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This strake nail is wedge shaped, and was probably hand-forged. It has a wide and thin leading edge, and was driven into wood with the grain. It came from a wheelwright's shop in Writtle, Essex. A strake is an iron 'shoe' which is nailed over the junction of two felloes on a wheel; this was gradually replaced with 'hoop tyres', which covered the rim of a wheel with one continuous hoop of iron.

1 strake nail; metal; good condition

MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘… // DATE ACQUIRED: // GROUP: // NEGATIVE: 35/2414 // PERIOD: // PLACE OF ORIGIN: // NUMBER: // DESCRIPTION: …‘ Nails for strakes were made by hand and it usually required two men to perform the operation. While one forged the nail at the end of a heading tool, the other would be heating up a rod of metal for the next one. The nail was forged out to a thin end and wedge shaped. The head was battered out and for half an inch or so under the head the nail tapered sharply so as to fit into the strake. As the strakes were thin, the tapering shape of the nail still held tight in the iron. //, Printed Report – 'A note on some nineteenth century waggon fittings obtained from Messers. Wallace and Sons, Wheelwrights, Writtle, Central Essex, and presented to the Museum of English Rural life on 28th September 1953. [explaining strakes, strake nails, floater rail stays and hind bridge stays. Also about types of paint used on them.]'

Writtle