Sifting more links, buttons, buckles, pipes, marbles and more...

OutdoorAdv

Bronze Member
Apr 16, 2013
2,457
3,350
East Coast - USA
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus,
GPX 4500,
Equinox 800,
AT Max
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Last week I had some free time after work and was able to get out Wed (7/6) after work and Thurs (7/7) after work. Then Sat (7/9) for a few hours in the morning. I have been trying to get this post together, but every time I went out I found more iron to preserve. So I have been in a constant state of retaking pictures for this post every time I went out.

In the three partial day hunts, I totaled about 14 hours in the field sifting\detecting. My favorite finds.... MORE links, including my first ever complete linked set, and my new all time favorite pewter Paste link. I was also very happy with the iron buckle chape and frame, bone handle, marbles and pipe pieces. If you look closely you'll notice pretty much everything is a broken fragment, but I'm getting good at sprinkling in iron and pottery to make a relic mosaic and fool you guys into thinking I found good stuff. :laughing7:

IMG_20160710_184738.jpg

I found an absurdly large horse shoe and a piece of a Wagon Trace Chain. There is also an odd dog thing which I believe might be a pocket knife. More on that down below.

IMG_20160711_143643577.jpg

These are the rest of the nails I tumbled so far (about half the nails I brought home)...

IMG_20160711_171302125.jpg

... and here is everything else.

IMG_20160711_100319513.jpg

I was taking a break from sifting before I filled a section in and I wandered around digging clicks and nail signals. This one was a click that disappeared when I popped the plug. These are almost always small nail pieces, so I was about to kick the plug back in the hole when I decided to remove all the loose dirt from the bottom. Once the loose dirt was out, there was a slamming signal in it. When I saw what it was laying in the dirt, I ran like a fool across the field to get my phone and take some in situ pictures. :laughing7: I have been wanting a complete set of links for so long. Once home, it was a little bitter sweet to see that there was some old damage done to them (bent) and they were too toasted to see what the design was (I think I see a bell). The dirt in the pit has been kinder to the links, so its a shame these were out in the field.

IMG_20160708_154127498.jpg

This incredible paste link came from Saturday mornings sunrise pit section. This and the bone handle were about all that was in that section. A lot of work, but this link made it worth my while. Once home I cleaned the pewter with a little Aluminum Jelly, soapy water and then Elmer's. The Paste stone is cracked, so to see the silver star design, it looked best running it under a steady stream of water for the photos.

IMG_20160709_094626.jpg

Here it is with the other pewter paste link I dug a couple months ago (in another post on here) about 20 feet away. I found a 3rd pewter paste link a few weeks ago in another section (in another post on here), but it was missing its stone.

IMG_20160709_165549.jpg

IMG_20160711_141816783.jpg IMG_20160711_141830842.jpg

IMG_20160711_141845883.jpg IMG_20160711_141853163.jpg

IMG_20160711_141906741.jpg IMG_20160711_141912542.jpg

IMG_20160711_141918509.jpg IMG_20160711_141927052.jpg

Unfortunately I chopped this bone handle in half. I was able to glue it back together and after cleaning it got a little mineral oil.

IMG_20160711_125031570.jpg

The iron buckle turned out great. I've dug lots of brass buckles, but in the past weeks I found an area of the pit that is producing pieces of iron ones. So far I have found at least pieces of two different iron frames, so there must be more somewhere.

IMG_20160707_212739.jpg

I toss all my nails in the tumbler and pick out the hand forged ones when they're clean. When checking a batch, I noticed this was a dog and not a nail! So I took it out and put it in electrolysis. It was pretty far gone though. It's feet were separated and on the back side of it I see a piece of steel running down the length. I actually think this was a Dog Pocket Knife. I haven't had a chance to google it yet, so if anyone find a pocket knife with a running dog please share it. You can see the piece running down the middle on the right right picture.

IMG_20160708_094747859.jpg

A toasty pewter with a sun or starburst design turned up.

IMG_20160707_134035.jpg

This pipe stem piece has a makers mark on it. Pretty cool since its my first with a mark like this.

IMG_20160707_181550.jpg

This site has been and still is producing a large variety of stuff, but most of it is more of the same. I am starting to reach diminishing returns sifting this place. I need to find my next great site soon and move on to some different stuff.

Thanks for reading and happy hunting everyone.
 

Last edited:
Upvote 17
OutdoorAdv I would be crazy finding all of that and don't know what most is but is impressive
 

You have created quite a colorful mosaic my friend, and it shows your appreciation for every relic, regardless of how significant it is.
I have to take a group shot of my cufflinks sometime. I have quite a few, including at least 6 linked pairs.
 

A very impressive collection of relics, congratulations! :occasion14:
 

OutdoorAdv I would be crazy finding all of that and don't know what most is but is impressive

Thanks DirtySCGirl! Sifting is hard work, but lots of fun. It's cool to mix it up and pull some nonmetallic items like pipe pieces and marbles.

You have created quite a colorful mosaic my friend, and it shows your appreciation for every relic, regardless of how significant it is.
I have to take a group shot of my cufflinks sometime. I have quite a few, including at least 6 linked pairs.

Thanks a ton Steve! It's impressive how a bunch of broken bits can make a good picture. Ha. I'd love to see a group shot of your links. It's so cool the vast variety the links have.


Thank you Casper!

A very impressive collection of relics, congratulations! :occasion14:

Thank you Professor!
 

Finally got a chance to Google a bit and now I'm almost certain the dog is a pocket knife. Too bad it wasn't in better shape, but you can still see the blade spacer running down the dogs back on mine.

il_340x270.915442112_4kxf.jpg
 

Holy sh*t dude that is some preservation right there!Those personal items are my favorite for sure..Could you imagine hand forging a chain!



~Blaze
 

Wow I think detectorist are part arheologists relic hunters treasure hunters collecting history .Thanks for sharing I love seeing it I went through a bottle dump nothing like what your doing but it was fun to see all the old relics and stuff. I am so jeleous Thanks for taking the time and sharing your finds !!!! Look forward to your next post
 

Wow Brad-you really do have the restoration and preservation techniques mastered. Once again another impressive array of sifted relics.
 

Another beautiful pile of colonial goodness! Love your posts, passion and level of effort. A true colonial history loving fool lol. It's a small club and you're a vip member bro
 

Haha wow, the sheer volume of cool finds amaze me. Glorious!
 

I never get tired of your piles of recovered relics. The paste links are a favorite for me. All excellent additions to your incredible collection of colonial goodies.

I am entertained, are you not entertained Tnet members?!?!ImageUploadedByTreasureNet.com1468297444.250190.jpg

Awesome bro!

Steve
 

Last edited:
I never get tired of your piles of recovered relics. The paste links are a favorite for me. All excellent additions to your incredible collection of colonial goodies.

I am entertained, are you not Tnet members?!?!View attachment 1335679

Awesome bro!

Steve

maxresdefault (1).jpg

Hahaha. Thanks a ton dude. I used to see people post the paste links on here and never really thought they were as cool as the brass ones. Boy was I wrong... actually digging a couple of them and seeing the cool silver design under the stone.... very awesome indeed. It'd be sweet to see the outfit that links owner would have worn with them... I'm thinking pirate shirt and huge shoe buckles. :headbang:
 

Holy sh*t dude that is some preservation right there!Those personal items are my favorite for sure..Could you imagine hand forging a chain!

~Blaze

Thanks a ton dude! You just made me google "forging a chain" and watch some blacksmiths make links on youtube... link by link... I bet that got old fast. I don't know the age of that Wagon Trace chain (at least mid 1800's), so I'm unsure if it was man or machine made.... but I did dig a chain section here a while ago where all the links were just a bit different size... that one is totally made by hand. Pretty awesome!

Wow I think detectorist are part arheologists relic hunters treasure hunters collecting history .Thanks for sharing I love seeing it I went through a bottle dump nothing like what your doing but it was fun to see all the old relics and stuff. I am so jeleous Thanks for taking the time and sharing your finds !!!! Look forward to your next post

Thank you A2coins! I agree, many of us enjoy the archaeological aspects of this hobby a lot. Before modern trash service and plumbing, almost all homes has privies and/or trash piles. If you can find a mid/late 1800's home (or older), you can do some sifting and turn up similar stuff.

Wow Brad-you really do have the restoration and preservation techniques mastered. Once again another impressive array of sifted relics.

Thanks a ton Glenn! This winter I plan on sorting some of the pottery and seeing if I can put anything else back together.
 

Another beautiful pile of colonial goodness! Love your posts, passion and level of effort. A true colonial history loving fool lol. It's a small club and you're a vip member bro

Thanks buddy! You got the "fool" part right... it was way too hot to wear gloves last week and I'm paying for it now with poison plant blisters all over my fingers on both hands :laughing7: And I'd do it gloveless again in a second.

Haha wow, the sheer volume of cool finds amaze me. Glorious!

Thanks Mike! The section on Saturday had a bunch of blue glazed pottery from many different pieces. Those really make the pictures look great on here. ha I found the piece of the iron chape with the two teeth in the tumbler this morning. Must have gotten tossed in there with the nails. Always fun to find cool stuff in there.

Congrats on some great finds and post

Thank you Art!
 

I think machine made chains you will see a seam or weld mark and the hand forged one's will be even all around..

~Blaze
 

I think machine made chains you will see a seam or weld mark and the hand forged one's will be even all around..

~Blaze

Good point man and I know what you're talking about with the welds. Here is one I found last year at this site where some of the links seemed like they were a different size. I know this is probably 1850's or earlier. I tried to look up chain making history to see when an automated machine was invented.... but no luck. I don't see any welds in the Wagon Trace Chain in this post, so it could very well be hand made too.

IMG_20160712_130213.jpg
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top