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Great great grandfathers anvil


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i recently acquired this anvil from my grandfather, saying this was his great grandfathers. also my first anvil, very excited.

20r8jo5.jpg

 unsure of model, there isnt any letters on the side or anywhere on the anvil, but im going to assume this is a London pattern 200-25 ish pounds. Thoughts? because i could be totally wrong hehe =)

 

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Good lookin' anvil.  I'd bet on it being a Peter Wright by the looks of it, though any quality anvil is a joy to use.  For being in the family so long, that baby is in fantastic condition.

 

With your neighbors so near, you might want to consider betting the anvil in some silicone caulk or the like.  That will deaden the ring considerably.

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Nice looking anvil, even better having a family history with it. Use it wisely and it should serve you and your grandchildren well. Looks a little small to my eye for 200 pounds, I would have guessed in the 100 pound range, but that does not diminish it's value.

Enjoy and remember to post photos of your work for us.

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Chan it down, shame to have some crackhead swipe it to sell for scrap. Sorry to bring a bit of rain to the party.

they could certainly try, its on the log tight, not goin' anywhere, and its heavy as hell, the aluminum straps are stronger than you think.

 

Good lookin' anvil.  I'd bet on it being a Peter Wright by the looks of it, though any quality anvil is a joy to use.  For being in the family so long, that baby is in fantastic condition.

 

With your neighbors so near, you might want to consider betting the anvil in some silicone caulk or the like.  That will deaden the ring considerably.

i was thinkin more along the lines of a big ass magnet, but caulk? how would i apply that?

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Look on the bottom of the anvil and report on the shape of any indentation in it.

The country it came from has some effect on possible brands; but all the PW in the USA and Australia did originally come from England so the correlation is not 100%

Some of the early Trentons were sourced in northern Europe and have the flats on the feet we think of PW with but had a large "coarse" hourglass indentation on the base IIRC.

Check along the front of the foot for a serial number and possible weight in pounds.

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Look on the bottom of the anvil and report on the shape of any indentation in it.

The country it came from has some effect on possible brands; but all the PW in the USA and Australia did originally come from England so the correlation is not 100%

Some of the early Trentons were sourced in northern Europe and have the flats on the feet we think of PW with but had a large "coarse" hourglass indentation on the base IIRC.

Check along the front of the foot for a serial number and possible weight in pounds.

I know this sounds very annoying, but there seriously isn't any numbers, words/letters or anything anywhere on the anvil, not even on the bottom. im not too concerned about what kind of anvil it is, i just thought it would be interesting to show off my "mystery" anvil.

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Side note, I have been sporting a brown Kepi since I bought it at the Sandal Makers shop on Pier 39 in San Francisco when I was 14. All suede, and has held up to all manner of weather conditions, and use. Cost $25 back in 1979,which was a lot to me at the time, but it turned out to be one of my best purchases.

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Side note, I have been sporting a brown Kepi since I bought it at the Sandal Makers shop on Pier 39 in San Francisco when I was 14. All suede, and has held up to all manner of weather conditions, and use. Cost $25 back in 1979,which was a lot to me at the time, but it turned out to be one of my best purchases.

nice, since im preparing for the winter apocalypse, im wearing a fur trappers toque.

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  • 1 month later...

Lucky Dog, My Grandpa has a huge anvil he's 94 and still uses it. He got it from his Dad. I would love to buy it from the estate when the time comes rather than see my Aunts sell it at auction or worse scrap it. If I am lucky enough to get it, I want it to go to one of my Grand kids and so on. I'm real happy for you that you inherited your family's anvil, pass it down with any history you can. Would be wise to write it down and explain that it is priceless, with stern instructions to never sell it. So sad seeing anvils like yours sold by families that do not know any better. I hope that ALL of our heirs hang on to our anvils even if it means dragging them around when living in the cities. You never know when a Smith will emerge from your lineage. Best of luck to you.

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The down side to that however is that few of us would would have the historic anvils we own today. So I guess that it really wouldn't bother me if a stranger sold his family anvil to me. I would rather see that happen than some fool shoot it up in the air or use it for target practice. I know this sounds crazy but do you feel any kind of presence when your working with that anvil? I have heard that certain supernatural instances have happened, or have been attached to older items particularly cherished items. These are much more common in inherited items. An old anvil might qualify. Don't laugh, but try to keep an open mind. We never really know, do we?

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My Grandpa has a huge anvil he's 94 and still uses it. He got it from his Dad. I would love to buy it from the estate when the time comes rather than see my Aunts sell it at auction or worse scrap it. If I am lucky enough to get it, I want it to go to one of my Grand kids and so on.

 

 

You might want to say something to that effect to him and the rest of the family before he passes away. He might just leave it too you rather than having to buy it from the estate. It would be a real shame for them to find out after they sold it that you really wanted it.

 

Recently I've been helping an aging aunt who has been putting her affairs in order. One of those things has been talking to many of the cousins and other family members if there aren't special things they would like to have to remember her. Most of those items that people have commented on aren't really valuable, but have a more personal connection to her or the family. With one it's an old shelf clock with a ton of gears and so on she mentioned she'd sit for hours watching as a kid when visiting grandma and grandpa at my aunts house. For her brother it's some of the old hand tools he used there that got him interested in working with his hands.

 

When my long time boss and friend passed away, his wife asked if there wasn't anything from the business I was interested in. I asked for the old steel workbench and vise at the shop we used to use. Later I found out how many people inquired into if it was for sale after his death and I still have one guy who hounds me asking if I want to get rid  out it. I'm glad she offered it to me 1st rather than selling it to the scrapper who came over to haul off the dead trucks and scrap laying around up at the shop.

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I agree with DSW. You need to mention it to him. My uncle was in the European theater during WWII and was in the Battle of the Bulge. When he came back he had German items like a flag, helmet, sword, etc.. I had always had an interest in the war since my Dad, Mom, and several uncles were involved in it. He mentioned on one of his trips out here that he had finally decided to sell those things off the year before, as he was getting up in age and none of his sons were interested in any of it. When he found out I did, he told me he would have just given them to me if he had known.

Sluice box, you need to talk to him now, not later. Sometime later does not always come.

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  • 3 years later...

Sad that Grandpa passed this year. I did inherit the anvil. Very sad I didn't have more time to share with him. Strange I remember that anvil as a kid being quite large, turns out it weighs in at 160 lbs. I guess to a kid that's pretty big. I miss you Grandpa.

Pretty bummed out we lost DSW too, he offered some great advice above. BIGGUNDOCTOR, I took your advice as well, thank you.

 

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