Iron (Sword Handle?) on the beach after Florence in the vivinity Corrigans Wreck

[PetesPockets55]

Hello all. I'm putting this in "Todays Finds" because I found it again for the second time, in my van.

With Florence blowing through I hit the beach in the area near Corrigans wreck/1715 Fleet and was disappointed by the wave action on the beach cut. There wasn't any. Still played in the surf and sand to no avail.

As I walked back to Turtle Trail park I eyed this rusted iron conglomerate about 3/4 of the way to the high tide line. Lots of rust. Giving it a quick looksee, I thought it might be the eyelet for some type of ships bolt because it appeared 1' to 1-1/4" thick with one end that was roundish. And thought I saw a head of a bolt. (I think this was actually where the sword attached to the handle)

Fast forward to today and I come across it again in my van and looking closer, I think it may be a sword handle.

I'm only detecting about 3 months with an AT Max, so still trying to figure things out. (Be gentle with me!)
In good old normal soil I seem to find the targets fairly easily, but this beach detecting has been demoralizing trying to actually put my hands on my targets with surf occasionally washing through.
If anyone has any thoughts or comments I sure would appreciate them.
(ps. The last image is of a sword handle I envisioned, for comparison.)
Thanks for looking, Cliff

 

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[PetesPockets55]

A couple of more images.

The first one shows what I think may be the under side of the handle guard. It looks to be tapered, thinner towards the butt of the handle. I could be wrong but the open end of the hand guard seems to have a curl away from the handle a little.

 

[Reanm8er]

Terrific! Keep us posted on the cleanup.

 

[creskol]

Be interesting to see what it turns out to be. I think the screw hole says it isn't a sword handle, but I hope you prove me wrong.

 

[Rookster]

Hope to start seeing it soon.

 

[Wingrad]

Looks to me like something that would be used to run a rope through on a boat or dock. The side with the hole would screw down to the boat or dock and the rope would go through the hole. I'm not an expert, but just a thought.

 

[PetesPockets55]

Be interesting to see what it turns out to be. I think the screw hole says it isn't a sword handle, but I hope you prove me wrong.

I missed the screw hole. Which image do you see it in?

If it is a handle, the first image has the "butt" down and the third image shows me holding it in a "normal" orientation. Also what appears to be a curve away from the handle in the hand guard just below my thumb. The guard, if that is what this turns out to be, is open and not connected to the handle on the end away from the blade.

Second group, first image, is the under side of the "hand guard" which is narrower at one end than the other. The thinner end seems to be dissolved while there is still some metal at the fatter end.

Hope to start seeing it soon.

Thanks, although I'm an extreme novice and just have it soaking in water while formulating a plan.

Terrific! Keep us posted on the cleanup.

Thank you I will, but unfortunately may take a while since I'm not sure how to go about doing it with out destroying it. I might go by Fishers museum in Sebastain and see if they would help.

Looks to me like something that would be used to run a rope through on a boat or dock. The side with the hole would screw down to the boat or dock and the rope would go through the hole. I'm not an expert, but just a thought.

I thought the same thing when I first found it, some kind of guide or pull for a rope. But when I looked at it closer under decent lighting is when I changed my mind.

(Life certainly would be boring with out my imagination taking over!!)

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement.

 

[A2coins]

love to see after electrolysis I bet more is there

 

[UnderMiner]

What ever it is it certainly looks to have the age of being from an 18th century shipwreck, those beaches are a literal gold mine for the next few months now that the hurricane has passed through.

 

[Kray Gelder]

I swear, I'm not seeing it. But I'm not holding it in my hand. Start electrolysis on it, see what emerges. Good luck!

 

[Tom_Restorer]

Cliff,

The iron tang of the handle is way to big and the "hand guard" way to small. Also this hand guards of the example type you posted was made of brass.

Looks more like the hand cuffs from the Whydah.

Look

 

[Hawks88]

Can’t wait to see what it really is. What ever it is, it’s old and an unusual find for sure. Congrats on the save.

 

[PetesPockets55]

Cliff,

The iron tang of the handle is way to big and the "hand guard" way to small. Also this hand guards of the example type you posted was made of brass.

Looks more like the hand cuffs from the Whydah.

Look

Thank you very much for your expertise Tom.
(I had to do a quick tutorial on sword nomenclature as well as hand cuffs of the era.)

I see why you thought of the cuffs but the open end (curved away from the handle) is throwing me off visually.
(I saw Sail makers shears that look interesting also but the "open curled" end seems at the wrong end.)

Could the knuckle guard on a land based sword be made of steel for strength, over brass?

Here are some color "coded" sketches I made showing what my imagination is seeing.
Please let me know if they are completely ludicrous and far fetched. I traced the object and filled in approximate areas of metal vs sand/conglomerate.

I will follow through with taking it to a couple of local experts for some in hand analysis.
Thanks again to all in advance. Cliff