What Kind Of Anvil Do You Have?

H

Higgy

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Dec 31, 2002
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All of my blacksmithing shop (Anvil, hammers, forge, building) is probably close to 100 years old. I inherited it from my great Uncle Charles, rest his soul. I do have a couple decent hammers and such, but seriously need to upgrade my anvil. The one use now is probably turn-of-century. All it says is made in England, and weighs to my best estimate 120-125 lbs.

It's seen better days.

Was wondering what all of you use, and how much you paid for it?
 
I have a 152 pound Hay Budden made in 1913. It is in very nice shape for any age.

I paid $75.00 for it.
 
i recently splurged and bought a brand new czechoslovakian-made anvil from Dan at Old Word Anvils...167 lbs, cost me $435 plus shipping...haven't had a chance to use it yet, but i can tell i'm gonna like it...he wasn't kidding about a ball bearing dropped from 24" bouncing back 22"! considerably better than the 4x4 hunk of tool steel mounted to a tree stump that i've been using...
 
$75 for a Hay Budden?!?! WOW. You get all the deals ;)

Around here, anvils are becoming more and more difficult to find. When they do show up, it seems to be in antique shops or at estate auctions and people are buying them as ANTIQUES. You know how that goes, sell it as a tool and people pay a using price...sell it as an antique and the price is through the roof. The very few nice ones have gone for $400 and up.

An anvil is one of those things that if you have one that's 100 years old, chances are pretty good that you have a good one. There are a few places making really stand-out anvils today, but they are VERY expensive. A friend of mine has a Nimba forge anvil, made right here in WA and it was about $700 or so for a 120 lb. anvil.

I have a 130 pound Hercules that's about 100 years old. Except for not having real sharp corners like I would like, it's a very good anvil.

I think a lot of the performance is not only the anvil itself, but the base as well. Stumps don't work that well. Mine is mounted to a base made of 11" squares of 3/4" particle board (glued and nailed). This base is level, strong, and reduces the noise tremendously. I don't have that "ring, ring, ring" just kind of a solid thud with each strike.

Like I said, blacksmith tools are of the nature that often times old is just as good or better than new.

On a side note, I've seen pictures of Don Fogg using an anvil that's tall and slender, and is made by a knifemaker. I can't recall the name, but the face looks to be ideal for blade work.

Nick
 
I'm working off of a 150# vulcan, that I gave $125 for. This anvil was in almost brand new shape when I purchased it, has good sharp edges, a fair rebound and no ring.( I really like the no ringing)
I have to agree but disagree with Nick, an anvil just sitting on a log or stump might not be the best, but mine is mounted on a 24" diameter oak log that I cut and buried 12" in the ground. It is about as solid a base as I could ever ask for, maybe if I was blacksmithing and pounding out horseshoes all day I would have a different opinion, but for bladesmithing I couldn't ask for anything better.

Just my opinion

Bill
 
Hi,
Some of those old anvils are better than the new stuff. I have a 130 lb Mankel from Michigan. But an old English anvil would have been just fine.
There are some threads at Anvilfire and Keenjunk that discuss old anvils and identifications. Some of those old anvils are going for $4-6 a pound. You can use it forever if the top is flat.
Enjoy, Ken
 
My anvil is 225# 1911 Fisher. The way they were designed without a ring is wild. The rebound is a little less. It works out well, since my shop it in the center of the city. My press is louder.
 
Well, I won't mention the little rinky dink anvil I have now....but, I'm picking up a 500# Fisher for $500 at the Batson symposium in a few weeks. I'm told there were only 500 of these made, so I'm happy to be the keeper of it for the next 50+ years (I hope!) until it gets passed on to the next smith that gets it. :)

-Darren
 
Jeese,

you guys are makin me feel bad paying all that money for them anvils. I guess I wont tell you about the 400 pound peter wright that I got from an old guy that use to do some blacksmithing here in town. And you probably don,t want to here about the 325# Hay Budden that I found in the weeds last Easter, on the ranch that my father in law bought. And I am real sure you don't want to know that I didn,t pay a dime for either one of them.:p
 
Bill,

Good for you. Free is good. On the other hand, when a man is asking hundreds or thousands of dollars for a knife it seems a bit odd to be unwilling to pay good money for a primary tool that will last a few lifetimes. I got a 176# Hay-Budden for around $200. It's still a bit easier out East.

but....

Nick,

I bought a bladesmithing anvil from Chuck Robinson. I paid an extra few $$ to have both faces hardened. Now I have two bladesmithing anvils! Just turn it over for a brand new face. Or use both faces and have eight different edges with different radii. Lots of possibilities. Great tool. London pattern anvils are often in the way when bladesmithing. Good smiths can and do work around the problems they present, but they are still far from ideal.

John
 
Bill,

Sorry. I just read my post and realized it might sound like I was talking to you personally. Not at all! This is an old thought of mine that just came out directly following my congratulations and envy of you. :)


John
 
As for me......My main work anvil is a #300 Trenton, also have a #254 Trenton, a #125 Kolishwa (for travel/demos), and a little #85 Swedish that was set up for my daughter to use. You can never have enough anvils! ;) ;) ;)
 
ive also got one of Chuck Robinsons bladesmith anvils. They rebound like a 500 lb anvil and have a very nice adjustable stand, all for about $350.
 
My first anvil was given to me a number of years before I had a interest in knives. The only time it was used is when I needed extra weight in my P/U. Never knew what the make was until I mentioned the partial diamond shape I could make out and the amount of ring it had to Wayne Goddard and he said it had to be a Trenton. Its a 150#. I have since bought a smaller 120# Made in Sweden anvil for doing demo's. Any body have any information on the Swedish anvils? Mine has just got Made in Sweden on it and thats it. Its a heck of an anvil and all forged steel. I've had to put two magnets on it to help deaden the ring......
 
Wow! Lots of great responses here. Thanks, fellas. Two things:

Anyone here ever paid all that good cash money that Centaur Forge is asking for a Peddinghaus or a Vaughn Brooks? I'm looking at about $1300 for the one I want.

~and second, a humorous story~

I just got in the mail today one of those cheesy chinese 24# anvils from Grizzly. I figured something to set pins on and such would be nice to have, and the price was right... $19! Anyhoo, some joker at Grizzly slapped a FRAGILE sticker on the box. I thought that was pretty rich. :)

Jeff
 
Right now I'm useing two anvils, a 250 lb. block of mild steel, and a 50lb. cast steel from Harbor Freight.

I am planing on building and heat treating a Japanese sword smith type anvil if I can ever find a larg block of 1050 steel.
 
I picked up a century old anvil 110lbs from my high school english teacher. The thing was in near mint condition and she only wanted $125 for it. I ccouldnt beleive how square all the corners were. Havent been able to find any markings to determine who it was made by though. Apparently it had been on her fathers ranch for many many years but not used for whatever reason.
 
Picked up a well used Mouse-hole 128lb for $175. Nice rebound that kinda catches me off guard every now and then.

Mark
 
After about 5 years of "keeping my eyes open" I found a 150 lb anvil in really good condition at an antique store for 75.00 (the tip of the horn was broken off so he gave it too me for 60.00). It has a great rebound, but doesn't ring much at all. The top is flat, but the edges are a little rounded.
I would love to learn more about it. I haven't been able to find much on it in the way of markings. Any suggestions on where to look for info on identifying old anvils?
Ed
 
Last fall I picked up a 300# Fisher for $475. It had been owned by a shipbuilder who used it for brass propeller work, so the face was in excellent condition. It has a nice, large, flat surface on which to work, and the edges are great as well. The hard part is finding good hardies that fit in the 1.25" hole. It seems the vast majority of hardies are 3/4" or 7/8"

I also have a 160# Peter Wright but the face has some sway in it. This anvil sees hardly any use at all.
 
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