Old leg trap part ?

[tamrock]

I found this last weekend out looking for artifacts. I'm sure it's an old jaw to a leg trap, but I do see some differences to how the more modern ones are made. Lengthwise is offset and not parallel and the edge on one side is very thin to the other side. I also see a cutout for a stop of the spring (4th Pic). Looking in to old traps I find they've been pretty much made with the same basic design for the last 190 years?. Anyone have a clue to the maker and age of this? I did also not far from the area overlooking a creek, find Indian artifacts and a clay pipe stem. Defiantly a place that has seen visitors off and on for many years and a piece of ground that has never been altered by farming or any kind of permanent development or long term structures. Things found that for sure predate the written history of this town I live in that really only began to be recorded in the later 19th century. I'm just wondering if this could be a piece of real old history or something from the last 80 years?. The region is on what was once called, the Laramie trail a route taken by early settlers coming in to central Colorado from Kansas going west and then heading north along the front range of the Rockies to hook up with the main overland route west at Laramie Wyoming.

 

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[releventchair]

Agree with it being a trap jaw.
Age unknown ...it's dug condition and the effect of time on other relics from the area might give a hint as to how long it's been down.
Trap jaws ,at least the smaller footholds are reasonably malleable.
Adding sugar and heating could add carbon...and I wonder if any were made into strike a lights for use with flint.
The other reason for removing a jaw seen has been to teach youngsters how to make a set.
Then too ,if some one wanted the better steel from a spring to make a knife ..the trap would be disassembled.

Measuring the other direction should give you the spread by doubling...that might help a search starting with old Victor brand traps maybe.
(A Sleepy Creek brand shown just to show spread and jaw shape.)

 

[tamrock]

Agree with it being a trap jaw.
Age unknown ...it's dug condition and the effect of time on other relics from the area might give a hint as to how long it's been down.
Trap jaws ,at least the smaller footholds are reasonably malleable.
Adding sugar and heating could add carbon...and I wonder if any were made into strike a lights for use with flint.
The other reason for removing a jaw seen has been to teach youngsters how to make a set.
Then too ,if some one wanted the better steel from a spring to make a knife ..the trap would be disassembled.

Measuring the other direction should give you the spread by doubling...that might help a search starting with old Victor brand traps maybe.
(A Sleepy Creek brand shown just to show spread and jaw shape.)

View attachment 1323982

Thanks for the pointers and potential causes on why only a part of it was found. This particular area I've found nothing in the way of large identifiable metal items other then some shotgun shells, a hand full of .222 casings couple and .22's. It is a smaller trap like one for a muskrat imo. Never though of it as something to re-purpose though. I hope I'll come across one of those barrel hoop arrowheads up there. So far I've only found one stone arrowhead missing the tail and tip and a beautiful mano stone and one other item that a couple at the NAIA folks down there gave an ID of an items known as an abrater. They didn't believe my clay pipe stem was Indian related, but I kind of do think it was in the way of a trade item, as it was an item of frequent trade by the whites. Still these things don't speak to us as much as we wish they could.

 

[Kevlardini]

I just wanted to say, when I saw it, I thought maybe it could be an old (hand forged?) handle. One that would go on a box or trunk, and was held on by two loops. But again, just a guess, and it very well could be an animal trap jaw.