Someone found this pickaxe. Is anyone have any ideas when it was made and how it was made?
located the item while metal detecting in Bar Harbor, Maine during low tide. It has a very wood grain appearance.
I would think your best option is take it to a local college and looking at it under a microscope. Depending on what it was used for you may be able to carbon date any residues left on it. I’m sure there are ways to check ages of metal but that would be a good place to start. Failing that join a local metal detecting clubs if you have them over there in the US they will most certainly know some one or be able to help you out.
@pickaxe the wood grain is wrought iron, hard to know the age of wrought just by looking at but likely 19th to early 20th, just as a educated guess.
Wrought tools when subject to corrosion will look like wood grain, you’ll see this all over the place in older cities with gates, railing, etc, that have seen the passing of time. They give off the wood grain exactly like what you have here. You can see the end of each side of the pick has a high carbon bit forge welded (the part that does not look like wood grain and is obviously different) so the tool can withstand the work it’s put to.
Neat find!