Nails & Screws
Hand-wrought Nails
before 1790, pretty much stopped by 1815, but continued in England into the late 19th century.
Hand-wrought Brads & Sprigs date from antiquity.
Machine-cut Nails 1790-1890
Side-pinched 1790-1835 (can be seen later)
Face-pinched 1835-1890
Sprigs started around 1790
Brads started around 1790
Iron Wire early in France, but started in the US in 1875
Steel Wire Brads Started in 1850s in Europe, but not popular in America until 1880s
Steel Wire Nails late 1870s, not made in quantity until late 1880s to the present
*Wrought iron has a wood-like grain and steel doesn't. When rusty steel is cleaned, the surface will be covered with small, circular pits.
Handmade Screws started 15th century, but not common until 1760.
Machine-made Screws without Slot 1846-1856 the slot was later cut with a hacksaw
Machine-made Screws with Slot 1856-present
Phillips Head Screws introduced in the late 1930s