Anvils, Swage Blocks, and Mandrels

This is a list of manufacturers currently making anvils for blacksmiths and farriers: Accaciao (also sold as Vevor) - China, cast 1045 steel, hardness unknown Atlas Knife and Tool - USA, cast 1050 steel, 60 RC Austin Edens - see Scott Anvils B&W - China, cast 6150 steel, 58-60 RC [William] Barnhart - USA, cast 50MN steel, 57 RC Big Blu - USA, cast steel, 54 RC, alloy unknown Branco - Czech Republic, cast steel, 44 RC (minimum), alloy unknown BSL - Australia, cast 1050 steel, 57 RC (NB: the company is Australian, but the anvils are cast in China) Cliff Carrol - USA, cast steel(?), alloy and hardness unknown …

I snagged these "anvil" pictures from IFI, all exelent anvils. I especially like the cut off crank shaft If you look at this, you will find two modifications I shamelessly took from Steve Sells.

So I figured I'd write a decent buyers guide for buying anvils. Repost with photos First of all I want to make it very clear that if you’re just starting out in blacksmithing you DO NOT NEED a “London Pattern anvil” to start hitting hot metal on. London pattern anvils are usually very expensive (your location in the world makes a big difference) not to mention relatively rare and hard to find. All too often I see posts on forums or Facebook where a new smith has spent all of their spare cash because they “HAD” to have an anvil. A large sledge hammer head, a section of rail track mounted vertically (more mass under the ham…

The anvil weight is 100 to 150 pounds for many blacksmith shops. Farriers go a bit lighter as their stuff is mobile by necessity. Some blacksmithing work goes a bit heavier An anvil is a life time investment, as it will most likely out last several owners if the anvil is treated well. Go to the blacksmiths meetings and look at the different anvils and the purpose they were designed for. Try out block anvils, single horn, double horn, London pattern, farriers pattern, etc. You will need to figure out what you plan on making and purchase the style and anvil weight to fit the work. Calculate the price per pound on each anvil. You plan on using an anvil for the n…

When you photograph a logo on an anvil, it is best to use a point or strong light from a low angle to the anvil. This created a shadow across the marks depression in the metal. A pencil rubbing on a piece of paper sometimes reveals details you may have missed. Pay the anvil on its side and dust the logo with baby powder or flour then lightly brush off any excess leaving the depressions of the logo to catch and reveal the logo. Use modeling clay and press it into the impression. Peel it away and look at the negative image of the logo. Use all three and compare them. Usually you can get most of the details.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNsi3bBcVWQ

Hoping to find some additional history behind this Hofi anvil that belonged to Doug Merkel. Hoping to date it by the info on it. Any info much appreciated.

I picked up an old American Star Anvil (112 lbs.) yesterday. The tempered steel top plate is mostly gone. Can what is left be removed and refinished with a new plate?? I have pictures.

Does anyone have any idea what an 1892 100# Fisher Anvil is worth? Thank you for your time!

Visited a farm today near Syracuse IN, my Father-in-law knows the owner, to see if there was any metal scrap I could use. Picked up some miscellaneous stuff, but wanted to share this 1886 thirty-pound Fisher Norris anvil. Wasn't available to take, dont need it, and damaged, but still a neat REALLY old anvil.

My husband passed a little over a year ago just trying to find out a little about this anvil. He acquired it for payment on some work that he did. We were together for 45 years and he had it the whole time and just liked it but never spoke much about it. He was 83 when he passed

Picked up this anvil and would like to know more and value. I'll do a BB test on it in later but it looks pretty clean. Not sure how to post pictures yet. 25 3/8" long 4" wide 2" step down 15/16" square hole on top and 1/2" round hole No mouse hole Saggital cast line Raised "T" on one side (pic) Round stamp mark on the other side (pic) No weight or sn on feet or other marks seen Forgot to say thanks in advance, and I'm selling it if anyone wants to come get it in southern Oregon.

Hello all, There's a crate of beer in a bet here. Buddy of mine gave me a epoxy-ish glue, which is made to glue steel plates to (worn) wooden beams for train track construction. It's not for glueing rails down, but the plates where the rails are screwed on. Seems to be strange glue. It's ignorant to water, but penetrates wood & rusted steel like crazy (like the underside of the base of my anvil). Anyway, he told me it would hold down an anvil. I told him I'd get him a crate of beer if that would work. Hence the wager. My buddy didn't even used lots of glue. We decided I'd use it for a month, see if I could get it to loosen up. I got to keep the res…

I was gifted this Armitage anvil last weekend. The top face is pretty beat up, but I'll try using it and see how it does. Also had a hardy tool shank stuck in it that I punched out after letting it sit overnight with penetrating oil. Markings appear to me to be M&H .... Armitage.... Mouse .....1-0-16 -- so 128 lbs? I don't have access to the Mousehole book - can anyone give me an approximate age guess? This is the third anvil I've seen lately that has numerous center punch like holes in the sides - what job/process was being completed to leave these marks on anvils???

I have had this anvil since my Dad passed away and have no info about is except I THINK it MIGHT be a Hay Budden or Peter Wright but I could be wrong, I was once before. My Dad got it from my Great Uncle and he bought it from his Grand Father at some time. I got the anvil, forge blower, post vice and the two piece thing the coal box sits on and the blower pipe fits onto. Thanks for any info. PICTURES ARE COMING, THEY ARE ON ANOTHER COMPUTER

Hey everyone, I am new to this hobby....never even swung a hammer, but eager to learn as much as I can. Hopefully this is my first post of many more. I have been looking to get into blacksmithing for almost a year now and decided to buy a few starter items (old leg press, used coal forge, used welding table and some new hammers, gloves and tongs). I also became a member to a local blacksmith group in Alabama (alaforge.org). With that said, I bought 248 lb. Kohlswa anvil. I don't know too much about anvils except that the face looks like glass with nearly sharp edges. I paid $1400 for it last month, which some might think is overpriced, but considering the con…

Howdy all, I know we all complain about anvil prices, but my mind gets muddled after reading so many threads. Quite often I see a 100 to 150 pound anvils on Facebook marketplace near me, for about $400-500. They are usually in good condition. I know how to tell whether or not an anvil is good, but I’d like to know if y’all think that’s okay price for something like a hay budden, or Trenton, or if y’all think thats too expensive. I currently use a little harbor freight anvil, which works fine, but something like the ones I’m seeing would be a life long anvil. My head really does get muddled after reading so many posts, and seeing the FBM listings got me thinking …

Hi all, Recently finished this 8 lb 12 oz forge welded 3 piece anvil. Here's a video on making it, let me know your thoughts

Hello everyone! I hope you’re having a great day. I’m reaching out because I need a little help with something I’ve recently came across — an old German anvil. I’m really curious about its history, age, and maybe even the maker, but I’m not sure where to start looking. Here’s what I know so far: It’s definitely North German - the style look like it. Dimensions - Length - 690mm Width - with upsetting block 270mm Weight - ~112 KG It looks quite old — possibly from the early to mid‑20th century, but that’s just a guess. There are some faint markings or stamps on it, but they’re hard to identify without expert eyes. …

I know this is me being lazy (also not even the slightest clue where to look for a good reference...patent number?) but was the cast iron used in anvils different than your typical casting? Would regular white cast (Do I have that right? White cast being a ceramic mold casting that makes it cool faster making it harder and tougher somehow? As compared to gray cast being a sand mold?) be tough enough to hold up to our brand of beating? The cooking to make it malleable cast would cook all the carbon out of the tool steel face wouldn't it? I guess what I'm trying to get at would be that I'm wondering if they somehow cooked all the carbon out before casting, effe…

I've been selling some steel and a couple post vises, I didn't really intend on selling any of my anvils but a guy is real interested in my small Swedish anvil. I've had it about 20 years and I don't remember how much I paid. Rebound is 90%. Any ideas as to a price that is fair? It's in Tucson, AZ.

Happy New Year (ish), We just drove back from Arizona, and we stopped by an antique store, and found these! The big one is a Trenton I think, and the small one is a Cliff Carol farrier anvil. There were lots of tong(expensive) lots of farrier rasps(expensive). They wanted $495 for the Trenton and more for the Cliff Carol. The Trenton seemed to have no real face problems, the rebound wasn’t dead, but it didn’t sound quite right either. Found a post drill press, $99, a small Buffalo forge blower, and presumably the original forge. Do y’all think the mounting system on the Trenton is something a smith did, I can’t imagine the factory did it, and do you think it affects …