Box nails are wire nails similar to common nails except that they have thinner shanks and are not to be used for dimensional lumber framing construction requiring common nails. This is because box nails do not have as thick a shank as a common nail for a given penny size and as such have less holding power. For example a 16d common nail has a 0.162 inch diameter and a 16d box nail has a 0.135 inch diameter.
Box nails are typically used on thinner wood material (like wood boxes) to reduce splitting.
