Iron scissors handles (Lot 5)

About This Tool

Two iron pieces recovered from the middle of Lot 5 during Season 13 filming were initially identified in the field by Rick Lagina and metal detection expert Gary Drayton as parts of a horse bridle. Analysis by Emma Culligan, presented in the Oak Island lab alongside archaeologist Laird Niven, reversed that identification. Culligan determined the two pieces came from a pair of scissors rather than harness fittings, and noted that they do not connect at the break point. Sodium and chlorine content in the metal indicates prolonged contact with saltwater. The iron carries minimal impurities, a signature of manufacture before the introduction of blast furnace production, which placed the objects in the 1700s and possibly the late 1600s. A stylistic comparison against a published reference identified a match with mid-17th-century work of British origin. Cutting tools of this kind appear in the record as both scissors and shears, the first term describing two blades joined at a pivot and the second a single piece of metal sprung at the bow. Others have been recovered on the island, including a handle from the Lot 5 shoreline in Season 11 and the pair found beneath the artificial beach at Smith's Cove in the late 1960s.