Is there a way to age my ole K&E chain? ...she has some numbers on the handles.
Throw it in some salt water. She will age quite nicely!
(O! so you meant date it!
Well, the usual way. Ask her for a date....
(Ok, you cannot say I did not try!)
N
Rolled stamp or babbit? Add or Cut?
If it has the thong eye rivetted to each end, are the rivets steel or brass? In my memory they started using steel rivets instead of brass in the late 60s.
If you post some photos I may be able to help. I have a K & E catalog from the early 1950's and it may be there.
Is it a Gunters chain? If so, what is the length? Are the links brazed? I have an old K & E catalog that might help.
There are a few on here that can give you some history of chains.
I've sat thru their seminars. A picture of the chain is essential to tell anything about one. They have unique tags and links that distinguish them from one another.
I remember that Dave Ingram has a few that he has shown and talked about during his history of surveying seminars.
It sounds like there is already some confusion as to whether it is a steel tape (add or cut) that we often call a chain, or an actual chain with links. Also, more specifics on how many feet or links it is. Some old engineers "chains" were 100' with 1' lengths. some are 66' gunter chains and some are 33' 2-pole chains. If it's a steel tape, it could be 100' or 200.
Who knows yours might be my grandpappy.....