Well I'm sure no one remembers me but my last post here was about my first time metal detecting. I'm the quintessential newbie, roaming around the hills of an old, abandoned coal mining town, armed with a Harbor Freight metal detector and a gardening shovel. My first time was really a great experience, and I've been out several times since then. I'm still learning the ropes though, which has led to some real bloopers out in the field.
For example, on a recent expedition, I got a hit on my way back to the house. I decided to investigate it a bit further, and judging by the signals I was getting, it seemed to be about two feet long the way it sat under the soil. I jammed the shovel into the dirt, took out a scoop, and ran the detector over the pile. Nothing. Undeterred, I took another scoop, a bit muddier this time. Skunked again. I repeated the process over and over, hitting the water table at about 6 inches deep. At about 8 inches in, I started to figure out where the hit was, and by golly, it was something big. I had to dig to about a foot deep to get some leverage underneath the object, when I realized I was uncovering a rusty, iron wheel of some sort. It was attached to some kind of frame too, which explained the length. At this point though, whether or not I was standing on terra firma or inside an aquifer was becoming a bit.. questionable. So, I heaved with all my might against the vacuum pressure of the mud, and obtained my wheel and frame -- let me tell you folks, I was excited beyond belief because I was sure I had found part of an old mining cart. The wet clay and rock slurry made the load rather heavy, but I carried it about a quarter of a mile to home base and started hosing it down. As I started to get it rinsed down and the wheel was becoming visible, a relative came outside and, knowing that I had been digging up buried treasure, announced "hey, I know EXACTLY what that is!" And in the sentence that would ruin my day, snorting and laughing, he revealed, "it's the front end of a kid's tricycle!"
So it was.
Since then, I decided to take a scientific approach to the site. I created a 3D, topographic map that allows me to switch between views of the area in 1905 and 2014. I now know the approximate GPS coordinates of every house, business, and roadway that were in the old camp. Today, I got to put that research to the test for the first time. I had 45 minutes to run out there and find something good. When I got to my target area, I immediately started getting hits all over the place. And I found pieces of pottery, lumps of coal, a gear from the inside of an old clock, a clay marble, and then, the subject of this post: a strange folding knife.
Now sadly, I didn't have time to take my own pictures before I had to shove off to other parts for a bit. So here I sit, and my only pictures came from someone's cell phone text-message. They're not very good, so I'll probably post some better ones tomorrow.
In the meantime though, can anyone tell me anything about this rusty folding knife? What is the deal with the raised part on the back of the handle?
Hope all is well with the rest of you hunters. I can't wait to get back out to the site and resume my map-guided search.
For example, on a recent expedition, I got a hit on my way back to the house. I decided to investigate it a bit further, and judging by the signals I was getting, it seemed to be about two feet long the way it sat under the soil. I jammed the shovel into the dirt, took out a scoop, and ran the detector over the pile. Nothing. Undeterred, I took another scoop, a bit muddier this time. Skunked again. I repeated the process over and over, hitting the water table at about 6 inches deep. At about 8 inches in, I started to figure out where the hit was, and by golly, it was something big. I had to dig to about a foot deep to get some leverage underneath the object, when I realized I was uncovering a rusty, iron wheel of some sort. It was attached to some kind of frame too, which explained the length. At this point though, whether or not I was standing on terra firma or inside an aquifer was becoming a bit.. questionable. So, I heaved with all my might against the vacuum pressure of the mud, and obtained my wheel and frame -- let me tell you folks, I was excited beyond belief because I was sure I had found part of an old mining cart. The wet clay and rock slurry made the load rather heavy, but I carried it about a quarter of a mile to home base and started hosing it down. As I started to get it rinsed down and the wheel was becoming visible, a relative came outside and, knowing that I had been digging up buried treasure, announced "hey, I know EXACTLY what that is!" And in the sentence that would ruin my day, snorting and laughing, he revealed, "it's the front end of a kid's tricycle!"
So it was.
Since then, I decided to take a scientific approach to the site. I created a 3D, topographic map that allows me to switch between views of the area in 1905 and 2014. I now know the approximate GPS coordinates of every house, business, and roadway that were in the old camp. Today, I got to put that research to the test for the first time. I had 45 minutes to run out there and find something good. When I got to my target area, I immediately started getting hits all over the place. And I found pieces of pottery, lumps of coal, a gear from the inside of an old clock, a clay marble, and then, the subject of this post: a strange folding knife.
Now sadly, I didn't have time to take my own pictures before I had to shove off to other parts for a bit. So here I sit, and my only pictures came from someone's cell phone text-message. They're not very good, so I'll probably post some better ones tomorrow.
In the meantime though, can anyone tell me anything about this rusty folding knife? What is the deal with the raised part on the back of the handle?
Hope all is well with the rest of you hunters. I can't wait to get back out to the site and resume my map-guided search.
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