A nail is a metal object with a flat head and a long, sharp tip. A hammer or nail gun is used to put it into another object. It is often used to join two objects together.
The history of the nail came in three periods:
- Hand-wrought (forged) nail (pre-history until 19th century)
- Cut nail (roughly 1800 to 1914)
- Wire nail (roughly 1860 to the present)
Nails date back at least to Ancient Egypt – bronze nails found in Egypt have been dated 3400 BC. The Bible has references to nails. King David gave iron to make nails for what would become Solomon's Temple.