cut nails ?

1shotwade · Jan 27, 2015

I have access to an old log cabin that they say is 300 years old. There are tons of 3-3 1/2 inch cut nails. Do they have any value? Also,I keep hearing about "rose bud" nails. Can anyone tell me what they are and how I would ID them?
Thanks y'all!

Wade

slink · Jan 27, 2015

Hey wade I seen one guy on here who had sold some square nails bigfoot I think.I dont think they have much value though.We dug about 5lbs of them recently rusty but all straight not bent at all

villagenut · Jan 27, 2015

Square nails may seem to be a nuisance for many to dig but at the same time they can be useful in determining the age of a home or structure that is no longer there. Of course that dating range can be quite an expanse, but in context with other artifacts, it does all weigh in as important. If you run into large amounts of them, it may have been the result of a house that had burnt down. All in all though, there is little value to them, but I myself keep them and try stabilizing the rust although with nails it is not easy to get good examples when it is all done. Rose head nails are recognizable from their head, being pointed up like in this illustration. I find them quite nice as they are older generally and have much more of a craftsman style.

Charlie P. (NY) · Jan 27, 2015

"Rosehead" nails

Look like this:

Much older thn cut nails.

1shotwade · Jan 27, 2015

Well,hey! At least now I know what to look for! Thanks y'all!

Wade

bigfoot1 · Jan 28, 2015

I sold a bunch to a lady who makes rustic frames for nature photos.Also a guy who makes ghost town bird houses.Ask your local arts and crafts store if there are any special requests,ya never know
cheers

1320 · Jan 28, 2015

Nails were not used to build log cabins. Later additions to the original structure...yes. Rose head nails are completely hand made by a blacksmith and are the oldest of nails. There is some value in both types of nails but the market isn't what it used to be say...20 years ago.

Professor of Engineering · Jan 31, 2015

I enjoy finding old nails! That being said some of the old homesteads I've worked had hundreds of them, so a little (very little) detector discrimination was necessary to keep me sane.

Juice in the hole · Jan 31, 2015

I found a "rosehead" nail a couple days back and saved it because of this thread. I never knew the history of nails. Thanks for posting!

I tried the hot peroxide method to get the crust off with okay results. It's in the deep freezer currently. I'll post when I get the crud off.

1shotwade · Jan 31, 2015

Great! Can't wait to see it. Thanks for posting.

Wade

Juice in the hole · Feb 2, 2015

1shotwade said:
Great! Can't wait to see it. Thanks for posting.

Wade

You're certainly welcome! It isn't anything special. Just really old nail with a hand forged head. I've tried the hydrogen peroxide method to loosen dirt, as well as the Super Wash Powder and boiling water method, but it just isn't coming as clean as I wanted. I gave up last night and hit it with CLR, but even that didn't do much. It's baking in the oven currently on 200*, so we'll see what that does. I just read about this last technique in the cleaning section. Either way, I'm done fooling with it and it will get a coating of Vaseline tomorrow before I snap a pic.

sutphin · Feb 2, 2015

Are dem rose head nails there Charlie.vanzutphen

Charlie P. (NY) · Feb 2, 2015

Juice in the hole · Feb 3, 2015

Okay, so it didn't turn out spectacular, but It's probably been in the ground for 200 years or possibly much longer. The baking project did get some of the crust off, but not as much as I had hoped. I'd be willing to try this method on a coin, but I would definitely use the bake method before trying anything else.

Pics on a table I made: