Hobnails

[Flavius Promotus]

Voilá - the Augsburg hobnails:

[Flavius Promotus]

Gagan, I have sent you the same images via email (but in a better resolution - and between 0,5 and 1,5 Megs size).

Should anybody else be interested, just tell me

Some people sent me some hobnails. These had a flattend top- not pointed as in the pictures. These were specifically made for Roman Sandals.

Guess you received used nails. After some time they are flat as a pancake, but originally they should have been cone shaped. So rather stick to the sketch provided by Richard Campbell :wink:

As you can see from Richard's image and the Augsburg images, the shaft should have a square section, so the nails clench properly when their shaft hits the anvil and their head is 'gently kissed' by the hammer. The shaft should NOT be round.

As to the material - I would still opt for soft iron, at least for the shafts (I have already made a few boots - although I still have to improve - and soft iron shafts definitely work much better than steel).
Maybe the heads where somehow hardenend???

I just think of buying tons of mass-produced cheap Roman hobnails in the correct dimensions and metallurgic specifications from Deepeeka - sounds like Christmas!!!