Wrought Iron Thing. Blacksmith? Railroad?(Who woulda thunk it!)

[Breezie]

Hello Gang, I dug this wrought iron thing today that is approximately 8 inches long and weights almost 2 lbs. I found it in the yard of an 1850's homestead between an old horse stable and one of the Southern CSA railroads. I wonder if there is any significance in the 'neck' portion (between the hook and staff) being thinner than the rest? I'm totally clueless. . . .any ideas? Thanks in advance, Breezie

 

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[Tater-Tots]

Re: Wrought Iron Thing. Blacksmith? Railroad?

It looks like a horse foot scraper that the ferrier would use to scape out the hoof when changing the horse shoes.

 

[Dano Sverige]

Re: Wrought Iron Thing. Blacksmith? Railroad?

Looks like a pipe/cable holding spike. Seen similar around railroad tracks in my time.

 

[DirtDigler]

Re: Wrought Iron Thing. Blacksmith? Railroad?

The thinner section is the result of flattening the end to form the hook. Hooks like this are common fixtures on old home sites. Exact use? Anybody's guess. Hang keys, hang a lamp, hang a coat, you name it. Nice find, I like to see the old ironwork saved. Won't be long before the old stuff rusts away to dust.

NOTE: Old hand-wrought iron is becoming more and more difficult to find. Blacksmiths like it to reuse, but I can't recall why. Maybe the carbon content? If you have a local blacksmith reenactor, I'm sure they'd love to repurpose any scrap wrought iron you might find that is beyond saving.

 

[kuger]

Re: Wrought Iron Thing. Blacksmith? Railroad?

It is a Pick(hammer forged)and what is crazy is I dug one exact just a couple months ago,that was fashioned into a Pot holder?I would presume?I will post pics tonight.....mine is exact!!!

 

[kuger]

Re: Wrought Iron Thing. Blacksmith? Railroad?

Man,mine is almost identicle,and was found in a 1850's camp (mining)it is a broken pick,which is not uncommon....I have hundreds of them,just have never seen one improvised like these

 

[kuger]

Re: Wrought Iron Thing. Blacksmith? Railroad?

Well I told ya I would post mine so here it is

Also is a couple of the type picks complete

 

[Breezie]

Re: Wrought Iron Thing. Blacksmith? Railroad?

It is a Pick(hammer forged)and what is crazy is I dug one exact just a couple months ago,that was fashioned into a Pot holder?I would presume?I will post pics tonight.....mine is exact!!!

Thanks everyone for helping.

Dirtdigler, I appreciate the explanation on why the neck is thinner; makes sense.

Kuger, thank you for ID-ing this pick and posting yours. I was totally clueless on this one, and would have NEVAH (said in my Southern accent) guessed it. Obviously folks have been 'recycling' for upteen years! My broken pick became some type of hook. This pick was probably used on the railroad. It was so deep in the ground, I figured I had found some type of water line or pipe, but when I finally got to the edge of it, I realized it was not round.

I've found Civil War era items in this same area. How old do you think this is?

Breezie

 

[kuger]

It is too cool seeing another of these dug,Breezie.I truly dont know for sure the exact funtion they might serve,but they were def. forged into something other than what they originally were.There was a Dutch oven lid,within a couple feet of mine and the,"Hook",fit into the handle perfectly.As far as age,we dont seem to see the forged type picks much into the mid 1860's sites,the camp mine came from was out of existence by the mid 1850's

 

[Breezie]

Kuger, thanks for update. I also found a strange lead looking piece, which I will list tonight in a separate post. It was within a few feet of the reconstructed iron pick. Hopefully I can go back to the same area sometimes this weekend, and see what else follows me home. Breezie

 

[kuger]