Anvil Choice?

[Ken H>]

Hello ya'll. I'm looking at purchasing an anvil. Both are in the 100 lb range. The top is what's called Italy style, notice how long the rear portion with the holes is? Pretty thin which doesn't seem like that would be good for hammering on. BUT - most of the hammering/forging would take place forward of the holes - wouldn't it? If that is the case, the rear portion being thin would put more of the mass toward the center where most of the forging would take place, away from the holes in the anvil. The bottom anvil has more metal around the holes - is that better?

Looking for some guidance here. The specs on the anvil are the same and from the same vendor

Ken H>

 

[weo]

I think the answer will depend on what the plans are for the anvil (what kind of forging)? If you are solely going to make knives and not use stock larger than 1/4-3/8" thick, then I think this would be fine.
If, on the other hand, you have interest in doing some larger forging projects, then I would avoid this if you are only going to have one anvil for forging. You might need a specialized hardy tool and heavy forging to accomplish a task. In our shop we have 3 different anvils with different size/shaped horns and a few railroad track anvils and I have done projects where I've used all of them.
Another thing to consider is the size of the hardy hole. Most hardy tools nowadays seem to have a 1" shank and I have to modify most to fit snugly in my 1-1/4" hardy on my main anvil.

 

[Ken H>]

Good points, but 99% of my forging will be for knives or other smaller projects. Are you referring to the Italy style anvil that will be fine for small forging?

I think both anvils have a 1" hardy hole - my hardy tool has a 1" shank.

 

[weo]

Are you referring to the Italy style anvil that will be fine for small forging?

I'm not sure what they mean by "Italy style". I always thought Italian style anvils had a tapered heel and horn (like all Nimba anvils). That's not what the picture shows, though. I'd call the company and ask if the picture is accurate, and if so, why they call it "Italian style ".
The tapered heel is a great thing IMO

 

[Ken H>]

OK, now I see what you're talking about on the tapered heel (sometimes called a double horn anvil?) I think the London style is what I normally think of in an anvil, are both of the anvils I pictured called a London style with the squared heel? I've learned more about anvils these last day than I knew I was missing. Thanks BillyO.
Ken H>