what to use instead of anvil?

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paleosteveo

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im sorry if this is either out of place or duplicate, i searched quick but this place is so huge i didnt cross anyhitng. for all you knife, hawk, sword makers, what can be used to pound on instead of an anvil. where i live its damn near impossible to find one, and i cant afford to have on delivered. i also here some guys use rail line, i dont have acess to that either.

id like to start with a few simple knives from stuff i have around the garage (files rasps ect) and advice?
 
Well you can use almost any large mass of solid steel. I have heard of people using 4" square stock by about 12" long stood on end in a bucket of sand. Make sure it is steel and not iron, but if you are just scrounging then I guess it doesn't matter much. Mind you I don't forge stee myself, but have a great interest in it and am just passing on what I have read, and if anyone sees fault in my answer, please correct me.


-Xander
 
Another smith said a piece of Rail Road track would do. I don't know that first hand. Look into it.
 
If there are any bridges near by you that have recently been replaced, are being replaced, or are going to be replaced, look around the abuntments for bearings, they are usualy pretty serious chunks of steel. if the bridge is being worked on, ask one of the workers if they are replacing any of the bearings and if so can you have the old ones. I worked with a contractor doing a bridge renovation job and they pulled a 180 pound peice of steel out of it. I would think that would make a good anvil substitute if you can find one.
 
A post anvil
http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?showtopic=8527
post-1951-1191452265.jpg
 
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I use rail way track but I've read u can use a large sledge hammer head half buried in a bucket of concrete.
 
I have two "real" anvils, a Mousehole and a Hay Budden, but this is my favorite knife making anvil.
P1010019.jpg

It is a 5"x5"x25" piece of 4140 that weighs 208#. I found it at my local steel scrap yard. A good friend found a 5x5 drop at a local machine shop ,that weighs 180#, for 50 cents a pound about a month ago. Don't be afraid to ask around.
Mike
 
Ibeam pieces, fork lift tines, bucket pieces from dozers, just about any large, dense piece of steel. If you set it in concrete or sand with the main mass below the part you are pounding on, you should have a fair anvil. Think cutting off a fork lift tine and driving the point into the ground and using the cut off part as your anvil. From what I understand, it's all about the mass under the table that makes a good "anvil".
 
It is real easy to say ,"I can't get....". And if you lives in Moose Jaw Sask, I would agree to some amount. But,come on, you live in NY. There are rail yards everywhere, scrap yards,machine shops,Blacksmith shops, junk and metal dealers, etc. Perhaps you are a high school student and don't have a car ,but I would bet that you have a phone ( your incomplete profile tells me very little). Some phone sleuthing will turn up a chunk of steel and you can find someone to take you there and get it. Heck, IIRC Sam Salvati is/was in LI.

On line metals will ship you a 4" round by 12" block of steel. Last I heard UPS still delivered to LI,NY.

A dry wall bucket, a sack of Quickrete, and a good size chunk of steel....will work as a starter anvil.

Now, as for making knives and hawks from files and rasps laying around the garage., you need to know what they are made from. I would suggest starting with some known steel first. Aldo is just across a short trip from you. Thak the Manhatten bridge and cross over to the Holland tunnel. Go west on ........or just call him. (862) 203-8160


Do you have a forge and any other knife making equipment?
 
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I went to a forklift shop, they gave me a bent fork, free, I haven't started my first knife yet, just lurking here going to "school" daily.
Try both the search "threads" and search "posts" options for the same search key words. It'll make all the difference in your results for searches.
I have yet to find a single question that I wasn't able to find the answer to in searches. :-)
The forklift shop also had a 20 yard container full of scrap square tube etc, for building grinder stands etc., also free.
I did give him some cash, as a thank you.
 
Fluidsteel: So you know, they will get 3¢-5¢ for the scrap steel. Compensate them generously and karma will catch up with you. And, let us know when you start your first knife.
 
zaph1 said:
Fluidsteel: So you know, they will get 3¢-5¢ for the scrap steel. Compensate them generously and karma will catch up with you. And, let us know when you start your first knife.
Click to expand...

We used to scrap loads of oil drilling stuff, cable and drill rod. I can't imagine what that rod would be worth to a smith, better than the 4 cents a pound we got, I know that! It was hard stuff. I remember my boss saying "this tool steel is hard to cut." I wish I knew what I'd be doing now at the time!

I know the guys at the scrapyard were very helpful when I came in looking for stuff. They mentioned a knifemaker just bought up all the brass I had came looking for but helped me look for more.

I have a nice collection of old blacksmith's hammers, they are always coming up at the flea market here. Take your time and you'll run across something. I have slowly been putting together my own setup, last year I even saw a foot powered forge from the 1800's in perfect working order... cheap too, I just didn't have the cash.
 
It's been said already, but the simplest anvil I can think of would be a sledge hammer head, half-buried in a bucket of Quickrete. Cheap and easy to put together. I've seen smiths in Third World countries make amazing blades using little more than just that.

Well, *videos* of Third World smiths :)
 
Makermook said:
It's been said already, but the simplest anvil I can think of would be a sledge hammer head, half-buried in a bucket of Quickrete. Cheap and easy to put together. I've seen smiths in Third World countries make amazing blades using little more than just that.

Well, *videos* of Third World smiths :)
Click to expand...

Alabama is NOT a Third World country, we just pretend it is to keep people out. :mad:

You know that the toothbrush was invented in Kentucky? If it was invented anywhere else it'd be called a teethbrush. :D

What do you have when 32 Kentuckians are in a circle? A full set of teeth :D


On topic......

If you really want some low cost forging equipment tips look up the neo tribal bladesmiths. I started forging because of their equipment tips.
 
:Dthanks all! im just gathering info and ideas for the summer, when i could actually ahve time and money for projects.
 
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