✅ SOLVED Possible stick/wooden pole sharpening brick?

[USNFLYR]

Hello. This this post is also on the "What Is It" forum, but I thought I would also post it here. One of my working theories is that the Native Americans that lived near trappers and traders used this brick for sharpening. The brick is old (hand caste). It is tough to see but the deep groove angle down and away, and the upper lip of the groove is shallow scraped surface that could of indicated slippage from sharpening. The response from the thread has many ideas: molding flaw, weeping hole for moisture and a star bolt cavity. I am not sure it was common for brick to hone metal or sharpen poles?

The original post:

I found this brick in my usual stomping grounds: confluence of rivers near the Columbia River. I have found Salmon fishing, Native American, trapper, military and wharf artifacts here. This brick has been collecting moss in my garden. The measurements indicate it is the standard brick size from 1820 and beyond. I am not an expert, but I believe this brick was hand made (not factory manufactured). It has always perplexed me on why/how the groove was put there. At first I thought it was industrial and had a purpose, maybe for drainage or maybe if placed with another opposite brick it could have held in place a pole/pipe, etc. But upon further inspection, the brick clearly was "worked" on. The groove definitely angles down, like someone was plying force in a downward and outward fashion. If some one wanted to design a utility purpose wouldn’t they have done so during the molding process? It looks like this was used for sharpening and/honing a cylindrical object. Maybe a salmon jigger? The (non modern) age of the brick also means the Native Americans could have used it as well.

Any ideas to the age of the brick…..and the reason it was modified?

 

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[newnan man]

Looks water worn & doubtful NA's would have used it to shape with. Bricks are not real old.

 

[dirstscratcher]

Looks handmade, maybe 19'th century, could have been shaped to pass a pipe through a wall.

 

[CanSlawKing]

I have zero expertise, but my first thought was a penetration for a pipe or something, which was then worn down by erosion.

 

[crashbandicoot]

There,s bricks like that,early 1900s,in the old stores from that period on Main Street. Same color,same consistency,same grain.I don,t believe the brick is all that old as old goes,I don,t believe hand made,too uniform.I have no idea on the groove,but given that it,s probably not all that old,I question your premise that it was used by Native Americans.

 

[dirstscratcher]

There,s bricks like that,early 1900s,in the old stores from that period on Main Street. Same color,same consistency,same grain.I don,t believe the brick is all that old as old goes,I don,t believe hand made,too uniform.I have no idea on the groove,but given that it,s probably not all that old,I question your premise that it was used by Native Americans.

I have an 1850-1870's brick kiln (clamp) site on my farm and that brick would look right at home in the crap I plow up at the site. They did use wood forms to form the bricks.

 

[USNFLYR]

There,s bricks like that,early 1900s,in the old stores from that period on Main Street. Same color,same consistency,same grain.I don,t believe the brick is all that old as old goes,I don,t believe hand made,too uniform.I have no idea on the groove,but given that it,s probably not all that old,I question your premise that it was used by Native Americans.

Thanks…. The groove is what is interesting. No way it served for a pipe as the groove does not have full passage through the brick. The groove was definitely hand made AFTER the brick was formed (which I still believe is hand casted). So I care not about the age nor the manufacturing status of the brick…I do want to know why a groove was etched into the clay brick. That is the reason I questioned any and all possibilities. Thanks for ruling out NA usage. I value your inputs past and present!

 

[USNFLYR]

I have an 1850-1870's brick kiln (clamp) site on my farm and that brick would look right at home in the crap I plow up at the site. They did use wood forms to form the bricks.

Thanks!