J hook?

[Older The Better]

Hi guys I don’t have much chance to make it over to this forum since I hunt a small little piece of land in se Kansas that was settled after the civil war. I’ve got a site I suspect is a house or structure belonging to a civil war veteran. I recently found an 1869 penny. I have a shield nickel without a visible date, I’ve found a civil war cavalry button and what cannonball guy once id’d as a part of an artillery shell…. Other items include stove parts, a thimble, possibly part of an octagon barrel, a sad iron, and a spoon handle… anyway I found this today and I’m excited but cautious. I think it looks great for a j hook but I thought I’d ask people that probably know better, I don’t see any reeding on the side and no words on it like I’d expect on a wick turner. there is a mold seam and maaaaybe a star on the shaft… I’m hoping for some good news but I wouldn’t be surprised if a j hook is commonly misidentified… for what it’s worth Kansas farm field, so I don’t think it be a brass nail from a boat or anything like that. Biggest thing I don’t like is it seems short if it had been straightened out.

 

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[pepperj]

I would probably think either a wick turner on a lantern.
A roofing nail for a slate roof.
These are what I thinking are J hook/hangers.

 

[releventchair]

looking like roofing/siding nail to me too.
It risks damaging it and I wouldn't test it but it should be a soft washer. Some were lead I believe. Something with a little more resiliency would be nice. But lead was certainly used for some. Maybe for a lot!
How many uses would there be for such a fastener?
(Kinda depends on who needed what and what was available...)

 

[Older The Better]

I’m pretty confident it’s not a nail. It’s solid brass, and the top is very thick for a nail, other nails at the site have all been square nails. In a time of sod houses and log cabins on homestead land I can’t imagine any slate roofs, but not impossible. I still wonder about a wick turner but I think it matches these much better.

 

[robertk]

I'd go with lamp wick turner. The photos of the J-hook look like the disc is much thinner and "button-like", where the disc on your item is thicker and more "knob-like".

 

[Older The Better]

I noticed that too, I hope I don’t sound argumentative, just have some reservations about a wick turner too, you would think the edge would be reeded, there would be a makers mark front or back and all the other wick turners I’ve found in other spots are all thin unlike this one . Also the end seems rounded off and if complete seems short for a wick turner… but on the flip side there’s probably thousands of styles of wick turners could just be one I haven’t seen… on the other hand there seems to be several different styles of j hooks too.

For what it’s worth I worked it over with a toothpick and water for a while, it worked to pull out the detail from the 1869 penny, so I’m thinking there’s no markings but maybe I haven’t worked hard enough.

I Appreciate those that are looking and I do value the opinions and knowledge. I hope I’m not coming across as stubborn and seeing what I want to see

 

[bottlecap4u]

Found a couple of these recently at 1800s homestead sites, ornate oil lamp wick turners (or oil pump knob/rod) w/out patents on them. Types I've found online with dual knobs (not for dual wick turners) sometimes have a turner (w/reeded side and patent date) and a separate decorative knob like this one (no patent/no reeded side) which I suspect (as it wasn't reeded) was used for the pump. So not all dual knob lamps have dual wick turners, some dual knobs are for a single wick but have one for pumping oil, the other as a wick turner (reeded side). The ornate knob item below, I believe is for the pump and suspect yours might be the same?

 

[Older The Better]

Lamp wick it is! I had some time so I went back to the tooth pick, letters started to slowly appear so I felt it safe to get a brass brush not military but still right era and dateable, I’m still very happy with it, another bit of evidence to confirm my suspicion there was a very early (for the area) structure there… now the question why build in a flood plain

 

[Davers]

Hi guys I don’t have much chance to make it over to this forum since I hunt a small little piece of land in se Kansas that was settled after the civil war. I’ve got a site I suspect is a house or structure belonging to a civil war veteran. I recently found an 1869 penny. I have a shield nickel without a visible date, I’ve found a civil war cavalry button and what cannonball guy once id’d as a part of an artillery shell…. Other items include stove parts, a thimble, possibly part of an octagon barrel, a sad iron, and a spoon handle… anyway I found this today and I’m excited but cautious. I think it looks great for a j hook but I thought I’d ask people that probably know better, I don’t see any reeding on the side and no words on it like I’d expect on a wick turner. there is a mold seam and maaaaybe a star on the shaft… I’m hoping for some good news but I wouldn’t be surprised if a j hook is commonly misidentified… for what it’s worth Kansas farm field, so I don’t think it be a brass nail from a boat or anything like that. Biggest thing I don’t like is it seems short if it had been straightened out. View attachment 2132595 View attachment 2132596 View attachment 2132597 View attachment 2132598 View attachment 2132599 View attachment 2132600 View attachment 2132601 View attachment 2132602 View attachment 2132603 View attachment 2132604

Without reading any reply's ; Ill guess it's indeed a Wick Turner , I could be wrong .

I love finding old Wick turners .

God Bless & Good Luck in the future .

 

[Davers]

Lamp wick it is! I had some time so I went back to the tooth pick, letters started to slowly appear so I felt it safe to get a brass brush not military but still right era and dateable, I’m still very happy with it, another bit of evidence to confirm my suspicion there was a very early (for the area) structure there… now the question why build in a flood plain
View attachment 2132726 View attachment 2132725 View attachment 2132723 View attachment 2132724 View attachment 2132727

Great work cleaning & research .

 

[Older The Better]

Here’s a few more clear pictures

 

[detectorcowboy]

looking like roofing/siding nail to me too.
It risks damaging it and I wouldn't test it but it should be a soft washer. Some were lead I believe. Something with a little more resiliency would be nice. But lead was certainly used for some. Maybe for a lot!
How many uses would there be for such a fastener?
(Kinda depends on who needed what and what was available...)

Yes. the lead was used to seal the nail hole.