Dug a Really Old Iron Stirrup! Could be Revolutionary War Era!

[FreeBirdTim]

Dug an iron stirrup today 5 inches down in the frozen tundra of New England. Definitely hand forged, so I knew it had to be old. But based on my research, I think it's from the Rev War era! Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's probably that old.

It's in very nice shape, so now I really need to get my electrolysis setup going. Let me know what you guys think.

 

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[Calabash Digger]

Great find!

 

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[dirtlooter]

it is relics like these that really make this hobby so exciting. That would a sit down right now find and then tremble city as one realizes how old it really could be and is intact! Holy Cow!

 

[against the wind]

Very nice save.
Fire up your electrolysis set up, lol
Congratulations

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Great find - be sure to post it after a clean-up

Fire up your electrolysis set up, lol

Can't find a manual battery charger around here, so I'm going to buy one online. Should be up and running by the end of the week!

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Very nice colonial stirrup. As everyone else said, indeed 18thc hand forged. I have the same one with a swivel top, and a twist for traction on the middle bottom band... you can actually see the wear marks from the boots on mine. I've been lucky enough to find and preserve 4 complete iron stirrups, and many other broken ones... very awesome relics.

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Can't find a manual battery charger around here, so I'm going to buy one online. Should be up and running by the end of the week!

This one has been tough as nails for me. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AM8BF4?tag=treasurenet01-20 Over more than 4 years, I've processed 100's and 100's of pieces of iron with it and its withstood a beating. I toasted the amperage dial and have had to solder the clamps back on. The things I do to it, no charger was ever made to do!! If I'm ever able to finally kill it, I will absolutely buy the same one.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

I bought the cheaper version of that Schumacher charger for $27 on eBay last night. If it doesn't hold up, I'll spring for that one. Thanks for your help!

 

[Trezurehunter]

That looks like a great old relic to me !

 

[FreeBirdTim]

UPDATE!

Got my electrolysis setup put together this morning and started cooking my stirrup right away. Six hours in the bath removed 95% of the rust. Didn't want to push it more than that for now. I gave it a good coat of Renaissance Wax to protect it. I think it came out really nice, considering the fact that it's been in the ground for 240 years or so.

Here's my cat litter bucket setup (LOL) and before and after pics of the stirrup.

 

[Underwonder]

Nice stirrup and great pics of your electrolysis set up! You stepped up your game pretty well. Looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing! I have everything I need except the nerve to put mine together and plug it in [emoji6]!

 

[FreeBirdTim]

Thanks! I got the courage up after watching this video. Seemed safe and easy to pull off once I saw him do it.

 

[DetectorMoe]

Finding a stirrup is on my bucket list. Nice dig!

 

[relic nut]

Nice setup, and a great stirrup.
Here is one I found that is very simular. Yours looks a little bigger.

 

[pepperj]

Congrats on the great looking piece, and the cleaning.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

relic nut, that sure looks like the same design. Mine does seem kind of big for a stirrup. Must have belonged to a guy with big feet!

 

[OutdoorAdv]

Nice job with the electrolysis

Just in case you didn't do this, I thought I'd mention it. You'll want to heat up that stirrup past 212 degrees for at least 10-15 minutes. That old iron is porous and will absorb moisture after being in the ground for so long as well as during electrolysis. There are many ways to seal the relic after electrolysis and everyone had their own favorite way. I boil mine in hot wax for about 30 minutes. I do that because it evaporates the moisture and seals in the same step. However, you could easily bake it in a toaster oven past 212 and then coat it with wax after it cools to seal it. If you skip that step, it will look fine for some time, however after a while you'll see rust spots and some flaking as the moisture inside the iron leaches out. Years ago when I got serious about preserving my iron, I rushed some pieces through the boiling wax process and didn't wait until I got all the moisture out... I had to reboil those pieces years later because they still had moisture that was leaching out.

 

[sandchip]

That's a beautiful stirrup with such a great form. What a find, and banner vote from me too.

 

[FreeBirdTim]

I dried it with a hair dryer, but only for a few minutes. Thought about putting it in the oven, but chickened out. I'll keep an eye on it. If the rust starts to come back, I'll do the hot wax dip method I saw in an Aquachigger video. Thanks for the tips!

 

[FreeBirdTim]

That's a beautiful stirrup with such a great form. What a find, and banner vote from me too

Thanks for the vote, but I'm afraid not too many iron relics make banner. Now if I could find the other one, that could push it over the top! I'll keep looking, but it's hard to imagine someone losing both stirrups in one spot.

 

[A2coins]

That is sweet old and a great piece of history. Thanks for the great post!!QQ