Attempt at a homemade bullet?

[mile-ender]

Hunting my regular site yesterday and dug this up....3.5cm length, irregular base (slightly oval) approx. 8mm diameter. Any ideas?

 

[johnnyi]

mile-ender, it seems possible that it could be a crudely made bullet. Here's one very similar crude attempt (55 caliber , probably for 57 cal musket) which I found in an arrowhead field devoid of any other signals.

 

[Silver Searcher]

I was wondering if it could be a Lead Stylus Slate Pencil :P

SS

 

[johnnyi]

Ha! you're right silver searcher. I never quite caught on to converting centimeters to inches

 

[Silver Searcher]

Ha! you're right silver searcher. I never quite caught on to converting centimeters to inches

What's centimeters

 

[mile-ender]

Great call guys! Thanks! I love the fact that the time was taken to make it look as nice as it does. Too bad these things can't really be dated.

 

[Silver Searcher]

Great call guys! Thanks! I love the fact that the time was taken to make it look as nice as it does. Too bad these things can't really be dated.

Lead Stylus Pencils date right back to the Roman times and have been used right up to and past the post Medieval period, 1600s, I would have thought that they would have been used on your Colonial sites over there

SS

 

[Silver Searcher]

Great call guys! Thanks! I love the fact that the time was taken to make it look as nice as it does. Too bad these things can't really be dated.

Lead Stylus Pencils date right back to the Roman times and have been used right up to and past the post Medieval period, 1600s, I would have thought that they would have been used on your Colonial sites over there

SS

i don't think it's that old, SS, they were used as a crude writing pencil in the 17 and 1800s here. If you take a piece of lead, and scrape it on paper, while not as effective as graphite, it will work. It was a kinda "homemade" thing.
COMMERCIAL pencils were pretty much what you would have expected, usually encased in cedar:
http://www.historicalfolktoys.com/catcont/1004.html

..Good link

SS

 

[johnnyi]

mile-ender, now that we know what it is, there are a couple things kind of curious about it which might tell some story; the groove close to the point, and the splayed out base.

Perhaps this was used as a compass to draw large circles? The groove might explain a first attempt to use twine. If that proved too difficult, it might have been driven through a hole in a slat of wood for something easier to use, which might explain the mushrooming at the base? (perhaps something a boat builder may have used)

 

[Woodland Detectors]

I was wondering if it could be a Lead Stylus Slate Pencil :P

SS

DAMN you!! beat me. ;-(

I was looking for a pic, lol..


I'm going to have to WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with Silver Searcher on this one...



Homemade stylus...

However I think for writing on paper as opposed to slate.

You'll have to be quicker around here Randy. Cool find

 

[vayank54]

Great call guys! Thanks! I love the fact that the time was taken to make it look as nice as it does. Too bad these things can't really be dated.

Lead Stylus Pencils date right back to the Roman times and have been used right up to and past the post Medieval period, 1600s, I would have thought that they would have been used on your Colonial sites over there

SS

We find them in colonial and civil war sites in Virginia. Most aren't made as nice as that though.

 

[rjw4law]

I guess when you lost your mold, you improvise.

 

[mile-ender]

mile-ender, now that we know what it is, there are a couple things kind of curious about it which might tell some story; the groove close to the point, and the splayed out base.

Perhaps this was used as a compass to draw large circles? The groove might explain a first attempt to use twine. If that proved too difficult, it might have been driven through a hole in a slat of wood for something easier to use, which might explain the mushrooming at the base? (perhaps something a boat builder may have used)

The scenarios could be endless.... I lot of my digging is done just off of what's been a principal road for some time. I've gotten some really interesting pieces from the area. Check my little map marker on my profile and it'll give you an idea of the spaces I work in.