I had not even punched through a piece of steel before, so I decided to give it a shot after looking through my book on Practical Blacksmithing Projects and read the section on nails.
I figured why not try to make a nail, ugly as mine may be. I made a rough header out of a flat piece of stock by punching through just enough to break the other side, then I punched from the other side. The header is relatively flat, but I may change it at a later date. I probably will add a bulge to help shape the heads.
I only made 2 nails, but I made them two different ways. The first one with the larger head, I cut to a size I thought would be right, tapered it first and left enough for the head. The second one I just worked the end of a 1/4" square rod and then cut it to length. The second one was thinner & I did not leave enough for a head on there and ended up hammering it right through the header from one side. (The hole is a little large...)
The 1st one I made a little too tapered I think and ended up splitting it. Is there a way to avoid that? They came out looking more like spikes but they drove into the wood good and are now holding some tools in the shop.
I'm not sure how big the market is for handmade nails, but I saw that you can sell a handmade nail for a buck a piece(and that's a small one).
I would love to try and make a replica of the Williamsburg style nail maker setup, that i've seen posted in other threads.