Homebuilding and Woodworking in Colonial America

We sell Tremont Nails in 1, 5, and 50 lbs boxes. Pallet quatities are available on request, please call our sales team for more information. Glasgow nails are sold in 1 and 25 kg boxes. 

All our nails are made from flat sheets of steel. Our Masonry, Flooring and Common nails are made with a high-carbon steel. All others are made with low-carbon steel. Some nails are galvanized after cutting. For a more authentic look, the Decorative Wrought Head nail is given a black oxide finish.

Cut nails are preferred by those who are trying to keep their project historically accurate. Our cut nails are very similar to the first nails made here at Tremont, so they match well the nails that may already exist in your house or furniture. Others like our nails because of the interesting look the provide a project. Cut nails provide superior holding power because of their four edges. A cut nail tears through the wood fibers, rather than splitting the fibers as wire nails do. This minimizes surface splitting of the wood.

Manufactured 'cut nails' were first introduced in the late 1700s. All our nails are made on original machines made in the 19th and earl 20th century and are the same nails made during these time. These machine-produced nails were manufactured much more efficiently than their hand-forged predecessors. Our Decorative Wrought Head nails are designed to mimic the look of hand forged nails on the 18the century and are sold with a black oxide finish to complete the look of oil-dipped forged iron.     

The term "Rosehead" is sometimes used in reference to hand forged nails because of the multi-faceted head. We have two Rosehead nails that do not look hand forged at all. They are a decorative headed nail for flooring, siding, and other projects. There is a small dimple in the center of the head that serves as decoration for those who want a fancier nail, but do not like the hand forged look of our Decorative Wrought Head nail. Our Glasgow Rosehead nails have a multi-faceted head and do not have a dimple. Originally made in Scotland for European customers, you may consider it for restoration project if it matches you design.

Penny size is a term that refers to the length of a nail. The term comes from Colonial era pricing unit for nails, which were priced by the hundred. For example, one hundred 2 1/2" nails would have sold for eight pennies. We have adopted this method with today's wire nails, and of course still use it as a regular term of measurement here at Tremont Nail Company.

Please call our office if you would like a tour of our facility. We would love to take you to see living history in action. Please note: while the factory is in operation it is very loud. 

If your boards are wide, remember that even if decorative these nails will prevent cupping and bowing when used right. Any board 8" wide or less can be nailed two across. From 8" to 12" should have at least three nails across. Any larger board should have no more than six inches between the nails. All nails should be at least one inch from any edge of the board. If you are nailing less frequently than 16" on center, consider using more rather than fewer across the board. We have provided a chart in the description of each of our nails used in flooring to help you determine the amount of nails needed.