Colonial hanger, Spanish dagger or ?

M ELEY · 19th November 2009, 02:09 PM

Hello, Dmitry, and thanks for coming in on this one. I'm still working on getting them loaded and will probably end up sending them off to Fernando for uploading. I am now convinced that the strapwork around the hilt is indeed low-grade pewter and not lead as I initially thought. It is soft enough that I can slightly scratch it with my thumb nail, but where it has broken away from the wood grip, it is brittle and non-bendable. It's not white metal, but I guess it could still be some other alloy. Tin? I know tin-smithing was around then. Have to do more research. I still think it's a contstant for early American, but also Span colonial.

19th November 2009, 02:09 PM	#13
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,158	Hello, Dmitry, and thanks for coming in on this one. I'm still working on getting them loaded and will probably end up sending them off to Fernando for uploading. I am now convinced that the strapwork around the hilt is indeed low-grade pewter and not lead as I initially thought. It is soft enough that I can slightly scratch it with my thumb nail, but where it has broken away from the wood grip, it is brittle and non-bendable. It's not white metal, but I guess it could still be some other alloy. Tin? I know tin-smithing was around then. Have to do more research. I still think it's a contstant for early American, but also Span colonial. Last edited by M ELEY; 19th November 2009 at 03:18 PM.