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Welcome to the Rough String, and thanks for stoppin' by!! Grab a hot cup of coffee and sit a spell!
10/22/18 You will see a name change on the blog. Lots of things have changed in my life in the past few years, and I feel compelled to share my story.

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Sunday, August 22, 2010

Sunday Stills ~ Metal

~If I have any more children, I'm goin' to be worn out.
Ten is plenty for any woman.~
~Dotty Mandy 1875~


The goal of this week's Sunday Stills photo challenge was to find a subject that no one else would think of. It took all week for me to figure out what it would be...and it's been sitting on my kitchen window sill right in front of me!


A very old, corroded staple.


Originally this was a galvanized staple; usually used in building barbed wire fences. I found it one day while walking in one of the pastures. Our place was homesteaded in the late 1800's...and a lot of changes have happened between then and now. I'm always finding stuff. Nails are always good to find before they get stuck in a horse's hoof!

Zinc oxide, which is a fine white dust, is used on galvanized nails because it does not breakdown the surface of the metal beneath. In addition, the zinc does not destroy the integrity of the galvanized nails. The protective barrier zinc oxide provides on galvanized nails has many advantages. First, it prevents oxidation from occurring. In this way, galvanized nails are highly resistant to rust and corrosion.

Even with the galvanized coating, years of moisture took it's toll on this staple. So, I wonder how long it's been laying in the dirt...probably many, many years!

Check out other "metal" photos by going here and looking through the comments!

15 comments:

  1. Very neat looking piece of rust! Love how the rust pits things and changes their appearance. I bet you do find a lot of neat things from the early homestead. ;-)

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  2. That is so cool, wish I had a kitchen window because that is a great place for it;)

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  3. Love the simplicity of your subject. Wonderful texture.

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  4. Great shot and story to go with it..:-)

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  5. Very nice shot and very original.

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  6. very cool!!
    it is fun to find old things

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  7. We would have buckets of that type of stuff if we hung onto it all from our place. I love all the relics we find though. There are a couple of dumps I would love to excavate one day also.

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  8. Great shot, and interesting history. :)

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  9. I always wondered about galvanization. Awesome subject.

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  10. Very original( unique even)Loved the tutorial to go with it.

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  11. very cool, it looks very sharp

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  12. Yep! Pretty sure no one else had one of those! LOL Funny how things are often right in front of us. Love the photo and post! Well done on the metal find!

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  13. It almost looks hand forged with the ravages of age on it. Cool!

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