Patent ID: 7845889

Claim:
A nail comprising: a head; a point; a shank extending from the head to the point and having a circumference, an outer diameter, and a longitudinal axis, and defining an outer periphery; and an odd number of smooth, substantially identical semi-circular grooves formed in the shank and extending straight, longitudinally along the longitudinal axis of the shank, the grooves each defining a nadir, wherein no two nadirs are diametrically opposed to one another such that no two grooves are 180 degrees opposed to one another, wherein the grooves are configured to reduce an amount of material needed to create the nail and provide areas of increased work hardening of the nail an intersection of the outer periphery and each of the plurality of grooves, and wherein the amount of material needed to create the nail is reduced by about six percent as compared to a non-grooved nail having a shank outer diameter that is the same as the outer diameter of the shank of the nail and the bending yield strength is reduced by about three percent as compared to a non-grooved nail having a shank outer diameter that is the same as the outer diameter of the shank of the nail.