Is this anvil worth buying?

AncientSword

AncientSword

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Apr 18, 2009
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I have been negotiating a better price on this anvil, but I have not looked at it in person. It is several hours away from me. It looks pretty tired to me in the pics, but I was wondering what some of you with more experience might think? I have been using the 55 lbs harbor freight anvil I bought and I am not real happy with it. I am still a beginner, but I would like to get something better to work with if I can.

Any thoughts on this one:

http://tampa.craigslist.org/hdo/tls/4145224778.html

Help would be greatly appreciated.
 
it's going to take a lot of work to flatten the top and square up the edges.
"some superficial rust" - heh.
would not be worth $3 a pound to me.
 
Its a little rough and what not but probably far better then the HF one you have now. Dont really need a flat super flat face. Ofcourse I would say try and get them for $2 a pound and if they dont go for it pass.

Stop over at Iforgeiron and see if some of the guys there have any anvils in your area.
 
Careful of the ones that have been decked or show signs of work like that. People can take the top plates almost most of the way off on those old peter wrights because the top plate can be 1/8" thick sometimes. Not saying that is the case 91wm6 and that kit is a good price.

Leads to a point check the rebound with a ball bearing or small hammer. Also check for sounds of delamination of the top plate for ones like PW or Fishers and such. They dont all ring but all should rebound nicely.
 
http://miami.craigslist.org/brw/clt/4247649556.html here is one I saw but its probably gone by now. The soderfors are really nice, Ive got a 200lber that will be with me till I die or cant swing a hammer any more. At that price though its probably long gone.

Just realized forgot about the deal spotting thing. Sorry mods, if you want Ill remove any links.
 
I have been looking for a while on and off and I don't see lots of anvil for sale down here. Not to say there aren't some on occasion. I offered $2 a pound and he is holding at $2.50. I'd hate to drive a couple hours just to find out I don't want it so I may pass unless he comes down more.

I also inquired into the one from south Florida and it has been sold.
 
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2.50 isnt too bad. Looked at it again and as long as it has good rebound may be worth it. I would dress the edges to help keep them from chipping out any more. In a anvil poor area thats a good price. Better then what some of the guys ask for up around my neck of the woods. Saw one HB with half the top plate missing going for $600 and it was the same weight as that one. Almost spit my coffee out.
 
That's a good anvil in terms of maker and size, but the price is too outlandish. At $3/lb I'm looking for top quality, hardly used stuff. Even in FLA there are anvils around if you wait long enough.

Figure that for the same money you can get a great anvil in the shape of a forklift tine or similar block of steel. The london-pattern anvil hasn't been around for a tenth of the time folks have been forging. Block anvils are perfect for 90% of all the smithing anyone could possibly do.
 
I got the price down to $2.50/lb but he is holding firm there.

I found another anvil on cl that I was wondering about, but it is also a couple hours away. They guy claims it is forged, but has a crack in the horn, and is around 70 lbs. Anyone able to id it at all? Would it be worth looking into?



I am thinking about hitting my surplus place and picking up a piece of 4140 I saw last time, to make a post anvil out of. Just trying to spend my limited funds, wisely. Using my ASO HF piece of crap really stinks.
 
I'd pass. But that's just me. There are plenty of anvils out there in much better shape at that price.
 
Yeah, this falls under the "I found a lump of iron shaped like an anvil/vise and it looks old, IM RICH!!!!" category. This actually isn't that bad of an offender, but IMO still a $2/lb max.

Really irritates me personally, although I probably shouldn't get so wadded up about it.
 
Just go to your local blacksmiths get-together and ask around. You'll go home with a good anvil at a good price and a lot of information.

Never mind that you're a bladesmith and not a blacksmith- they'll just roll their eyes and grin and be helpful anyway.
It's kind of like being an accordion player at a jam session. :)
 
I went to my local scrapyard today and picked up several different chunks of 4140 that are about 3x2x10. I would like to harden a portion to use as a post anvil. I will wait till I can find a good deal on a good anvil.
 
That "blue" anvil has two point of interest that indicate that it might be a decent anvil. Firstly, note the thick heel compared to other anvils you've shown. This is a semi-rare feature used by Brooks, Vulcan and Fisher. That's not to say it's definitely one of those, but it could be.

Secondly, the "crack" in the horn. My Fisher anvil also has a "crack" in the horn. It's where the hard top plate of the horn meets the cast iron body. Fisher anvils are unique in their construction in that they have a hard face plate on the main body of the anvil and on the horn. Being cast iron for the most part, there's no church-bell-like ring, and a lot of people will pass on them thinking that they're garbage. Vulcan is also has a cast iron body, but didn't use the face plate on the horn like Fisher did.

Fisher often has their name cast into the foot of the anvil, but sometimes didn't if they were making a batch to order. Of course, it could be a garbage anvil and not worth your time. The only way to tell is to get some hands-on time with it. That's one lousy photo.
 
quint said:
Its a little rough and what not but probably far better then the HF one you have now. Dont really need a flat super flat face. Ofcourse I would say try and get them for $2 a pound and if they dont go for it pass.

Stop over at Iforgeiron and see if some of the guys there have any anvils in your area.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip,Quint. I have been spending a lot of time reading over on iForgeiron after you suggested it. I came across a bunch of posts about post anvils and decided to just start there. I picked up a big chunk of metal to use for that, 19"x 9"x 3" and 125 lbs. Seems to be a pretty good start.

A "real" anvil will have to wait for now.

Thanks for all your help, guys.
 
Good to know and saw ya over there. By the way a piece of steel like you have is a real anvil if you bang hot metal on it.
 
I'm very local to you Ancient, I'll likely be going to Florida Flywheelers next weekend and the vendors that attend usually have a substantial amount of iron at a fair price. It's in Ft. Meade,FL near Avon Park. You'll have better luck scoring an anvil there, as last year there were 20 or so, in various states of condition just hanging out. What size/price range are you looking for?
 
I am really only looking to spend like $300 to $400 at the most for right now. I spent some $$ picking up some material for a post anvil and some other steel.

I am interested in attending the event though, please provide me with more info if you can.
 
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