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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[joeyfresh]

That's a boat load of buttons and I love the DB LC. My fav of the thousand relics posted is the shovel. I dug a shovel with wood still in it one time, tucked it away to get before I left but never went back to get it. After seeing yours cleaned up, I wished it had. I'll have to pick your brain some time ragarding your wax process. Great preservation as usual B-rad. Midge

 

[JackalopeZL1]

Nice Going! Tons of great finds!

 

[CASPER-2]

 

[vpnavy]

..: NICE FINDS OutdoorAdv :..​

 

[trapperart]

Congrats on a great assortment of finds and thanks for sharing

 

[cologneman]

Awesome finds and thanks for displaying!

 

[Stef45]

Just great work! Great write up as well. Always nice seeing all that iron cleaned up so perfect. Nice work!

 

[Bill D. (VA)]

The more I see your iron preservation work the more I'm impressed Brad. As with Joey, I'm gonna have to get some pointers from you on the wax method. Can we get a group training rate ? I know you made some nice non-ferrous finds, but I keep wanting to gravitate back to the iron. Those are some very interesting looking hoes, and I love that spade. I've only recovered one complete example in 20+ years so I know how hard they are to come by. Looks like you need to keep hitting that site. With all that iron there has to be a nice pit or two lurking nearby, and then you can get back to your 2nd favorite pastime - sifting. Another outstanding and informative post ....

 

[Steve in PA]

That's a nice haul of relics and coins Brad. You must put a ton of time in on the iron, but the results speak for themselves.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

That's a boat load of buttons and I love the DB LC. My fav of the thousand relics posted is the shovel. I dug a shovel with wood still in it one time, tucked it away to get before I left but never went back to get it. After seeing yours cleaned up, I wished it had. I'll have to pick your brain some time ragarding your wax process. Great preservation as usual B-rad. Midge

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.

The more I see your iron preservation work the more I'm impressed Brad. As with Joey, I'm gonna have to get some pointers from you on the wax method. Can we get a group training rate ? I know you made some nice non-ferrous finds, but I keep wanting to gravitate back to the iron. Those are some very interesting looking hoes, and I love that spade. I've only recovered one complete example in 20+ years so I know how hard they are to come by. Looks like you need to keep hitting that site. With all that iron there has to be a nice pit or two lurking nearby, and then you can get back to your 2nd favorite pastime - sifting. Another outstanding and informative post ....

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.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Nice Going! Tons of great finds!

Thanks man! Keep killing it out on the West Coast... looking forward to your next post.

View attachment 1450584

Thanks man!

..: NICE FINDS OutdoorAdv :..​

Thank you vpnavy!

Congrats on a great assortment of finds and thanks for sharing

Thank you Art!

Awesome finds and thanks for displaying!

Thanks cologneman!

Just great work! Great write up as well. Always nice seeing all that iron cleaned up so perfect. Nice work!

Thanks man! Now I have to find a spot to display this iron... I'm out of room. ha

That's a nice haul of relics and coins Brad. You must put a ton of time in on the iron, but the results speak for themselves.

Thanks a ton Steve! It does take some time, especially those big pieces... My carbon anodes are always running at their max efficiency because they don't corrode at all. That helps a TON! Back when I was using iron anodes and had to keep cleaning them, processing this much iron would have taken me a month or more.

 

[port ewen ace]

think I just wet myself


quality hunt forkin' around with them hoes & you got a lotta balls, especially showing those 3 captured Eagles, now_____buckle up and go dig some clad like the rest of us

 

[OutdoorAdv]

think I just wet myself


quality hunt forkin' around with them hoes & you got a lotta balls, especially showing those 3 captured Eagles, now_____buckle up and go dig some clad like the rest of us

Hahaha. Thanks a ton man. I don't dig too many musket balls, but those all came in a streak of good signals and they were scattered about... I really enjoy finding them. I've only dug one fat IHP for those 3 eagles . When a fat one come out of the dirt, I'm always hoping it's a IHP, but there keeps being damn eagles on them. Haha. I'm not immune to clad... It shows up. Ha

 

[Z.K.]

Super post as usual. Tough to call my favorites of the bunch, but the floral cast piece (would that have adorned a mantelpiece?), spade blade, and those cufflinks I spy really pop out...the latter in part because I've never dug one, let alone a set.

Congrats on your first curry comb and going from a pair to a flock of eagles!

 

[pepperj]

I'm not going to rush through your reply to Bill on the preservation method. I'm in the midst of the house renovation project, so like always your posts keep me inspired ​to get finished so I can play with hunting and working with the iron. Thanks again for your time, in doing yet another great show and tell.

 

[joeyfresh]

Nice write up on your wax process. Why do people use paraffin over candle wax when it seems that cheap candle wax does the trick?

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Nice write up on your wax process. Why do people use paraffin over candle wax when it seems that cheap candle wax does the trick?

Honestly, I'm not sure. Candles are made from paraffin wax. Perhaps people use paraffin to not have color or scent. But it's more expensive than just buying an bunch of cheap unscented candles. Some people also use microcrystalline wax, but that's even more expensive... I've hot waxed 1000's of nails and 100's of electrolysis preserved iron pieces over the last few years and they've held up awesome. I have had to reboil some of my earlier pieces because I didn't leave them in the wax long enough the first time as I was learning the process. If you take them out too early, they'll discolor around the pores of the iron after a year or so because they weren't properly dried and sealed. Reboiling them fixes this. That's why I leave them sitting​ in the wax for 10 min or so after boiling to ensure they're properly dried and sealed now.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Super post as usual. Tough to call my favorites of the bunch, but the floral cast piece (would that have adorned a mantelpiece?), spade blade, and those cufflinks I spy really pop out...the latter in part because I've never dug one, let alone a set.

Congrats on your first curry comb and going from a pair to a flock of eagles!

Thanks a ton man! I've been looking at that piece of cast iron and trying to figure out what it was. I was thinking mantle or large wood stove too... or something like that. Its broken in half, but there are two bolt holes on one side. One hole has a bolt in it with a square nut on it... so It's got some age to it for sure. Not sure if you remember, but last year I got on a freaken cufflink streak on my sifting trips... I ended up with something like 17 links from my main site, with a linked set (my first). Funny how that happens. This was my second complete linked set and I was really hopeful they weren't toasted, but they are. Hope you get one soon. I run my Deus in a higher frequency (18khz) that hits better on smaller targets, so perhaps that's why I keep finding them.

I'm not going to rush through your reply to Bill on the preservation method. I'm in the midst of the house renovation project, so like always your posts keep me inspired ​to get finished so I can play with hunting and working with the iron. Thanks again for your time, in doing yet another great show and tell.

Thanks a lot man! As I was writing Bill and Joey about the hot wax thing, I realized how insanely long it was... so I always appreciate anyone taking the time to read it. I did a lot of detecting in 2016 and I've been doing mostly house projects in 2017... all the projects I put off last year, I'm paying for now. haha But I have gotten out a few times, just not as much as I'd like. So I feel your pain on the renovation you're in the middle of.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

*duplicate post*