OK – I know. This probably isn’t door hardware, but the photo found it’s way to me from Leach LandWorX LLC, and it got me curious. You all seem to like history and know a lot of hardware trivia, so maybe you can help identify this piece of “hardware.” There were 4-5 of them found with a metal detector within five feet of each other on an old farm in Tennessee.
Any ideas?
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Plow tooth??
Link pins for tractor implements? just guessing, but given the quantity found and the location, as well as the configuration of the part it makes sense.
Totally guessing. It’s a gate latch. Drops in floor and gate strikes rounded top, lifts over and latch’s on flat side. Square so it would not turn once in place. Knurling on top was probably functional. Further guess, it’s from animal slaughterhouse. This because the square hole would need to be in concrete or a strike plate in floor. Also knurling as it’s done would help if top was covered in animal by products.
Its an old broken File. its not hardware its a tool.
you beat me to it. definitely an old file
You think so? I definitely does look like a really coarse bastard file pattern. But if they have others that are similar, I would find it strange that they all broke in a similar fashion.
If it was a file, it would have been harder, and it would have most likely snapped along the bottom of one of the grooves, since it’s a stress riser, and not in an arc.
Just playing devil’s advocate.
An old Barn Door Latch?
Modified Railroad Spike.
It looks like the key to a gas furnace. My grandparents had one in their bathroom and something similar to this was used to turn it on. It fit in a square receiver and was removable so it would not be messed with by the kids. It wasn’t exactly like this but very close.
…Before toilet paper was invented they had this tool… In just twelve more years we’ll have the three sea shells…
I vote broken file, too.
Try Reddit R/Whatisthisthing.
Ever seen a file with a tang that wasn’t tapered along it’s full length?