Any anvil guru's out there

[J.Marsillo]

Last night i listed my small kohlswa on ebay because i dont need 2 anvils.Today my mom called me up to pick one up from her job....free some one bought a house and heard through a friend of a friend that i was looking for one.
The tail is broken clean off and the pritchel hole is on the drop table it has some writing on it, it says hill and what looks like birmingham. It has a pretty wide face on it and the sides are radiused,although it could use some dressing up.Its pretty heavy for being broken too.

 

[Reg ELLERY]

Nice solid looking anvil. I am no guru, the only thing I can tell you is how to read the original weight.
If it is english look for numbers stamped on the side. From the horn read to the back the first number is hundred weight second is quarts last is lbs

a hundred weight is 112 lbs a quart is 28 lbs lbs is lbs

so if you see 2 1 6 = 224 + 28 + 6 = 258 lbs

 

[J.Marsillo]

Thanks Reg,I'm stumped i couldnt find the stoneweight markings on it.From everything I find it looks like a mousehole anvil but the markings say different.I guess i'm destined to have 2 anvils.

 

[Reg ELLERY]

Joe sorry to send you on a wild number chase.

Most of my anvils are marked but some are not. My best ones look like yours.
Mine come from the Australian goldfields KALGORLIE My best from the horsefield and Brackelman foundry. The foundrey ceased to exist many years ago but my anvil lives on.

What I know or have been lead to believe is the old anvils were forged from big lumps of steel not cast as my new ones are. The forged ones tend to have
2 square holes one under the horn and one at the back where yours has broken off. I have been told they are clamping holes used to hold the anvil in place while being made.

Apart from that a test for your anvil is to get a big ball bearing. I have one 3/4 of an inch diamiter. I drop it from 12 inches and it comes most of the way back up about 10 to 11 inches. I have a cast anvil it comes 3 inches maximum. The chineese cast anvil still works fine but I do believe I can feel a difference when pounding on the good old anvil like yours.

No I can't use them all at once. I sell my knives so I can collect anvils. I think I am a bit of a backward thinker. I have 13 anvils now but they range from novelty mini anvils 3 inches long to 219 lbs