Colonial 2 tine bone handle fork, Paste Cufflink and much more...

[OutdoorAdv]

I got out yesterday to do some more sifting and got my best bone handle fork yet Unfortunately it was raining in the morning, so I dug iron targets for a few hours until it stopped raining and I could open up the pit. While digging iron nails, to my surprise, I unmasked the thimble, tombac button, flat button, pewter buckle... and totally randomly found a silver needle in the dirt. Its so small it hardly sets off the pinpointer. I'm not surprised these targets were masked at all... I'm surprised because I often dig nails and usually don't find nearly as many non-ferrous surprises. So I had luck on my side and decided to open a new pit section. The area I opened is an area I had been meaning to sift because it contains mostly Rose Head nails and very few square nails. In contrast, the section of the pit I've been sifting in the past, contains mostly square nails and a few Rose Heads.

The results from yesterday were an incredible 2 tine bone handle fork and a paste cufflink with a checkered silver background and a pewter frame with a drilled shank.... and.... a bunch of rose heads! Also countless pottery and earthenware shards. **The broken bone handle fork was from sifting on Sunday 4/17, along with the brass cufflink and CW Washington Arsenal Bullet. I didn't have much time last Sun, so I opened a small pit section and I didn't get enough to post, so I'm including those few items in this post.**



After 200+ years in the dirt, I gave it a 24 hour preservation transformation! Luckily I have found many iron artifacts with bone handles, so I have honed my preservation process on these sort of items. 1) as dug 2) cleaned with water 3) rubber band the bone and electrolysis overnight 4) Dried and glued broken bone piece and into a mineral oil bath to preserve the bone 5) complete!



This is one of my all time favorite relics now. Very pleased with how it turned out.



I got a lot of nice rose heads that I tumbled over night and hot waxed this morning. A nice thimble turned up and another slate pencil. Also that small brass piece with a point I believe is the tip to a bolo tie string.




I find lots of teeth in the pit and I usually keep them as long as they're not still in the jaw bone. Its a good cross section to what they were eating and I get lots of pigs teeth and tusks. But this tooth\claw is the BIGGEST one that I've ever seen. It has thin walls and is hallow, which makes me think its a claw to something! Also, that pipe bowl fragment has a horse or a deer on it. Too bad it wasnt complete.



And the cufflink streak continues. I think I've dug a cufflink in every hunt for the last 5 hunts. (if you count the King Louis button as a cufflink) Its weird how things like this happen and prior to all these links I would get a toasty one from time to time, but never anything as nice as these. The first pit section I opened yesterday contained not a single non-ferrous item, except for the lone pewter paste cufflink, face down in the hard clay bottom of the pit. Its gotten a bit comical for me at this point, but like the copper streak I was on over the winter, this fun is bound to end! (Brass link was from Sun 4/17)



I was emptying a plug of 5 square nails and I see this thing in the dirt. I couldn't believe it and it appears silver. The pinpinter hardly picks it up and had I not eyeballed it in the dirt, it would have been buried forever.



Evidently I tried to chop this really cool pewter buckle in half. I get very frustrated when I do that, especially to something this nice. Its flaky, so it got an elmers bath. Its small... knee buckle size, but I don't think that's what it is. Not sure what it was used for.



While swinging to clear out more nails yesterday, I came across this stirrup fragment. I really like when they're complete, but there's enough of this one left to get a spot in the case. Also a HUGE hand forged iron spike that turned up. Those made it into the electrolysis batch last night and turned out great.



That pile of nails are the square nails from yesterday. The rose heads were in the first picture. So when I dig nails... I chase them all over. The pottery came from the pit yesterday and were the more colorful pieces that turned up.



(As a side note, I separated all the nails from the three sifting trips prior to this one. In those three trips I excavated a 10x10 foot pit section and I removed 213 square nails and a couple rose heads. I tumble them all and throw them in storage boxes, but I had never counted to see about how many nails I was removing... just that I come home with a LOT of nails every trip. Something to think about next time you get into an iron patch!)

The Civil War bullet from the pit last Sun turned out to be a Washington Arsenal bullet. The first CW bullet I dug was a Washington Arsenal... and this one is my second.



These are some other utensils I've dug at this site. This isn't all of them, but as you guys can see I keep getting broken ones. However I was able to practice preserving them, so I knew just what to do when the one turned up yesterday.



If you made it this far, I'm sorry I know it was a long one, but I was really excited about this fork. Thanks for reading and happy hunting!

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Family Maps of Hinds County, Mississippi, Deluxe Edition - Grab it through Amazon!

[OutdoorAdv]

Thanks a TON everyone for all the great feedback. It means a lot. Once I get to the office in the morning and I'm on a computer, I'll respond to each of you... too much to type on my phone! I wanted to answer Joey's preservation questions now though.

Great job Brad. Did you just air dry the fork or did you oven dry it? I'm very intrigued

Thanks a ton man! Typically my iron goes straight from electrolysis, into a boiling wax bath on a Coleman stove in my driveway. My neighbors probably think I cook meth out there on the weekends by now The wax dries and seals it at once. I've boiled bone handles before, but I wouldn't dare with this one. So to dry the iron tines I hit it with my mapp gas torch just to heat it up to melt a piece of wax on the iron. So the iron is waxed and torch dried.

I dried the bone handle by putting it about 6" from my halogen desk lamp in my office at home for about 45 minutes. It was plenty dry to glue the bone chip back on, but I'm sure it will dry out more and I'll keep and eye on it as it does.

Also, why did you choose mineral oil? Would a polyurethane work on bone??

I dug a bone toothbrush last summer and as it dried out, the bone got pale and started to split. Googling lead me to a knife forum where a bunch of people said they condition their old bone handle knives with mineral oil. They also advised that the mineral oil will darken the bone... and it does. So for anyone trying that, know the bone will turn out darker. Here is that bone toothbrush with before and after shots of the mineral oil
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/t...brush-41-buttons-much-more-3.html#post4680737

That toothbrush is still looking awesome today too and it's been sitting in the case for 7 months now.

I've actually used mineral oil to preserve wood I dig. Part of a musket stock in a forend cap was left and brittle, flaking away. Mineral oil gave it enough moisture to stay together. I also used it on that heart inlay utensil (last photo) wood handle which was also VERY brittle.

Haven't tried polyurethane yet. It'd probably be great for wood and I bet it'd work on bone too. The oil is absorbed and really conditions it though.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges - Grab it through Amazon!

[Patriot Relics]

Outstanding preservation work Brad, that colonial cutlery came out killer. The assortment of other relics, particularly the cuff, are just icing on the cake. Congrats bud

 

[CASPER-2]

people don't know just how rare those forks are - the grade of metal was so low that they never survive
lucky to get what you got

 

[Fletch88]

Those are an awesome group of relics. Congrats

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Hey buddy, As fantastic as your finds always are your commitment to preserving these amazing items is what impresses me most. You truly love and appreciate every piece you find. You treat every piece with a high level of respect. I am one that understands the time commitment that takes. It's a huge process and undertaking. When you work and have a family that's not an easy thing pull off. That fork is amazing!!!! The links are always a favorite of mine and you are the link king lately. I may need you or Bill or Joey to come up here and help me dig some of these early 1600s pits that I know are at some of my sites. It would be a blast and a real pleasure.
Keep doing what you do buddy. People like you are great for this hobby. Your passion shines through and I for one am a huge fan!!!!

Thanks a ton buddy! I really appreciate you saying that. Personal items that someone used, like this fork, are amazing to me. Since we're all addicted to the same thing... history... I think we can all relate to that feeling of really appreciating a piece of history like that. I thoroughly enjoy the preservation process and I preserve more iron that I will ever have room to display. haha Its cool to see the end product knowing that its stabilized and displayable. I'm totally down for a sifting trip man... we can piggyback it on one of my CT weeks.

Wow! That is an awesome relic. You did an awesome job preserving it! Those are some nice buttons too. The Bone handle though looks really nice.

Thank you Kevlardini! It turned out better than I imagined.

Brad, watching this unfold through your texts and come to fruition is an amazing experience. I know you've been really chomping at the bit for a complete utensil so I'm so happy you finally did it. And the restoration is top bloody notch brother.

Abe stole my thought, but screw that, I'll say it again. Your appreciation for old relics is inspirational - Right down to the nails! You're an asset to the hobby and only shine a good light on what we all do. Congrats on the fork, now I dare you to take a bite of something with it! Lol

Cheers

Steve

Thanks a ton dude! "inspirational - Right down to the nails"... people might call preserving all the nails psychotic haha I agree tho man... even the nails are cool to me and I only tumble them all because its easier to spot the rose heads after they're all clean... and I can never find enough rose heads! I have a wire basket I dump them all in after tumbling, to go into the boiling wax, so its really not much work at all. I'm so glad I decided to open that second pit section where that fork was and it makes it even more fun to share it real time with friends who really appreciate this stuff. Thanks again man.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Nice digs man
Cool Fork and i really like that cufflink.I wonder if that needle is a type of Colonial Bodkin?

~Blaze

Thanks a ton JB! That paste cufflink is the first of that type I've found. I see people post them on here from time to time, but never imagined one would turn up. Bill actually mentioned a bodkin needle, but in the context that it doesn't appear to be one. I googled them since I don't know what a bodkin needle is. haha I didn't see any that looked similar and mine looks like its just a pin to clip things together while they sew.... so I think its just a basic pin, but I'm pretty sure its silver. I actually dug this iron knitting or crochet needle there last fall. Also a cool relic to me since it was probably used to make some clothing that the people wore who lived there.

Very nice group of finds man!

Thanks a ton Dan! It was a great time and perfect sifting weather... after the rain stopped. ha

that fork is one of the coolest finds I've seen in my brief time on t-net. Really neat!

Thank you Murray8144! I really appreciate that everyone likes that fork as much as I do. After digging a dozen or so broken ones it was so nice to find one that was mostly complete.

 

[ARC]

Great 1700's fork man.
Killer.
Wd.

 

[doninbrewster]

Great finds and a really nice job on the preservation. I've been detecting for more than 35 years, but haven't done any pit digging. Thank's for sharing your finds and preservation process. Very interesting for all of us.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Absolutely fantastic write up, you and I think alike. I aspire to be like you in how you think through this hobby!!! You have gone above and beyond in your preservation efforts and I really love reading your posts. Keep it up and HH my friend!

Thanks a ton dude! I really appreciate that great compliment. You also write killer posts and as you know it takes a bit of effort, but its all worth it when we get to share and learn from each others finds. If you ever dig anything you want help preserving let me know. I'd be more than happy to zap something for you if you don't already have an electrolysis setup.

cools finds ! your right pit digging is tough only dug a few myself but had one of the best days detecting ever doing it found 2 coppers in great shape in the pit 1737 and 1743 in the trash now how did that happen? that is some great work your doing!

Thanks calabash digger! Surprise coppers in the pit are the best No clue how it happens, but as I understand, some trash was just tossed into the yard and walked over as it worked its way into the ground. SO perhaps the coins get lost as they normally do and it happens to be in the pit area. I lost track of the number of coins I've dug in this pit area... not all were masked, so I got them the normal way, but 5 coppers I can think of off the top of my head were completely masked and I recovered them sifting... including two 1773 VA Half Pennies and a few large cents. There's nothing like shoveling dirt out and getting a sweet high tone in the pile.

Outstanding preservation work Brad, that colonial cutlery came out killer. The assortment of other relics, particularly the cuff, are just icing on the cake. Congrats bud

Thanks a ton VMI Digger! Once again, Its so awesome that everyone likes the fork so much. And the link was totally icing on the cake.

people don't know just how rare those forks are - the grade of metal was so low that they never survive
lucky to get what you got
View attachment 1304301

Thank you Casper! You're totally right.... this fork had a lot of things against it... first it was discarded mostly intact and somehow managed to be in a section of the pit where it drained well enough to not destroy the bone (most of them I find have brittle bone from sitting in the clay layer). The last obstacle was me... I cut the pit wall inches from the bone handle and it was actually in the outside wall of the pit. Had I randomly cut the sod a few inches over, I would have chopped it in half. I found it running the pinpointer over the wall and removing the nails, right before I filled the pit back in. It was a great surprise to remove that "nail" and see a bone handle instead. Makes the hours of nail removal totally worth it

Those are an awesome group of relics. Congrats

Thank you Fletch88!

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Great 1700's fork man.
Killer.
Wd.

Thanks a ton AARC!

Great finds and a really nice job on the preservation. I've been detecting for more than 35 years, but haven't done any pit digging. Thank's for sharing your finds and preservation process. Very interesting for all of us.

Thanks Don! I'm fairly new to pit digging as well and found its more fun that detecting when the pit is producing. I've been fortunate enough to find many mixed material iron objects in the last year which gave me an opportunity to really figure out how to preserve them. The hardest part about bone and wood handles is the piece of iron down the middle of them... as it dries out and oxidizes more, the iron expands and causes the bone to begin to separate. I have an electrolysis post in the preservation section that sort of touched on preserving mixed material items.... maybe at some point I'll do a proper write up on that to share what I've learned so far for whoever is interested.

 

[treblehunter]

Very interesting, Those finds are cool. I have a cellar hole or two that would be fun to sift. This summer there is a spot close to my house where I'll be set up by the water for sifting, my target/goal will be Indian (Lenape) artifacts.
Maybe you might want to come and help?

 

[46Wheat]

I have to say your post and collection of finds from your sifting of that trash pit has inspired me to build a sifter of my own and trying to sift a pit i found last year at a tavern located on a wagon road from the early 1700s. When i was there last year on the bank behind the tavern i found about 200 doz freshwater clam shells right on top of the ground .

 

[DownNDirty]

Looks like you had another fun & very productive sifting excursion. That fork is KILLER-thanks for posting pictures after each step of the preservation process and sharing your method; that is very helpful. The horse might possibly be the unicorn in the British coat of arms but it's hard to tell. I found part of a pipe bowl last year with the coat of arms on it.

 

[Palmetto]

Excellent. Really like seeing the iron relics like that come out and preserved. Great job on the restoration.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Very interesting, Those finds are cool. I have a cellar hole or two that would be fun to sift. This summer there is a spot close to my house where I'll be set up by the water for sifting, my target/goal will be Indian (Lenape) artifacts.
Maybe you might want to come and help?

Thanks a ton Brad! I have yet to find and Indian artifact, however I know of a spot very close by that would have a very high probability of producing some. I think it'd be really cool to find something like that. I'm always up for a trip, its the 'free time' part that I'm seriously lacking and its really inhibiting getting into new spots Definitely keep my posted though and hopefully we can work something out.

I have to say your post and collection of finds from your sifting of that trash pit has inspired me to build a sifter of my own and trying to sift a pit i found last year at a tavern located on a wagon road from the early 1700s. When i was there last year on the bank behind the tavern i found about 200 doz freshwater clam shells right on top of the ground .

That's awesome news! What you described sounds like a perfect spot. I can only imagine what would come out of a tavern site pit as I hear those are some of the most productive pits you can find. Really looking forward to seeing some posts if you get into it... use 1/2" screen btw... 1/4" is way too small and will be very tough to get anything through it. Good luck man!

Looks like you had another fun & very productive sifting excursion. That fork is KILLER-thanks for posting pictures after each step of the preservation process and sharing your method; that is very helpful. The horse might possibly be the unicorn in the British coat of arms but it's hard to tell. I found part of a pipe bowl last year with the coat of arms on it.

Thanks a ton man! The two sections I did on Sat weren't the most productive, but each section yielded a quality relic each... the fork and the link. I will absolutely be expanding that area though. Its close to where the War of 1812 bayonet came from and some other very well preserved iron. So it looks like this section is well draining and kind to the iron. Interesting idea on the pipe bowl... I'll have to google around this week and see if I can find something similar.

Excellent. Really like seeing the iron relics like that come out and preserved. Great job on the restoration.

Thank you Palmetto! I used to rush to get my post in "today" for "todays finds", but the reality is that I'm exhausted after a day in the field and my posts take a couple hours to put together after pictures, editing and writing. Since iron is some of my favorite to preserve, I started to put stuff in electrolysis when I got home and do the post the following day. That way people can enjoy the iron once its clean and I can rest up! ha

 

[Carolina Tom]

Very nice stuff as usual Brad. The fork is really nice... but those cuff links interest me quite a bit. You have done so well with lately.

Best of luck to you in your endeavors sir!

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Very nice stuff as usual Brad. The fork is really nice... but those cuff links interest me quite a bit. You have done so well with lately.

Best of luck to you in your endeavors sir!

Thanks a ton Tom. That fork turned out awesome and I couldn't be happier with it. When I saw that paste link in the pit I actually said "you have to be kidding me" to it before I picked it up. Although the fake real links were not in the pit, and the Louis one might be a button... if I were to call them all links, its a 5 hunt streak at this site that has produced one. I just grabbed them from my posts on here and put them all together in a image. When I get home this weekend, I'll get a proper picture of them all in the display together. Prior to these, this site turned up 2 other oval links in the last year, but they are very toasted and thin... one of the toasty ones has a flower on it it appears. These things are really cool!



That doesn't include the pillars and globe link that I dug at a different site a couple months ago.

Edit: BTW, I hunt in 18khz almost always... it really locks onto the small stuff.

 

[metalev4]

A really fine restoration job Brad, I'm motivated now to do more with the bone items I have dug. Overall a fine hunt. Perseverance pays off in this hobby. Every time you find something in the hard pan it reminds me of all the relics I left behind before figuring that out. Oh well... Live and learn.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

A really fine restoration job Brad, I'm motivated now to do more with the bone items I have dug. Overall a fine hunt. Perseverance pays off in this hobby. Every time you find something in the hard pan it reminds me of all the relics I left behind before figuring that out. Oh well... Live and learn.

Thanks Evan! I sure do appreciate that tip and it's really paying off. I've been removing nails in the hard packed bottom with my pinpointer now. That's actually how I found the fork in the side wall. I know I also left a lot behind and was just thinking that I'm going to reopen the section that had the 2 VA half pennies in it to properly empty the bottom... but I don't have time to redo all the rest from last summer. If you do work on the bone items shoot me a picture. Would really like to see them. Thanks again man.

 

[Gaspipe]

Great finds and great post..... never apologize on the length ; it was fun to read.