There are many facets of our lives that are quickly being lost. With the rise of cordless screw guns, nails are being replaced with screws.
Just think about it. When was the last time you drove a nail with a hammer? But nails are still important, and I thought I’d do a little reminiscing.
What would the world be without nails? You can be sure that a lot of stuff would be falling apart--like that chair you are sitting in, for instance. Nails have a lot of history and have come a long way. But what is a 16 penny nail or an 8d?
As a boy, I quickly learned from my dad what the names were for different nail sizes; 16 penny and 8 penny were the most common “common” nails. Likely, these are mostly what’s holding your house together.
But why are they called penny nails? This term goes back to England and is based on the price of one hundred nails. As I understand it, you could buy a hundred 16 penny nails for 16 pence, a hundred 10 penny nails for 10 pence, and on and on. The symbol for pence was “d”, and that is why a 16 penny nail would be labelled “16d.”
[I feel pretty sure that the term was changed to “penny” from “pence” somewhere down the line in American slang. That’s just what we do.]
So, although the sizes of nails are standard, you still have to know what a 16d (16 penny) nail is. The name really gives you no clue. It’s kind of like knowing that black is black and red is red. It just is.
I could get into the specific sizes, but then I’d have to get into “common” and “coated.” “Common” nails are larger than “coated” nails, even though they may be labelled the same size. Coated nails are smaller to prevent splitting wood and have a coating that actually forms a bond with the wood.
This paper would not hold a description of all the different kinds of nails available, but maybe we covered a few facts you may not have known. That’s enough for now, as I have to get back to doing my nails.
Remember, help is just around the corner at your local hardware store.
