Digging Oahu

[Hezezilla]

Nice score of surface bottles! Imagine what is hidden below…

There was sooo much surface stuff I think the next time I go will be half digging and half walking around.

 

[Porterhouse]

Nice finds! Love the wee cobalt one.im in British Columbia Canada and one place we lived was Maple Ridge [a strong connection to people of Hawaiian lineage] and dug a few of your sodas down by Kanaka Creek.When I relocate the box their in will post some pics and get some info from you perhaps
Aloha!

 

[Hezezilla]

Nice finds! Love the wee cobalt one.im in British Columbia Canada and one place we lived was Maple Ridge [a strong connection to people of Hawaiian lineage] and dug a few of your sodas down by Kanaka Creek.When I relocate the box their in will post some pics and get some info from you perhaps
Aloha!

I've heard of Kanaka creek before. It's incredible how far Hawaiian (and by extension, Japanese) bottles get. If you don't mind, could you explain the history of Hawaiians in the area?

 

[Old man digger]

I do not want to advise you one way or the other. But if you have access to a four or five foot probe, it may save you some digging. Find an area with lots of surface bottles and then probe that area and you may find a stash just under the surface. Don't jam the probe but use a controlled pushing action and you should be able to detect a bottle or plate or jar just by the feel of the probe giving you a little resistance.

 

[Hezezilla]

I do not want to advise you one way or the other. But if you have access to a four or five foot probe, it may save you some digging. Find an area with lots of surface bottles and then probe that area and you may find a stash just under the surface. Don't jam the probe but us a controlled pushing action and you should be able to detect a bottle or plate or jar just by the feel of the probe giving you a little resistance.

I'd love to do that (and I tried with my 3-footer) but the ground out there is stony clay. The land is dried up from summer so it's like concrete. I have had other spots deep in the mountains that are easy to probe like that but unfortunately, most of Oahu is dry scrubland lol.

 

[Old man digger]

I'd love to do that (and I tried with my 3-footer) but the ground out there is stony clay. The land is dried up from summer so it's like concrete. I have had other spots deep in the mountains that are easy to probe like that but unfortunately, most of Oahu is dry scrubland lol.

Sorry to hear about the concrete. I had just the opposite problem. My problem was with the muck that stuck to the shovel or little hand diggers I used. They made this sucking sound as if you were trying to pull out a stir stick from a can of paint you left out over night.!!!

 

[Hezezilla]

Sorry to hear about the concrete. I had just the opposite problem. My problem was with the muck that stuck to the shovel or little hand diggers I used. They made this sucking sound as if you were trying to pull out a stir stick from a can of paint you left out over night.!!!

Oahu in particular has a lot of clay. I'm fairly certain you could make good bricks from it it's so dense. I have a few bottles with shiny irridescence from the mud. It's either sticky clay mud or concrete.

 

[Hezezilla]

Dug again at another spot. A group of us went and dug four about 4 hours and we just found two Japanese cosmetic jars. These are probably the most common jars to find but luckily we found two variations I don't have. Since I'm the new guy I ended up with all of it. We also found a Fletcher's Castoria but that doesn't need any more explanation.

The two we dug are on the left and the other two are ones I dug elsewhere. Each is different from the others. These were made by the S.Y.Hirao Cosmetic Company between 1903 and c.1935 (平尾分店).

Left to right:
1. Large Size Hirao w/letter glass mark, machine made
2. Regular Size Hirao "Pearl", machine made
3. Regular Size Hirao no marks, machine made (mild amethyst)
4. Regular Size Hirao w/number glass mark, ground lip

There is also this small square cosmetic that I dug at this spot back in December. It is embossed on the base with "Hirao Cosmetic" (平尾整形).

 

[Step Back In Time]

Neat stuff!

 

[hemihampton]

That little blue med is a beauty! I quite like the plate too. Are Cokes without place names common in your area? I'm wondering if it's a military Coke with the 1944 date, but I thought those were usually clear?

Yeah, Thats why I asked what color & what date, the WWII Military Cokes from 1943-45 seem to usually be Clear with no city or state names on bottom. Aqua ones are the oddball ones with those dates it seems. Pic of mine. Leon.