Long before nails were made on an assembly line by the thousands in a matter of minutes they were made by hand individually by skilled craftsmen. As a result they were expensive by today’s standards and were reused as often as possible. When doors were installed it was a common practice to drive the nail through the holes they drilled and then bend the nail over so that it would not work loose as the door was repeatedly opened and closed over the years.
As a result when a building such as a home or a barn was salvaged the nails were carefully removed for use elsewhere. When they came to a door nail that was bent as was the practice the nails was considered “Dead” because it was no longer of use and thrown away. Today we us the term “Dead as a door nail” even though most people don’t even know what a door nail is to describe something that is no longer of use such as a broken tool.
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