50 lb Fisher anvil

D

Daniel Swanson

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Mar 13, 2018
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55
looking for my first Anvil, found a 50 lb Fisher anvil that looks like it’s in good shape. He wants $300 which seems like a fair deal (not incredible but fair). I’m worried about the size though, seems small. Is that anvil going to get me a good ways into my forging hobby? I’m not planning on forge welding (yet), just forging out blades.
Thanks for any advice!
 
Damm, for a small Vulcan, thats steep !!
But I still need to get it through my head about internet and TV fueled a raging knife & blacksmith boner. Prices for old tools are through the roof !

A good thing actually. Delays alot of this stuff what otherwise was going to recycler because its now worth alot or some guy paid a lot for it so will keep it if they loose interest.
 
That's $6 per pound. Not a great price. I have 5 anvils. I didn't pay more than 3 and change per pound for any of them. Also a 50lb anvil is pretty small. For knife work somewhere between 120 and 200 pounds is nice.
 
To me, that sounds about twice what it should be. $200 would be more than I would suggest paying.
Like Lieblad, I haven't gotten used to the crazy upswing in anvil prices. I just looked and people are asking up to $400 for a 45# Fisher.

Fisher is a different company than Vulcan. They both have cast iron bodies and a steel top plate. Fisher cast the iron directly on the plate and it bonded in the casting process. Vulcan cast the body and then welded the top plate on. I generally consider them equal value. There are larger Fishers that are desirable.

For the same money as that used small anvil, you can buy a new anvil from many knife suppliers and farrier suppliers.
Jantz now has good forging anvils. They are solid 4140 and fully hardened - 100, 150, and 200 pounds. They start at $600.
They also carry a good starter anvil - a 70 pound NC anvil for $275
 
Thanks for all the advice. I declined on the anvil I mentioned. I’ll hold out until I find a bigger anvil, maybe I’ll see how the new Atlas knivemakers anvil turns out. For now I’ll keep scouring craigslist but pickings are slim out here in eastern Montana.
 
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