Colonial Iron - Iron shoe buckle and More thanks to OutdoorAdv

[Scrappy]

For all you colonial Nuts, here's some good stuff....

I've been collecting iron and finally got around to sending some down to my buddy Brad. What I received back blew my mind...

First up was a stove leg found at a school site, built in 1786. The schoolhouse itself was one room, approximately 20x20 and was at that time built in the middle of nowhere. The small community the school serviced was built to repair and supply whaling ships at anchorage.

Next is an axe head I found in a civil war camp. I found this very close to a US cartridge box plate I also snagged that day.


My favorite find was an iron shoe buckle found at the virgin colonial site the me and the rest of the Basstards of Bramble detected in April. Here's a before



And after...

Absolutely beautiful. When Brad did electrolysis on the buckle, he realized it had a pewter finish on the front. It was super difficult to work with but holy ****it looks great!!!

I noticed the box he sent back as heavier than the one I sent, and realized Brad was kind enough to include some great stuff as a gift.


Here's the big ones together...


The horseshoe is likely colonial to early 1800's based on Brad's other finds on that site.

The nail piles, left to right:

Rose heads ~late 1700's

Type A cut nail ~1790-1820

Type B cut nail ~1820's and later

Various nails 1800's

Horseshoe tack

Big old nail, and colonial screw

A big thanks to my buddy Brad OutdoorAdv. His preservation skills are amazing, and his knowledge of artifacts from that era is equally impressive.


Enjoy

 

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[Bill D. (VA)]

You can't go wrong with Brad when it comes to iron preservation. I've definitely learned a thing or 2 from him. And, as usual, he did a great job on cleaning your iron artifacts and I'm sure treated them as if they were his own. All those items will look great in your display case Steve.

 

[Scrappy]

You can't go wrong with Brad when it comes to iron preservation. I've definitely learned a thing or 2 from him. And, as usual, he did a great job on cleaning your iron artifacts and I'm sure treated them as if they were his own. All those items will look great in your display case Steve.

Thanks Bill. What a good guy. I mailed him very scarce beer (Dogfish IPA 120), but perhaps I should have mailed him more. What he did on my iron shoe buckle (a bucket list find and what I affectionately call "my baby") is beyond anything I expected.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Steve, you're more than welcome dude. And Bill, that means a whole lot to me, since I have learned a ton from you.

Here's a picture of the buckle before, during and after.



That stove leg came out great and I was excited when I saw it had a scale design on it. The hatchet head was scaly and a little far gone, but its stabilized now and pretty cool. Glad you like the horseshoe and assorted nails too. It's awesome seeing someone appreciate that small iron and they look great tossed around a display.

 

[Scrappy]

Steve, you're more than welcome dude. And Bill, that means a whole lot to me, since I have learned a ton from you.

Here's a picture of the buckle before, during and after.

View attachment 1338295

That stove leg came out great and I was excited when I saw it had a scale design on it. The hatchet head was scaly and a little far gone, but its stabilized now and pretty cool. Glad you like the horseshoe and assorted nails too. It's awesome seeing someone appreciate that small iron and they look great tossed around a display.

Thx. I was looking for that before/during/after pic. And yep, that Bill is a cool cat. I can't wait for the book.

 

[Carolina Tom]

Nice stuff Scrappy! That Brad is something else with the iron relics.

 

[Scrappy]

Nice stuff Scrappy! That Brad is something else with the iron relics.

He really is. I wasn't into iron until I saw some amazing stuff at Bill's house followed by Brad's posts. I think iron is the coolest stuff out there

 

[Deft Tones]

I love the key.

But the pineapple design on the stove leg is great too.

 

[Ahab8]

I know most of you don't know Brad....I had the pleasure of hosting him for a long weekend of treasure hunting, preserving some of my iron, eating sushi and lobster rolls and acting like schoolgirls watching him pull out a few 1812 buttons. This is one of the nicest people you will ever meet in your life. Stand up honest guy who is passionate about everything he does. His iron preservation is absolutely incredible. The axe heads he did for me are stunning. So happy to see him sharing this talent with others. Steve your pieces look amazing.
I'm just going to throw this out there. I've seen some of the preserved iron artifacts in collections and historical societies and most are quite sad in comparison to Brads work. Once somebody does something to a piece of history you can't undo it. I believe Brad should start a small iron preservation business. I know how much he loves it and I know for a fact the results will be amazing. I'm betting there'd be a lot of happy people out there with beautiful displays

 

[Steve in PA]

Brad should do Electrolysis boot camps

 

[romeo-1]

Good stuff...very display worthy!

 

[Scrappy]

I know most of you don't know Brad....I had the pleasure of hosting him for a long weekend of treasure hunting, preserving some of my iron, eating sushi and lobster rolls and acting like schoolgirls watching him pull out a few 1812 buttons. This is one of the nicest people you will ever meet in your life. Stand up honest guy who is passionate about everything he does. His iron preservation is absolutely incredible. The axe heads he did for me are stunning. So happy to see him sharing this talent with others. Steve your pieces look amazing.
I'm just going to throw this out there. I've seen some of the preserved iron artifacts in collections and historical societies and most are quite sad in comparison to Brads work. Once somebody does something to a piece of history you can't undo it. I believe Brad should start a small iron preservation business. I know how much he loves it and I know for a fact the results will be amazing. I'm betting there'd be a lot of happy people out there with beautiful displays

Agreed. Brad for president.

And he sounds like a schoolgirl all the time. Kidding.

And I'm sure people would pay for his amazing talent. Anyone can do a half-arse job cleaning up iron, but if you want museum quality for your best pieces, well...

 

[deershed]

I've never been a fan of my rusted iron finds, might have to re-think that now. That buckle is Awesome looking!!

 

[Ahab8]

I've never been a fan of my rusted iron finds, might have to re-think that now. That buckle is Awesome looking!!

Deershed here's a couple pieces Brad did for me. They're stunning in person.

 

[Scrappy]

Brad should do Electrolysis boot camps

Absolutely! I would most certainly attend Brad boot camp. Brad can be a Drill Sargent "Now drop down and cook me 20 nails!!"
Lol

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Agreed. Brad for president.

And he sounds like a schoolgirl all the time. Kidding.

And I'm sure people would pay for his amazing talent. Anyone can do a half-arse job cleaning up iron, but if you want museum quality for your best pieces, well...

Hahaha. Thanks man! Here's the before and after on your stove leg.

 

[Patriot Relics]

Excellent collection of relics Scrappy and the artois buckle came out amazing. Don't mean to hijack the thread but what does Brad use to seal the iron...hot wax?

 

[thumper]

the

 

[Gridwalker306]

Excellent finds, and great job by Brad zapping them. Cool post Scrappy

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Excellent collection of relics Scrappy and the artois buckle came out amazing. Don't mean to hijack the thread but what does Brad use to seal the iron...hot wax?

Thanks man! It's unscented white candle wax. I have an old Coleman stove I use outside. After electrolysis, I scrub them with some baking soda and rinse them off, then into boiling wax until the stop bubbling.