Does anvil age matter?

C

canuck cutler

Joined
Oct 27, 2015
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17
I tried googling this question, but I guess a video game character is also named anvil.

Their is an anvil for sale locally, it was made in the late 1800's. I watched a video on how to test an anvils quality with a hammer and a ball bearing.

My question is about age, are newer anvils better? Are their problems with old anvils that I should be concerned with?

Also it's a bit rusty, would that affect it very much?
 
canuck cutler said:
I tried googling this question, but I guess a video game character is also named anvil.

Their is an anvil for sale locally, it was made in the late 1800's. I watched a video on how to test an anvils quality with a hammer and a ball bearing.

My question is about age, are newer anvils better? Are their problems with old anvils that I should be concerned with?

Also it's a bit rusty, would that affect it very much?
Click to expand...


I am the third owner of my anvil - 100kg London pattern.
The first owner had it for 80 years (father then son), the second (different family) 50 years, and now it's mine!
Rings like a bell - almost deafening when using it without dampening the sound (chain wrapped round waist)
on wood stand, made from an old railway sleeper.
The edges are near perfect for it's age ie no chips or flat parts.
If it rings/rebounds and the edges are ok, go for it when you find one.
You probably will not have a problem reselling if it doesn't work out how you want.

Best of luck finding one.
 
Mine is a Mouse Hole dating back to around 1820-1835. Plenty of rust and dings on her but she still takes a beating like the day she was forged. As long as the top is not swayed or crowned or chipped too badly its a keeper.
 
How much sway is bad? Obviously the flatter the better I would assume. My anvil has a large deep gouge in the step from some type of upsetting apparently. I can't find any info on mine but rebound is awesome! It weighs appx 250 Lbs!
 
PaMtnBkr said:
How much sway is bad? Obviously the flatter the better I would assume. My anvil has a large deep gouge in the step from some type of upsetting apparently. I can't find any info on mine but rebound is awesome! It weighs appx 250 Lbs!
Click to expand...

As much as you can live with. Plenty of people out there forging on sway backed anvils. Mine has a bit of a crown to it. Most smiths just learn to work with it. Its not necessarily "bad"...you just might have to do a little extra straightening from time to time.
 
.187 isnt even anything to worry about. Thats basically flat as far as old anvils are concerned.
 
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