Anyone lost a pick-axe looking for treasure?

yaxthri

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Nov 17, 2010
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I don't know if you know this feeling, too... you go out just to take a walk on the beach and you end up losing the point of the whole concept of taking a relaxed walk on the beach... Everytime it turns into a ''hunting excursion''...

So, yesterday I had some free time, my kid was at the day care for the last time before Christmas, my wife was at work so I wanted to treat myself to a nice, long, relaxed walk on a nearby sandy beach. I picked up an espresso ice coffee from a surf bar and started walking. A stiff cold breeze was up, just a couple of surfers out on the sea criss crossing, the beach was clean from washed up wood and trash so not really much to go through -supposing I would want to beachcomb a little, but I didn't- the ideal conditions for a relaxed strawl, right?
No... of course not... I caught myself not being able to get my eyes off the sand to take in the nice view. Or admire the low waves. Noooo, I was right there looking for stuff blown free from the sand, having been lost by someone beign on that beach before me. It's a disease I tell you, a hopeless situation!

Well, having to live with this affliction I found some lose change, cents, euros, some old drachmas, a badly toasted aluminum coin from the '50s, ice but nothing really exciting. After an hour I completed the available beachline so I started to walk back to the car. I took a slightly different path that led me at one point clos to some short trees where swimmers usually it in Summer and there I found this pick-axe head just lying around, dug up by the surf and wind, covered with a thick sand/rust crust. It was really heavy when I picked it up and I thought it looked promising so why not take t with me.

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Arriving at home I took a couple of hammers and knocked it free from the sandy crust. A lot of good metal was still under it. 2,5 kilos of steel of the original tool remain, it looks useable, has some nice pitting from the corrosion. No way of telling how old it is, I have no idea how it ended up burried in the sand, but I don't think a pirate lost it hiding his treasure, hahaha! But that would have been a nice story to write about.

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I have a thick handle for it that in my workshop that will fit, so this pick-axe will be soon ready for treasure hunting again!! An early gift for me from the beach, raised by the waves and wind, I'm glad I went out :-)

Merry Christmas everyone, happy hunting!
 

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dognose

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Apr 15, 2009
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It looks nice. How did you get it to look so well, besides hitting it with a hammer to loosen the crust?

I find old horseshoes and an occasional metal axe in fields where old farms used to be.

Thanks for sharing the story, its nice.

Merry Christmas
 

sandchip

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Oct 29, 2010
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Judging from the shape of the handle hole and mattock end, it looks pretty early to me. Great find in my book. I'd take that one over anything on the market today.
 

jewelerguy

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it wasn't me. those things are too much work. It sure cleaned up nice!
 

Almy

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It has an artistic shape. I have found iron tools and other artifacts that have the look of being made by artists rather than utilitarians. They work great but are also a pleasure to look at.
 

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yaxthri

yaxthri

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Nov 17, 2010
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It looks nice. How did you get it to look so well, besides hitting it with a hammer to loosen the crust?

I find old horseshoes and an occasional metal axe in fields where old farms used to be.

Thanks for sharing the story, its nice.

Merry Christmas
IOnly a couple of hammers, one big one smaller and then I used a wire brush to get off the blask iron oxyde. My theory is someone lost it right on the beach near to the water or even burried it in wet low oxygen sand. So the metal rusted really fast and the sea salt and sand formed this compact crusty ''armour'' around it that stopped further destructive corrosion... Hmmm, my theory has some holes in it now that I think about it...
 

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