1807 DBHC, 1858 FE, Cufflinks, Buttons and Awesome Iron

[OutdoorAdv]

I got out a couple times last weekend and came home with a whole mess of keeper iron pieces! I've been processing iron all week and everything just came out of the hot wax tonight, so I figured I'd get my post together.

First the non-ferrous. I found a nice 1807 Half Cent, a toasted Classic Head Large Cent and an 1858 Flying Eagle Cent. A cool set of cufflinks turned up, however the fronts are too toasted to make out the design... just a bit of a border is left on one of them. Three HUGE coat buttons all looked like coppers to me in the dirt... one is a tombac. Then the usual variety of flat buttons, buckles and musket balls turned up. One flat button still has the fabric on it which was my first with fabric and it was really awesome to see when I was cleaning it.



And the ferrous. I dig lots of hoe blades, but to get 3 complete ones in one hunt is uncommon... and I actually dug 4 broken ones as well. I have about a dozen hand wrought complete hoe blades in various display cases, but the tiny triangular shaped one was a new one for me. My favorite two pieces of iron are split between the Curry Comb and the complete Spade blade (shovel). I have dug many broken spade blades and even one I broke while extracting, but this was my first complete one. The Curry Comb is also my first and came from a very old spot.



I don't dig too many half cents and it took me a minute to even figure out what this was in the field. I have maybe a half dozen half cents total, so it was really nice to get this one with a date even though the back is pretty toasty.



This so happens to be my 3rd Flying Eagle! I know these are a bit tough to come by, but for whatever reason I keep finding them, however I never find the fat IHPs. My other two are 1857, so its nice to get a different date on one.



All 3 of my flying eagles... the first I dug around 1995 and the second was last year. All have been in fantastic condition too



I've seen you guys find buttons with thread or fabric on them still, but it had eluded me. It was really awesome to see blue and white thread when I cleaned this one. It looks like maybe some brown wool was under it. I dug this one and another matching button a foot apart, and only this one had fabric still. Really cool.





This Spade blade had me smiling! Its only missing one of the foot pads on one side, but otherwise in well used and worn condition. Incredible to think what sort of holes the were able to dig with these old boxy shovel blades.



The Curry Comb was brittle and lost a bit of its bristle pieces, but still held up well. The handle is missing, but the attachment looks like an eagle to me. I think this is going to date sometime between Colonial to the early 1800's based on the context of what it was found with.



The flower pattern on this piece of cast iron was too cool not to process. Included is a before and obviously after photo.



Hoe blades with a interesting tiny triangular one.






A little bone was left on the knife handle too.



Some before shots of the tools and utensils.




I took some pictures of the tools after electrolysis and before hot wax. The wax always dulls the finish and darkens them, but before cooking they have a nice black metallic finish.



I had to fire up a second pot to cook all this stuff today. I typically use just the small one, but with some larger pieces I had to run dueling pots of boiling wax... what could go wrong?!



I'm back into spring house projects so I'm not sure when I'll get back out. Looking forward to seeing everyones hunts on here to tie me over. Thanks for looking and happy hunting everyone.

 

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[Bill D. (VA)]

Thanks man. When I started detecting, the internet didn't exist and therefore I didn't know what most of what I dug was, or how to preserve it properly. I left a couple complete iron stirrups by a barn because they were "junk". Sad! Hopefully its not too late to get that shovel you left. I'd dug a couple tools with wood still on them and its certainly not common.



Thanks a ton man. That spade made me really happy. I'm unsure if there was a bracket on the eye that would have extended up the shaft of the handle, or if the handle was just nailed into the eye. I've dug those brackets before and I've dug spade blades... but I'm not sure of all the styles. I suppose it was whatever the blacksmith could do to make a sturdy tool... and that's how he made it.


The wax process is super simple, however probably a little dangerous since its working with boiling wax and wet iron I've been doing it for 3 or 4 years now with no problems at all. I picked that 1980's coleman stove up at a flea market for about $10. They're very easy to find at flea markets and they last forever. New ones are much pricier. Walmart sells those cheap aluminum pots I use for about $10. The smaller one is best because the stove can heat it up better. Then I buy CHEAP unscented white candles... typically also at Walmart since the big ones in a 3-pack are just a few bucks. I melt them in the pot on the Coleman and remove the wicks and labels.

After electrolysis I use baking soda and the garden hose and make a paste, then scrub the iron with the paste and a Harbor Freight wire brush. This removes some of the loose scale and some of the black carbon that sticks to it. Then I hose them off very well to make sure all the baking soda and junk is removed. I'll attach a piece of bailing wire to them to make it easier to remove from the hot wax. Then right away, they go into the hot wax on the Coleman stove in my driveway. You'll know when it reaches boiling because the water in the iron will boil off and foam the wax. The wax will smoke some, but that's normal. I typically let it boil for about 5-10 min or so until there aren't really any more bubbles coming from the iron. Then I turn the burner off and let them sit for 10 min or so in the wax to cool a little and allow the wax to penetrate more. Then I remove them and put them on construction paper and blot them with paper towels to keep the wax from pooling, then hang them up by the wire and continue to blot them as they cool. The great thing is its only about 30 min from the time they come out of electrolysis until they are completely dried, cooled and preserved. SO there is no long drying, flash rusting, and poly coats that take a while. Its just my personal preference, but I like the dull satin coating the wax leaves.

My safety concerns: Having wax past the boiling temps of water is obviously a little dangerous. I wear leather gloves when working with it and have a pair of old channel lock pliers I use to fish pieces out if the wire on each piece gets too hot. If I put a thick piece like an ax bit in, I'll also wear safety glasses too. Never had it happen, but I suppose a void in a cast thick piece of iron could fill with steam and pop... I like seeing things, so I'll protect my eyes! I'm fire-phobic too and don't take hot wax and an open flame lightly even though its outside... however I'm also a bit ADD and go from one thing to the next a little too fast and I forgot I had the wax pot on for over 40 min once on full heat. I came back to it and it was billowing smoke, but never caught fire. So they tells me its pretty damn hard to ignite, but I don't want to find out. The pots come with a top too, so it'd be easy to just put the lid on if something did happen. That said, my biggest concern is putting the pot of boiling wax in a safe place while it cools. I have old bricks I dug up that I place it on out of the way to cool off. The wax lasts for years. I've only replaced it once with fresh wax... but typically I just add a new candle to it every year or so to keep it at the right level for the wax I lose to each piece of iron.

So that's all the info you guys need to know! Don't let my safety concerns deter you... I'm overly cautious but the whole process is super simple. My neighbors probably think I'm cooking up a weekly batch of meth in my driveway too... why else would you have an old stove and smoking pots sitting in your driveway.

Wow - I didn't expect you to go to all that trouble Brad, but I definitely appreciate you taking the time to lay out your step-by-step process. I'm definitely going to save this and maybe give it a try one day. I feel like you're getting better results than my method, so I might just have to become an apprentice to the Master .

 

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[Scrappy]

Awesome post Brad. All those hoes are in amazing shape, and that triangular one is a type I hadn't seen before. Unfortunately all of my hoe finds are completely destroyed so that's pretty amazing you found them on one hunt. Now the shovel head is really killing me - it's on my list and yours is just a killer example. Also you did a great job preserving the bone handle knife, and everything overall. And I'm in, with Bill and Joey for a Master's apprentice class.

Thanks for taking the time to post. I think a lot of people don't realize the time and effort it takes to make such a post for Tnet. Cheers

 

[gwdigger]

Great finds and you take great care in preserving them - as always.

 

[DownNDirty]

Great job with the electrolysis and preservation s usual, Brad-that spade looks great. I've only found one and part of the blade was rusted away. The early LC and flying eagle cent are some really good finds too, but my favorite is the flowered iron piece-possibly part of a wood stove?

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Wow - I didn't expect you to go to all that trouble Brad, but I definitely appreciate you taking the time to lay out your step-by-step process. I'm definitely going to save this and maybe give it a try one day. I feel like you're getting better results than my method, so I might just have to become an apprentice to the Master .

Anytime Bill! It's pretty straight forward, and I've shown you some pieces I've boiled... but if you ever want to see the wax finish on some of your pieces just send them my way man.

Awesome post Brad. All those hoes are in amazing shape, and that triangular one is a type I hadn't seen before. Unfortunately all of my hoe finds are completely destroyed so that's pretty amazing you found them on one hunt. Now the shovel head is really killing me - it's on my list and yours is just a killer example. Also you did a great job preserving the bone handle knife, and everything overall. And I'm in, with Bill and Joey for a Master's apprentice class.

Thanks for taking the time to post. I think a lot of people don't realize the time and effort it takes to make such a post for Tnet. Cheers

Thanks a ton man... I always appreciate hearing that people enjoy my long @$$ posts. Haha Joking aside, I REALLY do appreciate it though. You're right, it takes a while to put one together. I probably dig 6 broken hoes for every complete one... not sure if that's a good ratio or not, but I do find tons of them and always love the complete ones. Before that hunt my old record was 2 complete hoes in one hunt! I'd have to dig up a tool shed to beat 3. Ha

Great finds and you take great care in preserving them - as always.

Thanks a ton man. I really appreciate it. .

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Great job with the electrolysis and preservation s usual, Brad-that spade looks great. I've only found one and part of the blade was rusted away. The early LC and flying eagle cent are some really good finds too, but my favorite is the flowered iron piece-possibly part of a wood stove?

Thanks a ton man. I think this is the closest I came to a complete spade before this one and the tops broken off. This came from a trash pit last winter and it's still encrusted with charcoal!



I suppose that could be a giant hoe blade, but it's the size of a spade. I haven't preserved it and not sure if I will. The complete one I found in this post was in much better condition though and I couldn't​ be more pleased with it.

That's flower piece is really cool. I think it's a wood stove piece of something related. I'm making some brackets to hang this stuff in a display now since I'm out of shelf space. Ha

 

[Gridwalker306]

Dude you are the relic master! Those items are lucky to be found by someone who respects them and treats them right. Excellent job!

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Dude you are the relic master! Those items are lucky to be found by someone who respects them and treats them right. Excellent job!

Thanks a ton man! I appreciate the nice comments. I have more preserved iron than I have display room, so I need to figure something out so I can enjoy these pieces.

 

[btjbtj]

HOLY SMOKES!! It looks like you fit a whole year of detecting into just a short time. Congrats on all these excellent finds. -Lisa & John

 

[OutdoorAdv]

HOLY SMOKES!! It looks like you fit a whole year of detecting into just a short time. Congrats on all these excellent finds. -Lisa & John

Thank you Lisa! Hope you guys are making some good finds at your property

 

[Patriot Relics]

Nice pile of relics Brad and as always the iron came out mesuem quality the cuff links always get my attention, anything on the front?

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Nice pile of relics Brad and as always the iron came out mesuem quality the cuff links always get my attention, anything on the front?

Thanks a ton man! Hope all's well over there man and you're not baking in the sun

The links are a bit toasty, but you can see some stippling around the edges... so they had something on them at one time.



I believe they'll date to the 1790's to early 1800's. Last year I dug some single links that were cast with a beautiful green patina... I'd sure love to find a linked set like those.