Noting Mr. Chamber's post of p.220(I assume 9th edition): on page 216: "The method of making barrels prior to the introduction of Damascus iron from the East was to forge them from plates or strips of iron-this iron manufactured from old horse-shoe nails-not perhaps so much because of the virtue in the metal as from the fact that the nail forgers were particular smiths who made the gun barrels." This could explain all the refs to horse-nails.

Kind Regards

Raimey
rse