A little technical vocabulary to help you choose your nails wisely: shapes, finishes, and their uses.

1/ The different families of nails

	Tack: A tack is a small nail, with a pyramidal shank (a shank with 4 sides tapering towards the tip) and a flat head. Tacks are used in shoemaking (small-headed tack) and upholstery (larger-headed tack). They are generally made of raw steel or blued steel, but they are also available in brass and copper in high-end versions.

	Forged Nail: Forged nails are large nails with a pyramidal shank (a shank with 4 sides tapering towards the tip). Although they are machine-made, they resemble nails that were once hand-forged by blacksmiths, hence their name. Forged nails are primarily used in old houses and historical monuments, for example, to fasten hinges or decorate doors, shutters, and gates. They come in various lengths (chosen based on the thickness of the door) and in several finishes of shape and color.

	Ronde shaft nail: Is a nail with a round shank. It is the largest family of nails, as it includes miniature nails (micro nails) of a few millimeters and carpentry nails of several tens of centimeters. Nails exist in many metals and with very varied head shapes: round, flat, diamond-shaped, cone, lost head, etc.

	Dome head forged nail: This nail resemble upholstery tacks, except they have a domed head. The smallest dome head forged nail are used in upholstery, while the larger ones can be used in construction similar to forged nails.

	Upholstery nail : The upholstery nail (not to be confused with the upholstery tack !) is a decorative nail. It is mainly used to finish the edges of chairs and armchairs covered in fabric. Traditionally, the upholstery nail is also used for decorating wooden clogs.

	Staple, conduit, staple pin : Commonly referred to as "staples" because they are fixed by placing them astride something (wires, fences, etc.), conduits and staple pins are U-shaped nails, with a point on each side. On conduits, the points are straight, while on staple pins, the points are beveled.