Anvil help

[sbickford]

Am a new knifemaker and looking to set up a shop at home. How heavy an anvil should I be looking for?

 

[Mace]

Welcome to the forums!
I would say the biggest one you can find. But a 150 pounder is a good place to start.
Mace

 

[Danbo]

As big as you can afford. Just know that good, used anvils are not cheap. Brand new ones are even more expensive(understandably). You can expect to pay $3-4 per lb for a decent used anvil. Mine isn't heavy enough, probably. I got a 127 lb Swedish Kohlsaw(sp?)anvil off Ebay a few years ago. Cost me $380 and a 3 hour drive to pick it up. I considered it a bargain then, and still do. It was used slightly, by a Farrier and he used the horn mainly. The flat face is nearly new.

 

[Justin.Mercier]

Between 100 and 150 is a good size for a 'portable' shop anvil. The larger the anvil typically the more efficient it is, as your force will not be expended in lateral movement of the anvil itself, but the honest truth is, you can make fantastic knives with a 50 lb block of steel as your anvil, and an anvil doesnt have to be 'anvil shaped' to be effective.

My main shop anvil is 151lbs and I dont really see the need for a larger one for the work that I do.

 

[Ed Caffrey]

My input is that 125lb is about the minimum for bladesmithing. I've owned anvils ranging from 80 to 350lbs......in my experience, the larger the anvil, the more work I can accomplish, and the less fatigue I experience.

 

[bobbywett]

I too own a kohlswa Anvil in the 132lb variety. I paid $400.00 for it this past February. It has a rougher face than I'd like, but is a sight better than the railroad track I forged on for the first 3 yrs. I mounted it on a big old oak stump and secured it with four foot long nails.