0 EST KSM X

Found by Ian Suddaby at Bo’ness.

I am not in possession of this example.

Is it a ‘zero’ or an ‘O’?

Ian states – KMS or KSM? It’s a problem either way.

We have a few of these hanger bricks now, all found by the coast and mostly around the Firth of Forth in Scotland. Until a few weeks ago, all the finds were certainly or probably KMS but now we have a definate KSM which is clearly the same maker.
At least three of the finds are certainly hanger bricks as they have holes for metal rods and shaped headers for slotting onto a metal frame. They’re unlike any of my other hanger bricks though so they probably weren’t made to fit onto any of the major USA companies structures, like Detrick.

Although the maker remains unknown, searching online for KMS and KSM Refractories does give some results and it might well be that these are foreign products, arriving through shipping.

One thing’s for certain though, our knowledge of basic bricks has moved on a lot since 2020 thanks to finds from Manuel Brickworks and elsewhere. We can now say for sure that the KM part of the mark isn’t Chrome Magnesia (as in Stein KM) and that the S part is very unlikely to be Stein. My KMS / KSM bricks are definitely fireclay, as are all my hanger bricks. Only the shapes and % of alumina change.

See KMS for information.

Below – The dowels represent the position of the holes.

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