Unknown club for comment

[spiral]

Originally Posted by kronckew

aha! - club has arrived.

LOA 28 inches / 71 cm. width of blade roughly 4 in. thickness at blade approx. 1 in. weight 430 grams, just under a pound. tip not as damaged as it looks. sharp edges. definitely a club. it looks OLD, many greasy hand have held this and it looks like it's not been cleaned ever. rough polished surface with smoothed over tool marks under the patina. the two circular spots that i thoght may have been holes are not. they are the stubs of nails, one each side, that have been cut off or broken off and smoothed over. the (dirty) string baldric has sailor's knots, a bowline on the blade and two half hitches with an overhand stopper knot on the bitter end.

we seem to be getting a flood of clubs from the rennel islands recently.

Stubs of nails... fascinating Kronckew, Clearly second use of the timber then.

This morning, while walking the dog I picked up some larch driftwood on the beach with copper roves in it, & some oak with bronze clench fast nails, both clearly from old ship timbers...

A couple of weeks ago there was some oak & elm with iron handmade nails in it as well. {I throw it all in a friends firewood pile on the way home.. }

What metal are the nails/whatever made from in the club?

[kronckew]

Originally Posted by spiral

...
What metal are the nails/whatever made from in the club?

they're perfectly round, about 2mm across, what i can see is shiny black, so likely rust blued steel. no sign of red rust or verdigris. some of the black has leeched into the surrounding wood.


p.s. - the bronze nails could have been from one of claudius caesar's galleys heading for/from porchester castle you should retrieve them from the fire ot & sell them as such on a certain auction site we are familiar with. or used to hold the copper bottom on the mary rose. a fortune awaits ye.

[spiral]

mmmmmm

Originally Posted by kronckew

p.s. - the bronze nails could have been from one of claudius caesar's galleys heading for/from porchester castle you should retrieve them from the fire ot & sell them as such on a certain auction site we are familiar with. or used to hold the copper bottom on the mary rose. a fortune awaits ye.

That nearly happens I must admit..

Well the copper & bronze goes in a scrap bag , but the iron ones looked very old, & will be hammered straight & added to the box of other interesting old & ancient wrought iron fittings & nails for the day they come in use...{Some have before.} I am sure some are very old & rare! All handmade for country mansion construction or ships.

I wonder if there an old nail forum?

But if there is I could turn up with my box of treasures & either be invited in to sit by the fire with the good old boys to discuss my treasures, or be rejected to a corner for bringing such common tat or even god forbid looked at askew for bringing a rarer higher quality piece better than there pride & joy example along, for show & tell !

[kronckew]

there are a few nail fora. sadly a bunch of wimmen discussing their claw polish.

there is a texas date nail collector's association, for dated railroad nails.

don't see much for UK nails.

[spiral]

I just found the same on the same searches!

Google will spot the market for such websites maybe?

Does no one else collect old nails?

Some of them are amazing!

Id be ok if I collected house bricks or barbed wire... thieve got their society's, forums, websites & collectors...

Actually I do have got one nice rare decorative housebreak, but it holds a drain cover in place to stop leaves blocking the drains at my mothers... I doubt if they'd be impressed with that... Practical though..

But the nails, where's the nail researcher's & experts?