Can anyone help me identify this?

June 3, 2011 7:21 PM

Does anyone know what this is, found in our house, built in the 1920s? Looks too well made to be a nail. Marked with a W on the head. http://gallery.me.com/weissbier#100240
posted by the_brewer to Grab Bag (10 answers total)

Easier picture links: one, two

It could be a decorative nail meant to be visible on a piece of upholstered furniture--I've seen similar ones--but this looks a little too long for that.
posted by phunniemee at 7:26 PM on June 3, 2011

A wild guess: a way of protecting roadside trees.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:03 PM on June 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

Could it be a variation on a date nail? How long is it?
posted by That's Numberwang! at 8:09 PM on June 3, 2011

Best answer: I think that's a nail from a porcelain insulator used in knob and tube wiring.

See here, part of this excellent site.
posted by mosk at 9:40 PM on June 3, 2011 [1 favorite]

I borked my second link. I meant to point here.
posted by mosk at 9:42 PM on June 3, 2011 [2 favorites]

I agree with mosk. My dad had some of those in a jar on his desk years ago with some porcelain insulators. I don't remember seeing anything on the nails, but I seem to remember Dad telling me the insulators (which had a "W" on them in some form) were made by Westinghouse.
posted by The Potate at 11:08 PM on June 3, 2011

Your house is certainly the right age for knob and tube wiring. I retract my answer and throw my lot in with mosk.
posted by That's Numberwang! at 12:22 AM on June 4, 2011

I'm in with Mosk, too. But my first guess was that it could be a punch for setting finishing nails.
I am in charge of the finishing nails around our place. Mr. SLC gets the big nails.
posted by SLC Mom at 12:37 AM on June 4, 2011

Great site mosk. Must have been a lot of cursing when the pull cord finally broke.
posted by freakazoid at 5:32 AM on June 4, 2011

Response by poster: Thank you very much everyone, especially mosk. I must apologise for not checking for answers until now, but I got busy with other projects. I'm a professional engineer turned into a brewer of beer and this object had sat on my desk for a year before I decided to post the question. I had found it in the crevice of a basement stair tread and it looks as though it has never been used, probably dropped by an electrician in 1926. Mosk, your answer makes perfect sense and since I still have some Knob & Tube in my house, I removed an access panel in the ceiling to take a look. However, all the insulators I could see were secure by standard wood screws. Same with the garage which still has exposed Knob & Tube. It's possible that I was looking at later wiring. One thing that threw me off is how well made the 'nail' is. The tip and shoulder appear turned rather than stamped. Here's another shot of the tip here.
Also, I should have included info on its size. Here's a shot of its length here.
I therefore conclude that what I have is a very high quality knob & tube insulator nail!
This was my first post, hence the screw up with the links to the earlier pictures and I'm delighted with the fast response on something as obscure as this. Thanks again everyone.
posted by the_brewer at 4:21 PM on June 4, 2011