Antique & modern Nails, including wood treenails, hand-wrought nails, cut nails, wire nails, are compared and described here.

We give a chronology: the history of nails, types & methods of fabrication, and we describe 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 include useful dates for the manufacture of different nail types along with supporting research for various countries from Australia and the U.K. to the U.S. to New Zealand.

The history, number and types of nails is both interesting and enormous, even if we confine our discussion to just those used in the construction of buildings. We continue to add examples and photographs here and welcome readers to CONTACT US with contributions or suggestions.

This article series describes and illustrates antique & modern hardware: door knobs, latches, hinges, window latches, hardware, nails & screws can help determine a building's age by noting how those parts were fabricated: by hand, by machine, by later generations of machine.

The author worked as a restoration contractor for four decades and is currently an environmental inspector and forensic microscopist. He has inspected, constructed, repaired, buildings since the 1970s

History of Nails & Building Hardware

Nail Photographs & Nails as Indicators of Building Age

As a carpenter’s nails are divided into wrought nails and cut nails; so mankind may be similarly divided. Little Flask was one of the wrought ones; made to clinch tight and last long. - Herman Melville, Moby Dick.

An examination of nails and fasteners and other building hardware is a complimentary effort useful in determining the age of a building and its components.

Photo: a hand wrought spike. This iron spike., detailed further below, was hand-made in the Northeastern U.S. at least before 1800 but could be still earlier.

A close observation of the type of fasteners used in a building is one of the most popular means of estimating its age.

The three types of nails found in North American construction include hand wrought nails, machine cut nails, modern round "wire" nails.

Nelson (NPS) and other nail chronologists point out, however that a wealth other details can describe the date of production and use of each of those three general nail types.

In turn, nail details can establish the time of original construction of a building and the time of modifications to the structure.

In addition to nails, building material, wood saw cut marks, and other hardware details can further assist in determining building age.

To provide a chronology of the production and types of nails we first describe wooden nails or "tree nails" followed by a chronological list of useful dates for iron nails.

Article Contents

• WOODEN NAILS TREENAILS POST & BEAM
• EARLY IRON NAILS - HISTORY - 300 B.C. to late 1770s
• FIRST CUT NAILS (TACKS) in AMERICA - 1779
• NAILS MADE COMPLETELY BY MACHINE - 1805 - PRESENT - direction of iron fibers, 1st railroad spikes & more
• ROUND SHANKED WIRE NAILS - 1850 - PRESENT
• MODERN POWER NAILER NAILS - 1950 - PRESENT
• CONTEXTUAL EVIDENCE HELPS SET NAIL/SPIKE AGE

...

Wooden nails - Tree Nails or Treenails, Post & Beam Construction

At AGE of a BUILDING, HOW to DETERMINE we note the following:

Post and beam construction (1700 - est. in North America): (timber framing) uses horizontal and vertical timbers that are connected (joined) using mortise and tenon joints pinned with wood pegs (treenails).

Timber frame construction initially used hand hewn beams, later manually or mechanically sawn beams cut by a pit saw. Later timber frame beams were sawn in mills using circular saws.

Timber framing using post and beam construction with mortise and tenon joint connections was used in Europe for at least 500 years before it was first employed in North America.

In our photo you can see the round sawn-off peg that secured the tenon of the lower vertical post into the mortise that had been cut into the horizontal beam.

The posts and beams were cut to size, mortises and tenons were cut, and the builders marked the corresponding joint components with numbers or letters - in my photo you can see the

I I I I

and
_
_
_
_

stamped into both the vertical post and horizontal beam to aid in assembly.

Below you can see the Treenail joining two rafters at the ridge of this 1790 home near Poughkeepsie New York.

By 1650 a typical timber frame building used multiple bents and girt beams, may have been more than one story tall, and included an exterior made of horsehair-reinforced cement stuccoed over hand-split lath.

More examples of uses of wooden pegs or treenails are at

• FRAMING MATERIALS, Age, Types
• FRAMING METHODS, Age, Types
• HEWN BEAMS & PLANKS
• SAW & AXE CUTS, TOOL MARKS, AGE
• SAW BLADE SIZE CALCULATED from SAW MARKS
• SAW BLADE MARKS to SAW SIZE CALCULATION ICT - intersecting chord theory gets saw size

...

A Tacky Little History of Iron Nails

Nail Head & Nail Body Details Help Set Nail Age

Photo: sprites, small headless hand-wrought nails, discussed in more detail

at NAILS & HARDWARE, AGE FAQs.

Adapting from various sources including Nelson's article cited below we give a rough chronology of types and uses of nails, focusing on North America but including other earlier nail production and use as well.

Earliest Nails - 300 B.C.

The Mansfield, Massachusetts Tremont Nail company's historical notes (cited below) indicate that nails have been made (by hand) dating back to 300 B.C.

Nails in the 1400s

The denomination of nail sizes based on the price per 100 nails (e.g. ten penny nails or 10d nails) dates from the 1400s.

In medieval England nails were made into a great variety of special shapes and sizes and sold by the hundred, e.g., 8d (pence) per 100 nails.

From this practice developed the classification of nail sizes according to their price per hundred, a system which seems to have been established by the fifteenth century.

After that time nails slowly became standardized by size rather than price.

In 1471 for example, "fippenynayl" were only 4d per 100.

In 1477 "xpenynayll" were only 8d per 100; and in 1494 "sixpenynayle" were 5d per 100. (Nelson NPS)

Nails in the 1590s

The 1500s saw the first nail producing machines - First Nail Making Machines - 1590 Slitting Mills

The roots of producing nails by machine date from 1590.

Nails in the 1600s - 1900s: hand wrought nails

Hand wrought nails were used for construction and later more for decoration.

The scarcity of nails in colonial Virginia was reflected in a statute enacted in 1645 to prohibit settlers from burning down old buildings for their nails.

Some nails were made in the colonies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but despite this local production very large quantities of nails were imported during the same period. (Nelson NPS)

Details are at NAILS, HAND WROUGHT

1766 - Iron Nails Used as Barter

Although traditional Tahitian culture did not sanction extramarital sexual relations, within 48 hours of Wallis's arrival, Tahitian husbands and fathers were encouraging their wives and daughters to swim out to the Dolphin and offer the sailors sex in exchange for iron nails.

Aware of the brisk trade in iron, later explorers such as Captain James Cook brought supplies of nails and hoop iron with them to barter for freshwater, fish, pork, and vegetables.

Cook's visits [to Tahiti] in April 1769, August 1773, and August 1777 only heightened the islanders' desire for iron and other western goods. (Denver, 2013 Tahiti, p. 682-683).

For more on the history of nails used as barter and in trade see

NAILS in BARTER & TRADE

1775-1783 Nails During the American Revolution

The colonists shifted to local production of nails and nail import from England was reduced or ceased altogether.

...

1779 First "Cut Nails" in North America

1779 - 1780 Hand-Operated nail cutting machines.

Ezekial Reed's 1779 Tack Machine,

(illustrated above, Phillips-1993) the first machine-made tacks,was operated by a foot treadle and was able to produce up to 3,000 tacks a day. Wedge-shaped iron blanks were cut by shears from a loop of strip hoop (such as used to construct wooden barrels).

The iron blank was placed tip-down in the jaws of the tack machine with the top protruding enough to be flattened by a hammer to form a head.

1788 - Adam Rogers machine to cut nails from iron hoops

1772 - 1820: In North America early machine cut nails

Dating from 1590 in England, as the earliest report of nail production, the earliest reported cut nails in America are reported to have been cut, essentially by-hand, by Darrow in 1772 (Federal Writers Project 2013) with other authors crediting the Wilkinson brothers somewhat later, ca. 1783 (Benedict 1883).

Nelson notes the first generation of cut nail manufacturing involved cutting all nails from common sides with heads hammered on as a separate production step.

The first nail making machines in North America appeared during the late 1700's - earlier than one might have guessed.

The slitting mill, introduced to England in 1590, simplified the production of nail rods, but the real first efforts to merchandise the nail-making process itself occurred between 1790 and 1820, initially in the United States and England, when various machines were invented to automate and speed up the process of making nails from bars of wrought iron.

Above are nails used to secure accordion lath - a plaster base found in a rural U.S. post-and-beam home in Wyoming County, New York.

These two nails are from different machines.

Notice that the upper one has a rounded head. A closer look might show that the nail shank is constricted and rounded just below the head: marks from the vise that gripped the nail during the head-forming step.

The head on the lower nail is more-irregular.

More about the accordion wood lath in this building and our estimate of the building age are

at WOOD LATH, TYPES.

1789 - U.S. Congress sets duty on imported nails

1790 - U.S. Congress passes first U.S. Patent Act - the second of two steps that encouraged development of nail making machines in North America.

1792 - Samuel Rogers (nephew of Adam Rogers) - expanded the hand-operated machine-cut nail operation.

These nails have shanks with two tapering and the other two parallel sides, cutting die burrs appearing on diagonally-opposite edges. (Phillips 1993). The cross-section of the nail shank is a "skewed rectangle" and the nail tips are rounded. Heads on these nails were hand-formed as a "T" or as a rose-faceted head.

1794 - Perkins Nail Cutting Machine. Jacob Perkins, inventor of a water-powered nail-cutting machine, began producing machine-made cut nails in 1794 and in 1795 received the first U.S. nail-cutting machine patent. (Phillips 1993)

Perkins' machine, powered by water rather than by hand would have been capable of producing a greater quantity of nails per day.

1798 - Read Nail Cutting Machine. Nathan Read produced cut nails at their Salem Iron Factory beginning in 1798.

Details about both of these inventors, their nail making machinery, and nail properties are in our separate guide to cut nails at

NAIL ID & AGE: CUT NAILS - photos of types of cut nails and details about determining their age where we describe early nail-making machines in North America and include English and U.S. patents for such equipment.

Our first illustration shows a skewed-shank machine-cut clapboard nail.

In our second illustration, (both adapted from Phillips 1993) note the rounded and narrowed shank just under the head as deformed when gripped in the machine vise to form the head (red arrow) and the irregular-shaped head (blue arrow) and also the rounded nail tips on both of these early machine-made nails.

...

1805 - present: nails made completely by machine

By some sources nails made completely by machine, including the nail head, appeared as sprigs and brads as early as 1805, and continue in use to the present. (Nelson US NPS cited below.)

Really? Phillips (1993) reports that actually cut nails made entirely by machine are credited to Jacob Perkins- cited above.

• 1806 - Blanchard Tack Making Machine - 1806

  Thomas Blanchard was born on June 24th, 1788, in Sutton, Massachusetts, near Worcester. His first invention was a tack making machine which he invented at age eighteen and perfected over the next six years.
  
  This made production of tacks, which Thomas and his brother had been previously engaged in making, easier and more efficient at a rate of five-hundred per minute. - U.S. NPS cited below.

• 1807 Read, Ezekiel nail cutting machine:
  
  one machine producing both shank and head. Ezekiel Reed (un-related to Nathan) is credited with inventing the one-operation nail cutting machine in 1807. (Phillips 1993).

• 1810 - 1820: cut nails
  
  were made cut from opposing sides and used heads hammered on as a separate production step.
  
  Cutting from opposing sides means that the shear cut that produced the nail was made from opposing sides of an iron or steel blank slab.
  
  Take a look at the shear marks on your nail to see if they are both on one side or if they appear on opposing sides. See the "burrs" illustrated as adapted from Nelson in the citations at the end of this article.

• 1815 - late 1830s: crude machine made or machine cut nails, first machine made heads.

Illustration above: properties of early machine-headed cut nails, - US NPS, Lee Nelson (cited below).

Photo above: early machine cut nail photo, courtesy of reader J - 2020/05/23

[Click to enlarge any image]

Recognizing an early machine-cut nail

J said:

I was recently repairing an old dresser I had gotten from a thrift store and found some very old looking square nails, which led me here.

They appear to be early machine cut nails based on your photos. Is my assessment correct?

Moderator reply:

The observation that your nail is irregularly tapered from below the head, getting wider, then narrowing again, suggests that it's an early machine-cut nail, perhaps roughly between 1815 - 1839 according to Nelson in our references.

NAIL ID & AGE: HAND FORGED NAILS

In the article above and also again at NAILS HAND-WROUGHT & REPRODUCTIONS we note from Nelson's research that ...

If your cut nail is irregular in shank width and has the "A" type side burrs it's likely to have been made before the late 1830s.

• 1820s - 1830s: crude machine made heads
  
  Before the 1830s the iron fibres in machine cut nails ran across the nail shank, causing the nail to break off if the user tried to clinch it's protruding end.
  
  For this reason, before the 1830s and where nail clinching was needed carpenters continued to use hand-wrought nails. (Nelson).
  
  Cut nails made before the late 1830s will typically have:
  
  - an irregular and possibly off-center head
  
  - a head that may have been hammered to permit counter-sinking
  
  - a shank of irregular width
  
  - burrs that maybe on opposing sides of the nail shank depending on the cutting machine

...

Above and below: photos of Dan Nelson's early machine-made nail discussed just below.

Question: New England Nail estimated age 1810 +

2020/04/20 Dan Nelson said:

Hi,
I found this nail while metal detecting an old hayfield in northern Vermont.

The head is round.

The first quarter inch or so of the shank from the head is round-oval.

From there to the point, the nail is very square and tapered.

I do not understand why there are fins on the shank directly below the head. I have found coins I the area as far back as 1787.

I would like to be able to know the rough age of this nail. Thank you.

Reply: details of early machine made nails, rounded head & upper shank, rectangular lower shank

Dan,

Thank you for the helpful photos of your antique nail. My estimate of the age of your nail is 1830 or a bit older, with an "earliest" date of 1815.

As you are a Nelson, perhaps you will enjoy this companion article:

At NAILS & HARDWARE, AGE RESEARCH

On that page I cite Lee Nelson:

• Nelson, Lee, Nail Chronology As An Aid to Dating Old Buildings, Technical Leaflet 48. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1968
  and
• Nelson, Lee H., NAIL CHRONOLOGY as an AID to DATING OLD BUILDINGS [PDF], U.S. National Park Service, Technical Leaflet No. 48. retrieved 2019/01/08, original source: npshistory.com/publications/nail-chronology.pdf

Looking carefully at the irregular-round nail head in your photo and the pinch marks just below the nail head, the earliest we could date this nail might be 1815-1830,

or in my OPINION, probably a bit later, as late as 1850. I think some early nail making machinery often had a longer life than ascribed by Nelson. In some communities, old nail making machine may have, for a time, continued in production alongside later, more-sophisticated machines producing more-rounded and more-uniform nails.

Made in the U.S. in the East, this is an early machine-made nail characterized, per Nelson, by its irregular-round head and the combination of a rounded shank and pinch marks from the nail heading clamp, transitioning to a rectangular shank for the remainder of the nail.

Your nail is large enough that it would not have been later modified (by hammering the head) to convert to a "finishing nail" that could be countersunk. Instead this 3 1/2" long nail would have been used as a structural connector.

In the U.S. the earliest manufactured nails (1790-1830) were operated by hand, later by water mills and still later by steam engines.

Because the rounded upper nail shank looks regular I suspect this is one of the later members of "Early Machine Headed Cut Nails" nails, 1830 - 1850 described by your namesake.

Nelson points out that these early machine-made nails were more readily available than machine-made finishing nails, and that they were often irregular in both length and diameter or width - something you cannot see when we have just one nail but that we might see if we were examining multiple nails from an old New England building.

A close look at the rectangular sides of the nail shank may show the remains of a long burr along the shank characteristic of early cut nails. The burr remains on the side of the nail that was cut from a flat iron plate that was opposite the descending shear blade.

Tapering was produced by "wiggling" the iron plate side to side as the shear descended to cut individual nails.

The irregular rounded head was made in a subsequent step by first clamping the nail shank so that the head could be compressed - hence the rounded shank with pinch marks on the upper part of the nail just under the nail head.

1810 - Present: Modern Machine Made Nails

Note direction of iron fibres in nails and spikes - fibers along shank = 1830 or later

Photos below: large iron spike found near Elmira, Ontario by Vern M shows laminar splitting along the length of the nail shank, giving an earliest date that some sources put at 1830.

The Perkins first cut nail machine patent (1795) was succeeded by an 1810 patent filed by the same inventor in England in 1810.

That improved nail cutting machine produced nails with fibres along the length of the shank. (Phillips, 1993 citing English Patent No. 3365, application dated July 26, 1810; specifications filed January 26, 1811.)

So we have an earliest-date for nails like the one below, produced in the U.S., of 1810.

See more of our discussion on reader Vern's iron spike splits

at NAIL SPLITS & CRACKS vs AGE

Below: Tony's RR spike found on the Oregon Coast is an example of how rust patterns can suggest the direction of iron fibers in a nail. [Click to enlarge any image]

 

1832 - Present: Cut Spikes, Railroad Spikes

In our images above and below you'll notice that the head of these large railroad spikes sport an offset head. The larger lip of the offset head on these large spikes, also called crampons, was used to secure the bottom edge of the rail to the steel plate upon which the rail rests.

As the railroad spike is driven through the plate and onwards into the railroad tie or (sleeper), the combination of spike, tie-plate, and sleeper hold the rail in place in the stone-covered bed (ballast) of the railway.

Details are

at RAILROAD SPIKES

1848 - Present: Original as well as Reproduction of Antique Nails

• 1848 - Present - Original-use and currently reproduction of antique nails, Tremont Nail Company
  
  Details are at TREMONT ANTIQUE NAIL REPRODUCTIONS
• 1850 - present: Modern wire-nails (nails that are round in cross-section) appeared in North America in the 1850s and continue to the present.
  
  Round or "wire nails" are produced by cutting a round drawn wire into lengths to which a point and head are added by the machine.
  
  Details and more images are at WIRE NAILS just below

...

1850 - Present: Modern Round Shanked / Wire Nails

Below, an example of modern round or wire nails, galvanized fasteners. These 4d 1 1/2" galvanized nails are designed for use with steel joist hangers.

• 1850 - Wire nails were produced in North America beginning in the 1850's, became the dominant nail in the U.S. by the 1890s, and continue in use to the present.
  
  "Wire nails" refers to nails that were cut from a continuous pulled round "wire" of varying diameter. The wire is cut to the appropriate length for the desired nail length, allowing for the later machine-formed nail head and machine-cut nail tip.
  
  In our illustration below you'll notice that modern "wire nails" show a series of parallel "gripper" marks along the upper end of the shank, just below the nail head.
  
  Really:? Note that some earlier rectangular-shanked cut nails may also contain gripper marks under the head - formed by pinching individual nails, one-by-one, in a vise to permit the fabricator to use a hammer to form that nail's hand-wrought head. The gripper marks on thise earlier hand-headed rectangular shanked nails will generally be larger and of course those nail shanks won't be round.

Early wire nails were made first in smaller sizes.

If we exclude nails coated with a galvanized or other material, most modern wire-type nails will show parallel indentations across the top of the nail below the head, indicating the grip on the nail shank as the nail's head was formed.

• 1870 - Competition from Wire Nails (round) - 1870
  
  

  The Birmingham industry expanded in the following decades, and reached its greatest extent in the 1860s, after which it declined due to competition from wire nails, but continued until the outbreak of World War I. (Sjögren 2013) - source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nail_(fastener) retrieved 2018/06/15

  Ezekiel Reed from Bridgewater Massachusetts developed the first machine that could cut a nail including its head in one operation.

  In the U.S. the Parker Mills nail company was built in 1819 on the original site of the Parker Mills cotton mill that had been burned by the British during the War of 1812.

Above and below: Hardware Merchandising magazine article discussing a new English nail making machine, 7 February 1890.

...

• 1880's - special purpose nails,
  
  eg. wire nails and barbed-wire fencing nails using hooked nail heads and sometimes, shank details that resisted inadvertent withdrawal from wood fenceposts but making future removal possible when wire fencing needed to be repaired or adjusted - shown above the Brinkerhoff wire fence nail patented Dec. 5 1882.
  
  The nail head featured details that eased withdrawal of the nail using a hammer.
• Brinkerhoff, Jacob & Warren M. Brinkerhoff, WIRE-FENCE-NAIL [PDF] U.S. Patent No. 268,813, December 5, 1882
  

• 1890 - High Volume Production of Cut Nails Continues - 1890
  

By 1890 nail making machinery had advanced to produce cut nails at high volume and low cost and at improved reliability. (Hardware Merchandising 7 Feb 1890)

The Parker Mills nail company became the Tremont Nail company that continues to produce traditional machine-made "cut nails" today. [1]

The development of machine made nails that could be produced in high volume was critical to this change in construction methods. But even in the 1930's and 40's nails were a meaningful cost of construction.

Above, a advertisement for wire-nails appearing in The Iron Age magazine, ca 1893.

• George, Washington. "Nail-staple for barbed wire." U.S. Patent 1,389,540, issued August 30, 1921.

...

1950 - Present: Modern Nail Guns & Power Nailers

Illustration above: Popular Mechanics, March 1950, p. 96 describing the new "nail gun".

• 1950 nail guns in use in wood frame construction.
  
  Modern round or wire nails dominate nail use in conventional framing and construction, actually replaced by nails formed to work in power nailers or "nail guns" for much wood-frame construction.
  
  The nail gun was designed by Morris Pynoos, a civil engineer by training, for his work on Howard Hughes' Hughes H-4 Hercules (known as the Spruce Goose). The wooden fuselage was nailed together and glued, and then the nails were removed.
  
  The first nail gun used air pressure and was introduced to the market in 1950 to speed the construction of housing floor sheathing and sub-floors.
  
  With the original nail gun, the operator used it while standing and could nail 40-60 nails a minute. It had a capacity of 400-600 nails. - Wikipedia, Nail Gun, retrieved 2019/01/09, original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nail_gun

Illustration below: Paslode nail gun nails sold in strips are still "wire nails" but are no round in cross-section.

• 2019: modern nail guns.
  
  Modern nail guns are sold in models that operate by compressed air, electricity, or gas cartridges. Manufacturers of nail guns in 2019 include at least the following nailer brands: A.D.I. Atachi, aka ADACHI, AEG, AirPress, Bostitch, DeWalt, Heico,m Hitachi-Koki, Makita, Milwaukee, Paslode, Rigid, Senco, Spit-Impex (concrete nailers), Sumake,
  
  Paslode, a division of Illinois Tool Works, is one of a number of manufacturers of modern nail guns, sold in both cordless and pneumatic (air powered) models. Paslode was founded by J.W. Leslie in the U.S. in 1935.

...

Supporting Information to Estimate the Age of a Nail

Nails cannot alone give the exact date of construction of a building because the nails themselves may have been made considerably earlier or even re-used from a still-older construction. But nail age can suggest date boundaries for the construction at a site.

In guessing the age of a nail or other hardware it is very helpful if you can tell us

• Country and city of the building or site where the nails were found
• Age of the building and/or the site if the nails were not in a building or building component. Documents and records providing evidence of the date of construction of the building or site are the most-reliable dating or aging source.
• Age of buildings in the same area where similar nails are found
• Technology of production of a specific nail combined with history of the availability of nails produced by a given technology in the area.
  
  For example in the U.S. machine made nails would have been first most-abundant on the east cost, spreading more slowly across the continent to the west, probably with some nails arriving by ship on the west coast.
• Nail metal and nail coatings, e.g. first use of galvanized coatings, use of aluminum nails, copper nails, stainless steel (all modern) vs. wood and iron.
• The mixture of nail types in the building help identify original construction, modifications, additions
• Proximity to water, to industrial sites, other possible nail sources
• Nail dimensions, or size, and style (include a ruler in the photograph) can indicate the nail's intended use
• Presence of any surrounding material, wood, cloth, etc. where the nail was used.
• Presence of surrounding artifacts that help date the structure
• Wood lumber or trim or other nailed material species and cutting details can help determine building age and nail age too, though wood beams and planks from an earlier building may also have been re-used in a later one.
  
  See SAW & AXE CUTS, TOOL MARKS, AGE
• We also look closely at the nail iron itself for splitting, machine-cut edges, etc.

Watch out: Documentary sources should take priority whenever possible, and other artifacts should be used as supportive evidence. (Adams 2002) as cited

at NAILS, AGE & HISTORY

Watch out: keep in mind that the date of manufacture as well as the date of actual use of nails varies significantly by country and even smaller areas, so the physical location and context of the nail's use are important in understanding its probable age.

If we know when a type of nail first became available in the area where it was found or used and if we know when later machine made nails were available in the same area that can set an earliest date for a particular nail.

Hand Wrought Nail Details

Details of Hand-wrought nails used in North America in the 17th, 18th, and 19th century in American building construction as well as modern hand wrought nail reproductions are now found

at NAILS HAND-WROUGHT & REPRODUCTIONS

Research on History of Hand Wrought Nails, Cut Nails & Wire Nails

This section has moved to NAILS & HARDWARE, AGE RESEARCH

where we provide photos, text excerpts & research citations for the history of production and use of nails for various countries including Australia, India, the U.K., Scotland, Wales, The United States, and New Zealand.

...

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Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Reader question: long spike with slit in one end

This was found approx.12” down while detectoring on our late 1700’s hill farm in Vermont. It is 21” long and around 1” square. There was so much built up corrosion on it when found it looked round. 2024-09-27 by Tom

Reply by moderator:

@Tom,

A very long spike like that was typically used in construction of barns or other post and being buildings.

The dimensions and uniformity of the shank with suggest that it was hand forged.

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY

https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Determine-age-of-old-nails.php

Offers some additional and in some cases a little more subtle clues that can help guess at the age of your spike.

Reader follow-up: riveted holding pin

Maybe HH in the diagram attached. As you mentioned in use of post and beam construction. I believe it was hand forged since it was found in the area of the blacksmith barn located on this hill farm.

https://www.cloverfieldspreservationfoundation.org/newsletters/2019/7/18/period-nails-and-scarf-joints
It does contain a slot.

Reply:

@Tom,

Yes that's a very good guess.

I didn't comment on it before because from just the image I was a bit uncertain, but it looked me as if the tip of the spike in your photo contained a slot that could have actually been an opening for the pin in the illustration of HH that that illustration's author called a "riveted pin holding summer beams together."

The slot is strong evidence supporting your, now our, guess.

For other readers, Tom is citing
Cloverfields as of July 2019: Period Nails Help Date Different Sections of the House and The Structural Frame is Repaired - July 25, 2019

The actual drawing of nail and spike types is from p. 264 in

Chappell, David A., “Hardware,” in Carson, Cary, and Carl R. Lounsbury, eds. The Chesapeake House: Architectural Investigation by Colonial Williamsburg. UNC P Books, 2013. 257-83.

Cloverfields is a historic home Constructed in the U.S. in Maryland by Philemon Hemsley between 1703 and 1705.

Here's a closer look at the slotted end of Tom's spike.

 

Reader question: octagonal shanked nail

Thanks for all the info here. I found this nail in my pool in Flower Mound, TX. House built in 1993 and oldest in neighborhood is 1973 ish. Lots of farmland too. Nail is 2" long and head is 9/16. No number imprint on head (thus not 1920 railroad nail). I can't see fiber direction either. Maybe 1830-1850 date? Thanks! 2024-05-08 y Adam

Reply by moderator:

@Adam,

That's an interesting nail, but I think it's modern. I can't see all of the details, but I think the photo shows the following "modern" nail indicators:

1. Multiple parallel lines under the head where the nail was gripped in the nail machine to form the head

2. Nail shank is round

3. Nail tip is diamond pointed

I think the head is either round or round with a notch.

4. A nail like that one, with a fluted or grooved shaft is usually intended for use in masonry, and so that may explain ...

5. What looks like remnants of concrete or cement along the nail shank

Sorry for the comment box picture posting limitation, but you are absolutely welcome to post as many photos as you like - just one per comment, so you can use more comments to post more photos.

Daniel

Reader follow-up:

Thanks Daniel, The shank is octagonal, but you may have hit the nail on the head as we did have roof/chimney work done. No notch in head though. Thanks!

Reply:

@Adam,

Excellent, thank you.

That might be a fairly old masonry nail, but all of its other features make it modern, it's basically a modified round shank that is referred to in the parlance as a wire nail meaning that the nails are cut from a length of machine fabricated wire.

Masonry nails are usually of a harder alloy as well as having flutes that give a resistance against bending as the nail is being driven into the hard masonry surface.

Reader question: square headed nail found while metal detecting

Found this square headed nail while metal detecting today but can’t find any types with the 90 degree angle at the end. It seems to of been manufactured this was rather than having been bent. Any ideas please? 2023-10-14 by Tristan Cossey

Reply:

@Tristan Cossey,

Thank you so much for the great nail photo and interesting comment.

It's most likely that the angle bent at the end of that nail happened after its original manufacture.

Reader question: Sussex County, Delaware farm field reveals a long rusty spike

Can anyone give me some info on the picture below. I can't seem to find anything on this nail or spike. I found it in a Sussex County Delaware farm field. It is 8 sided and looks old. Looking for age and use.

Thanks for your help. JP 2023-09-24 J.P. McCormick

Reply:

@J.P. McCormick,

You will find our most complete advice on guessing age at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY
https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Determine-age-of-old-nails.php

In essence, when estimating the age, properties, use, and history of a nail, spike, or screw, we look at

1. the item itself for clues about how it was made, of what materials, and in some cases iron fibre direction that can bracket age of manufacture

2. contextual clues: what we know from surrounding materials, location, history of the area, etc.

Reader question: South Texas Victorian home used porcelain headed nails

These nails were found in an old Victorian Style house in South Texas in the 1970's. They are covered with paint. However the nail seems to be round with angled points. The porcelain or glass head screws onto the top of the nail vial threads. I have not been able to find any like them to date or evaluate them. Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated. 2023-09-23 by Elaine M Burcham

Reply by moderator:

@Elaine M Burcham,

Thank you for this great photo of this porcelain headed nail.

In this document

THE CUT NAIL INDUSTRY 1776-1890: TECHNOLOGY, COST ACCOUNTING AND THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY [PDF]
inspectapedia.com/interiors/Cut-Nail-Industry-Loveday-Dissertation-OSU.pdf

we find the reference to the 1873 American patent for “Richards Patent Porcelain-Headed Picture Nails"

A copy of that patent’s design and specs (originally retrieved on 9/23/2023 from https://patents.google.com/patent/US169921A/en) is found here

RICHARDS PORCELAIN HEADED PICTURE NAILS PATENT [PDF]
inspectapedia.com/interiors/Richards-Porcelain-Headed-Picture-Nails-Patent.pdf

This shows the design of nail you have described with the porcelain head being attached to a threaded shank.

I also found many references and images to this type of nail when I googled “antique nails with porcelain head” although these may be more modern reproductions.

Without any additional information about their age, we can’t say if your nails date to the 1970s that you mention or from an earlier time.

Question:

I found it while walking. It was laying in a river bed. 2023-09-22 by Armandt

Reply:

@Armandt,

You will find our most complete advice on guessing age at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY
https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Determine-age-of-old-nails.php

When estimating the age, properties, use, and history of a metal fastener like a nail, spike, or screw, we look at

1. the item itself for clues about how it was made, of what materials, and in some cases iron fibre direction that can bracket age of manufacture

2. contextual clues: what we know from surrounding materials, location, history of the area, etc.

 

Reader question - Find the age of these old nails found near Amarillo Texas

I'm looking for information about some nails that where recovered from an old Quarry located near Amarillo in Potter County, Texas. The nails were used at what appeared to be a loading site and secured rough lumber that provided aggregate chutes for wagons and early trucks. Thank you, Jack On 2023-08-23 by Jack E. DeMuynck, Jr.

Reply by InspectApedia Publisher (mod) - nails found near Amarillo Texas Quarry

@Jack E. DeMuynck, Jr.,

Sure, glad to help. Here are some suggestions.

Those look like structural spikes, perhaps with hand-finished heads.

Take a close look at the upper shank markings: are those letters or clamp marks from a machine?

1. If we can assume that you have access to the nails in question, I suggest comparing the nail features, in detail, with the old nail features discussed above on this page.

2. Compare your nails with the nail features outlined also at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY, https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Determine-age-of-old-nails.php

3. Review the detailed history of the Amarillo Texas quarry and thus you'll have an idea of the types of buildings or other structures - for which you've already posed an interesting guess: chutes for loading wagons and trucks.

The nail size is probably the first clue to its probable use as it's easy to separate smaller nails that secured boards from larger spikes that would have been used in structures.

it's the note of hand-wrought features that you might find particularly interesting.

Where is the quarry about which you inquire?

Are you referring to the Alibates Flint Quarries - whose history is ancient - as well?

Or have you researched activities that gave Quarry Street its name? Quarry Street runs between Yucca Ave. and Cliffside Road, those intersecting North Western St. off of I 335 northwest of Amarillo.

Reader follow-up - Clamp marks on my nails + research on location where old nails are found yields information

They are clamp marks. Can you give an estimate when they may have been made? Thank you, Jack

The quarry they came from I suspect was an early cement aggregate, perhaps lime extraction site. The town it may have supported Amarillo, Texas was established around the turn of the 19th century.

Thanks for the reply. I'll work at getting you a Google earth location. You've done good research.

...

Location as found on Google Earth: Latitude 35.2289732 Longitude -101.919184

Again thanks for your interesting work. Next time I'm in the area I plan to research deeds and newspapers circa 1900. Jack

Reply:

@Jack E. DeMuynck, Jr.,

That's interesting indeed and it's a nice example of doing a little bit of leg work to add context that's helpful when we're trying to understand the age and history of an antique nail or other fastener.

Added comments: the straight, not-tapered shank and those large indentations that you confirm are clamp marks all argue for a early hand-forged spike.

The procedure commonly included clamping the forged shank into a vise in order to permit hand hammering to form the shank head. You should see that the heads on spikes in this set are each a bit different.

To keep us posted on what else you find

Question - identification of an old rusty square-shanked spike From Cape Cod MA

Look what I found!

On 2023-08-12 by InspectApedia Publisher

@From Cape Cod MA,

nice old rusty nail or spike - interesting that it's more rusted in mid-shank than at head or tip. Might tell something of its use and history. and certainly suggests hand forging.

 

Reader question - Square nail found on early colonial site, not iron

I found a square nail on early colonies site it is not ferrous I suppose it's made of copper by the color can you please estimate the age, thank you 2023-07-20 by Paulo PS

Reply by InspectApedia DF (mod) - nail found at early Colonial site

@Paulo PS,

Our best and most complete advice are in the steps given at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY
(live link in the Recommended Articles list on this page)

In essence, when estimating the age, properties, use, and history of a metal fastener like a nail, spike, or screw, we look at

1. the item itself for clues about how it was made, of what materials, and in some cases iron fibre direction that can bracket age of manufacture

2. contextual clues: what we know from surrounding materials, location, history of the area, etc.

Reader question - unusual UK Riverbank nail has thick tall square head

Hello Can you please take a look at the attached photo. I found it on a river bank in the UK . It is 5 inches long and feels like wood definitely not metal. It’s an impressive nail and I would like to know where it may have come from and how old it is. Thank you On 2023-07-08 by Tina F

Reply by InspectApedia Publisher (mod) - Nail from U.K. Riverbank

@Tina F,

That's certainly an unusual "nail" with that thick squared head and flat-sided tapered shank. It looks to me like bronze, not wood, but of course we've got just a photo to go-on.

The point is sharp and tapered to be driven - that would not be characteristic of wooden peg or treenail such as we describe in several links given above on this page where we discuss tree-nails or "treenails" and wooden pegs.

Try scratching on one side to see if you expose brighter metal.

 

Question - info on an old 15-inch nail

Anyone know any info please..about 15 inches long On 2023-06-22 by Matt M

Reply by InspectApedia DF (mod) - age of a thin 15-inch long nail

@Matt M,

You will find our most-complete advice on guessing age at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY
https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Determine-age-of-old-nails.php

In essence, as you’ll read there, when estimating the age, properties, use, and history of a metal fastener like a nail, spike, or screw, we look at

1. the item itself for clues about how it was made, of what materials, and in some cases iron fibre direction that can bracket age of manufacture

2. contextual clues: what we know from surrounding materials, location, history of the area, etc.

Reader question - nail patent by inventor Edwin Page, US Patent No. 325859 for a stepped nail design

I recently acquired a nail patent by inventor Edwin Page, patent number 325859. It's for a stepped nail design as shown in the attached image. Does anyone know if these nails were every actually produced and used? On 2023-06-10 by David Fox

Reply by InspectApedia DF (mod) - split resistant nail patent by Page

@David Fox,

Thank you for the question and the reference to the 1885 Page patent.

For other readers, you can see this patent disclosure also at

Page Edwin K., NAIL, [PDF] U.S. Patent No. 325,859., September 8, 1885.

Excerpt:

My invention relates to the wedge-shaped nail in common use by builders, ordinarily cut from a plate, and two of its sides parallel, with the other two sides slightly tapering; and it has for its object to produce a nail which may be driven indiscriminately with either its parallel or tapering sides at right angles with the grain of the wood without splitting;

and it consists in forming a series of cutting-teeth on the two opposite and tapering sides of the nail, sides parallel with the grain, the cutting-teeth will sever the grain and form a passage for the nail, preventing the splitting of the wood;

and my invention further consists in the formation of the nail with such cutting-teeth and Figs. 4 and 5 are views showing mode, it shows an elevation of the nail in common use. with parallel sides between the cutting-teeth, so that the back of the teeth may be support ed, and so the wood will press more closely against the sides of the nail after it has been driven.

Interestingly this patent was cited almost 100 years later in

Schroeder, Norman, Irving Ahlbeck III, Bradley Schroeder, and Steven Stanwick. "Fluted nail." U.S. Patent 4,781,508, issued November 1, 1988.

We have not found records of the production of the Page patented nail but I have seen some cut nails with barbs and staggered edges, two of Page's designs, and certainly the idea of modifying the nail shank to improve its withdrawal resistance was extended to many modern nails such as the ring-shank on drawn wire nails.

Let's keep alert for these Page nails showing up in antique structures.

 

Reader question - Date for old brass nail found on Whitstable beach

Hi, found this on the beach in Whitstable, would love to know a rough date. It’s material I believe is brass On 2023-05-27 by Penny

Reply by InspectApedia DF (mod) - getting down to brass tacks age

@Penny,

Our most complete advice on guessing age is at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY

https://inspectapedia.com/interiors/Determine-age-of-old-nails.php

In essence, as you'll read there, when estimating the age, properties, use, and history of a metal fastener like a nail, spike, or screw, we look

1. at the item itself for clues about how it was made, of what materials, and in some cases iron fibre direction that can bracket age of manufacture

2. at contextual clues: what we know from surrounding materials, location, history of the area, etc.

Continuing: is that a round nail shank that we see in your photo? If so this is a relatively modern nail, not a hand forged one.

Question - Date for a UK Garage using round flat headed nails

I am trying to date a garage in the UK. There is an argument it is 1930s, however looking at the timber specialists think much later. Here is a picture of the roofing nails used for the clay tiles, could anyone shed some light on the potential date? 2023-05-15 by David Walsh

Reply by InspectApedia DF - modern wire nails were first produced in the 1850s

@David Walsh,

Galvanized roofing nails were certainly around in the 1930s in the UK.

As you can read above in this article, modern wire nails such as yours were first produced in the 1850s. Beyond that, in order to more accurately date your building, you'll need to look at other contextual clues.

Many of these are listed above in the section titled: Supporting Information to Estimate the Age of a Nail

This article series, with many of the live links listed above in the Recommended Articles list, explores further the age of nails and hardware.

You may be interested in the History of Nails in the U.K. section found in the article titled:

NAIL & HARDWARE, AGE RESEARCH

Question - Age of 6 7/8" long nails - look modern

Hi -- Got these at an estate sale. I was wondering if they are early machine cut nails. They sure feel great in the hand.

Here is a picture of the heads. These are 6-7/8" long. 2023-05-08 by Cameron T.

...

Reply by InspectApedia Publisher

@Cameron T.,

Yes, though some of them have earlier style heads added as a separate step.

"Machine" includes hand-operated machinery.

I may be mistaken but to me [DF] your closeup photo of nail heads looks like a different collection. Newer.

I think I see parallel ribs across the nail shank close to the underside of the nail-head. Those would be grip marks from "modern" nail making machinery that has been in use for the last 100 years.

Reader question - how old is my UK settle with timber nails?

Is it possible to estimate the age of our UK settle with timber nails? On 2023-04-07 by Anonymous

Reply by InspectApedia Editor: wooden pegs alone can't date a bit of furniture

@Anonymous,

While treenails and wooden pegs may be used in building construction and window and door construction or in the construction of furniture as well even in modern buildings, usually that's certainly before 1900.

In fact in my workshop in New York in the 1980s I built a reproduction of a Shaker one-drawer side table that used only wooden pegs in its construction - there is not one bit of metal in the assembly. So wooden pegs alone can't date a bit of furniture.

The range of use by geography and time is in my opinion so broad that we need to add contextual clues when guessing building or UK settle age rather than just looking at one component.

Those clues are given starting at

AGE of a BUILDING, HOW to DETERMINE - home

(live link below in Recommended Articles list)

Perhaps you can post further photos such as of other hardware, saw cuts or marks on lumber or timbers, type of framing connection, and other building features that we describe there.

Question - is this squarish head spiral nail modern or antique?

Is this modern or antique? The head is not perfectly round and squarish On 2023-03-31 by Steve

Reply by InspectApedia Editor - modern, machine-made, spiral nail

@Steve,

That's a modern, machine-made, spiral nail.

The spiral is intended to improve withdrawal resistance.

It looks as if much of the nail head has rusted away.

Reader question - how old is this 8-inch rusty spike found at Brighton UK beach

Found whilst metal detecting on the beach in Brighton UK. It's 8" long. Any ideas please? On 2023-03-19 by Lesleyburdetttaylor

Reply by InspectApedia Editor

@Lesleyburdetttaylor,

You will find our most complete advice on guessing age at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY
(live link below in Recommended Articles list)

where we discuss clues from the nail itself as well as the use of contextual clues.

Reader question - is this a nail or a spike from the Staten Island NY Conference House?

Is this a nail or spike . How old can it be found it on the beach front the conference house Staten Island NY On 2023-02-21 by Al Diaz

Reply by InspectApedia Editor

@Al Diaz,

Please see our reply to reader Jenn D just below. There we give the link where we have our best and most complete advice on dating this type of hardware.

Note our discussion there about iron fiber direction, size, and other contextual clues.

On 2023-02-18 by Jenn D - this nail/spike found in a park looks more like a tack, with letters on its head

Hi, I came across this nail/spike in a park. You have any idea of its time period ?

On 2023-02-18 by InspectApedia Editor - use contextual clues to help determine age of hardware

@Jenn D,

Let's see a magnified sharp photo of the lettering on the round head of that tack. That might let us identify its manufacturer.

Our best and most complete advice are in the steps given at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY
(live link below in Recommended Articles list)

In essence, as you’ll read there, when estimating the age, properties, use, and history of a metal fastener like a nail, spike, or screw, we look at

1. the item itself for clues about how it was made, of what materials, and in some cases iron fiber direction that can bracket age of manufacture

2. contextual clues: what we know from surrounding materials, location, history of the area, etc.

On 2023-02-15 by David Huddy - age of abn old nail found in mossy peatland

Hi, can you help me identify these nails that I found on a moss/peatland.

Regards, davidhuddy@hotmail.com

On 2023-02-15 by Mak Church (mod)

@David Huddy,

You will find our most complete advice on guessing age at

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY
(live link below in Recommended Articles list)

Where we discuss paying attention to various contextual clues to help learn more about it.

On 2023-02-03 by Verena

This nail came out of a piece of slate on an old farmhouse roof in Northern Baltimore county, MD. it measures just over 2 3/4 inches. I am wondering about dating. Thank you.

On 2023-02-03 by InspectApedia Publisher - nail from a piece of slate on an old farmhouse roof in Northern Baltimore County, MD

@Verena,

NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY - use this key to guess at the age of your nail or spike. [live link above] will be of some help

On 2023-01-31 by Katie - type & age of 4 1/2" long rusty spike

Is this too corroded or could you make an educated guess as to the type/age of this spike? It's got a flat (spade) point and is about 4.5" in length.

On 2023-01-31 by InspectApedia Publisher - signs of hand forging on antique iron spike

@Anonymous,

The spike tip looks hand forged

On 2023-01-14 by Lenny - Treasure Coast, Florida four sided tip round shanked nail.

Views of 10” nail. 3/4 round head. 4 sided pointed tip, round shank. Found in driftwood on Treasure coast.

Really wondering a specific age range. Not just modern nail.

On 2023-01-14 by InspectApedia Publisher - spike found embedded in driftwood

@Lenny,

If I'm reading your photo correctly, that nail has a quite round shank and a diamond pointed tip. That'd make it a "modern" wire-drawn nail not an antique hand-forged one.

On 2023-01-06 by Mark - what's this long brass rod found on a SCUBA dive off Massachusettts?

Hoping to figure out when this ship spike would have been made. Recovered in a dive off Massachusetts.

On 2023-01-06 by InspectApedia Publisher - structural rod from dive off of Massachusetts

@Mark,

That's a beautiful find but I don't think I would consider it a nail or a spike it looks more like a structural rod.

 

...

Continue reading at NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY, or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see NAILS & HARDWARE, AGE FAQs - questions & answers posted originally at this page and additional photos of old and newer nails

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• AGE of a BUILDING, HOW to DETERMINE - home
• DOOR HARDWARE AGE
• NAILS, AGE & HISTORY - home
• HORSESHOE & HORSESHOE NAIL AGE
• NAIL & HARDWARE, AGE RESEARCH
• NAIL & HARDWARE CLEAN-UP
• NAIL AGE DETERMINATION KEY - use this key to guess at the age of your nail or spike
• NAIL ID & AGE: CUT NAILS
• NAIL ID & AGE: HAND FORGED NAILS
• NAILS in BARTER & TRADE
• NAIL SPLITS & CRACKS vs AGE
• NAIL TYPE, ANTIQUE, IDENTIFICATION KEY
• RAILROAD SPIKES
• RAILROAD SPIKE AGE - CONTEXTUAL CLUES
• SAW & AXE CUTS, TOOL MARKS, AGE
• WINDOW HARDWARE AGE

Suggested citation for this web page

NAILS, AGE & HISTORY at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to BUILDING AGE

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