 300 B.C.
Guess the Age of Nails & Building HardwareĪ physical examination of old or antique nails and fasteners and other building hardware combined with questions about the country, city, and building or other location where the nails were found can offer clues to the probable age and original purpose of the old nail or spike. We also provide an ARTICLE INDEX for this topic, or you can try the page top or bottom SEARCH BOX as a quick way to find information you need. These are small headless hand-wrought nails, discussed in more detail at NAILS & HARDWARE, AGE FAQs. It includes useful dates for the manufacture of different nail types.
RAILROAD SPIKE ART PDF SERIES
This article series describes antique and modern cut nails focusing on tree nails, wrought nails, and cut nails used in wood frame construction or interior finishing or carpentry work. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.Įasy questions help form a guess at the plausible age of various types of antique & modern Nails, including wood treenails, hand-wrought nails, cut nails, wire nails. InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest.
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