✅ SOLVED Cleaning Unknown Item - Pic Added

[Benbuck6]

OK - I was hunting outside an old campground/park on a lake that is fed by MS River. A lot of trash - but outside the bathroom area about 100 ft from the water's edge I get a hit. It was deep but my shovel hit and I felt it so I knew it was big. I dug it up and it was about 6 inches long and 1/2 inch wide and 1/2 inch thick. Really no shape or form...one side sort of rough and indented. The other side smooth. There are some edges that are pretty sharp. There are places you can tell that if cleaned there is some luster/shine to it...silvery looking. It is HEAVY and definitely metal. How do I clean to post a pic to find out what the crap it is.

 

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[Benbuck6]

Breezie -I am on a mad hunt for foil - there does not seem to be any in the house - HA!!! Like I said this thing is a very interesting conversation piece even if turns out to be junk for the field I work in.

Went back to the site and did some more hunting and I found an important discovery there I will post later in "Today's Find". Also, dug an old campfire up and saw the melted cans...this is NOT that.

OK - Breezie found the foil - I dont know if I did something wrong or right or whatever but this s what I found or smelled. I wrapped the end for 10 seconds - as I unwrapped I smelled something but not sure if it was rotten egg smell but wasnt pleasant, not strong, and it disappered quickly so I could not for sure say I smelled this or that. I did notice (AND THIS PART IS GROSS) that it seemed to really thicken my spit - some kind of reaction seemed to be happening - I am going to get new foil in a while as this came out of my refrigerator to test again.

 

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[Breezie]

Breezie -I am on a mad hunt for foil - there does not seem to be any in the house - HA!!! Like I said this thing is a very interesting conversation piece even if turns out to be junk for the field I work in.

Went back to the site and did some more hunting and I found an important discovery there I will post later in "Today's Find". Also, dug an old campfire up and saw the melted cans...this is NOT that.

OK - Breezie found the foil - I dont know if I did something wrong or right or whatever but this s what I found or smelled. I wrapped the end for 10 seconds - as I unwrapped I smelled something but not sure if it was rotten egg smell but wasnt pleasant, not strong, and it disappered quickly so I could not for sure say I smelled this or that. I did notice (AND THIS PART IS GROSS) that it seemed to really thicken my spit - some kind of reaction seemed to be happening - I am going to get new foil in a while as this came out of my refrigerator to test again.

The best way to compare and to know the smell is to take a real silver coin and run the test on it. Yes, I would recommend using new aluminum foil, although I don't know if it really matters or not. At any rate, try it with a silver coin or a piece of jewelry that is marked 'sterling.' I look forward to hearing the results. Breezie

 

[Benbuck6]

I tried a old silver half-dollr to get a hint of the smell was like. I see what you are talking about it brings out that old coin smell that is my old coin bag even stronger . So, i then wrapped this thing and waited 10 seconds - i couldnt tell. So, I re-wrapped and waited 30 seconds (thought more surface might mean more time) - there was a definite smell coming from it and similiar to the coin but I just cant tell for sure. I think it is a 50/50 shot it passed the spit test. Thinking of spitting one more time and leaving wrapped for like 2 minutes to see if I can intensify the smell.

 

[Breezie]

I tried a old silver half-dollr to get a hint of the smell was like. I see what you are talking about it brings out that old coin smell that is my old coin bag even stronger . So, i then wrapped this thing and waited 10 seconds - i couldnt tell. So, I re-wrapped and waited 30 seconds (thought more surface might mean more time) - there was a definite smell coming from it and similiar to the coin but I just cant tell for sure. I think it is a 50/50 shot it passed the spit test. Thinking of spitting one more time and leaving wrapped for like 2 minutes to see if I can intensify the smell.

Well, maybe tomorrow you can take it to a pawn shop and have them to test it for silver. Good luck, and keep us informed. Breezie

 

[deepskyal]

I'm voting slag. I work in a mill that makes 2 kinds of steel. They make a steel alloy, (stainless) and a high silicon steel. The slag from both doesn't rust and look totally different from each other.

That piece you have looks closer to the high silicon based steel. The slag takes many forms, depending on which part of the process the slag is skimmed off. Most look identical to your piece, almost glassy looking and forms long, thin streamers down the sides of the slag pots. The thinner the streamers, the more brittle it is.
There are even very pretty pieces of slag from silicon that are teal green and aqua blue. If I get time today I'll take some pics of it for you.
A process called De-sulf, where they inject calcium carbide into the molten steel to remove impurities like sulfer, create a lot of the unique slag pieces.

Al

 

[IronSpike]

I'm voting slag. I work in a mill that makes 2 kinds of steel. They make a steel alloy, (stainless) and a high silicon steel. The slag from both doesn't rust and look totally different from each other.

That piece you have looks closer to the high silicon based steel. The slag takes many forms, depending on which part of the process the slag is skimmed off. Most look identical to your piece, almost glassy looking and forms long, thin streamers down the sides of the slag pots. The thinner the streamers, the more brittle it is.
There are even very pretty pieces of slag from silicon that are teal green and aqua blue. If I get time today I'll take some pics of it for you.
A process called De-sulf, where they inject calcium carbide into the molten steel to remove impurities like sulfer, create a lot of the unique slag pieces.:

Al

Very interesting Al, thanks for posting

Wouldn't steel slag be magnetic?

Added: It depends on elements in alloy I'm voting steel slag too.
http://www.physlink.com/education/askexperts/ae546.cfm

 

[Benbuck6]

A few people mentioned that there was "glass" in it from the sound it makes and the luster in parts of it. It is an EXTREMELY strong material. There is a very small piece that comes to a point on it. It is fingernail thin or thinner - our guys have challenged each other to break that piece off and all have failed miserably. This stuff is strong

 

[Benbuck6]

Just an update...It ended up being Nickel

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Thank you for thinking to post an update even though the original post was over two years ago. Some of us very much enjoy getting to hear the correct ID of a long-unsolved mystery object in this forum. Again, thanks for your thoughtfulness on our behalf.

What did your co-workers who tried to help you ID the metal say when the mystery was finally solved?

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Just an update...It ended up being Nickel

Yea thanks for updating.

I use a Nitric Acid/ Potassium Dichromate solution that would have showed blue on nickel

To Test
File a notch in test piece, apply a drop of solution- watch for color reaction.
Brass--Dark Brown
Copper--Brown
Gold--None
Nickel--Blue
Lead--Yellow
Tin--Yellow
Silver(pure)--Bright Red
Silver .925--Dark Red
Silver .800--Brown
Silver .500--Green
Palladium--None

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/what/13479-silver-aluminum.html

 

[gman7665]

Meteorite Identification Home Page This page is Awesome, You can do some very simple Home Tests to see if it Is or Is Not a Meteor... N-Joy...

 

[Frankyg]

I think it might be melted Antimony.

 

[Frankyg]

I think it might be melted Antimony.

I guess not!!