tonyspag Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 hi all i found this in my backyard the corner was poking out of the ground so i dug it up. can any one tell me anything about it plz. ill try to get better pics to. the weight is 105 pounds can't see any markings on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Very old. I'll offer $50 even with such bad pictures. I'd certainly be interested in adding her to the stable, but the photos aren't clear. Definitely older than some might think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Looks like a Transylvanian five footer to me, you anywhere near Bucharest? :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pug}{maN Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Its Nice! Cool score! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua.M Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 i was emailing you earlier about it, still available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua.M Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 double post... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Give us better pictures and your location. That will give us an idea of what you have. it looks like some kind of central European anvil pre19th century. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyspag Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 i live in Ontario Canada and i live on a farm that is well over 100 plus years old here are some better pics. thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Never seen anything like it its an odd one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyspag Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Give us better pictures and your location. That will give us an idea of what you have. it looks like some kind of central European anvil pre19th century. i put better pics up hope it helps and thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyspag Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Looks like a Transylvanian five footer to me, you anywhere near Bucharest? :) no im in Ontario Canada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 My guesses all speculation whatever it is a true rarity Probably cast iron not forged. Early 19th century to 18th century or older Made in North America in one of the many iron furnaces as one off or small production. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyspag Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 My guesses all speculation whatever it is a true rarity Probably cast iron not forged. Early 19th century to 18th century or older Made in North America in one of the many iron furnaces as one off or small production. thank you for info. would you no what it would of been used for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatfudd Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Could you try once more for better pictures? Try taking them against a darker background with a flash, It sort of looks like a combination anvil swage block that I've seen once before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Its an anvil swage block you could use it for just about anything involving hammering metal. Its the sort of all in in one tool you would want if you were going to be away towns and ports and you would need to make most of your own stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyspag Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Its an anvil swage block you could use it for just about anything involving hammering metal. Its the sort of all in in one tool you would want if you were going to be away towns and ports and you would need to make most of your own stuff. thank you again. i'v done some research and can't find anything that looks like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyspag Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Could you try once more for better pictures? Try taking them against a darker background with a flash, It sort of looks like a combination anvil swage block that I've seen once before. ill try to get better ones. but in the mean time what do you think of age and where it would be from? thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulsepushthepopulace Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 What an amazing find! It's certainly neat that's for sure... Try and wire brush it and bring out more detail... Would those with a little more knowledge than I see a problem with a spark test???... Just to verify that it is, in fact, cast iron... I see what looks to be a casting blemish there, but you never know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyspag Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 What an amazing find! It's certainly neat that's for sure... Try and wire brush it and bring out more detail... Would those with a little more knowledge than I see a problem with a spark test???... Just to verify that it is, in fact, cast iron... I see what looks to be a casting blemish there, but you never know... it does spark lol when i was digging it out of the ground i hit it with the shovel and it sparked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LastRonin Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I don't know what it is. But I think it's awesome. It looks like it has a smiley face on it in picture 1 of post 8. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philip in china Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Looks to me like a one off cast iron swage block. Probably just cast in sand to a pattern made up locally. The completely flat side makes it look as if it isn't professionally designed. A wonderful find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaughnT Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Well, it looks to me like it's intentionally designed to be both an anvil and a swage block. The one flat side opposite the 5th foot is perfect for an anvil face, and the depressions are easy to get to by rotating the whole block. The flat on the "back" of the anvil would be a great place for the customer to add depressions as they needed them. Overall, looks like a great general-purpose tool that any frontier smith would like to have. Never seen one like it, but it certainly looks like something out of the 1800's. Value? Hard to say without any kind of history to go with it, but I will say that it's certainly rare enough to be worth something to a collector. If you're keen to sell it, take some better pics and get in touch with Matchless Antiques on ebay. They might give you a few shillings for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyspag Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 Well, it looks to me like it's intentionally designed to be both an anvil and a swage block. The one flat side opposite the 5th foot is perfect for an anvil face, and the depressions are easy to get to by rotating the whole block. The flat on the "back" of the anvil would be a great place for the customer to add depressions as they needed them. Overall, looks like a great general-purpose tool that any frontier smith would like to have. Never seen one like it, but it certainly looks like something out of the 1800's. Value? Hard to say without any kind of history to go with it, but I will say that it's certainly rare enough to be worth something to a collector. If you're keen to sell it, take some better pics and get in touch with Matchless Antiques on ebay. They might give you a few shillings for it. thank you for the info.. just wondering if you or anyone would no of a good site to research it i'v looked and looked and cant find anything that even looks like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 My guess is a tinsmiths swage/anvil as the shapes on it are very handy for typical tinsmith jobs including making spoons, ladels, cones, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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