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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