njanvilman

If you are on Facebook, check out my Fisher & Norris Factory Museum Page for information on Fisher anvils and lots of photos. Yes, Fisher made between 500,000 and 600,000 anvils, but how many of them are still around and usable?. They are among the best of the steel face-cast iron anvils.

Its an investment for a long time. Amortize it over 20 or more years, and the price is very cheap.

According to their advertising, they produced somewhere between 500,000 and 600,000. No serial numbers, many years without dating, so an exact count is impossible.

EBAY, CraigsList, garage sales, flea markets, auctions,and ask everyone. A nice Fisher just sold on line in northern Florida for a price I almost was willing to drive 1200 miles to get. Be creative, and have cash ready, and a way to get it.

Family troubles with the owners, the depression, and lessening demand led to HB demise. But in that 36 years, they made over 300,000 quality anvils!

I will see what is in the museum. I believe I only have one anvil from 1979.

There is usually just one letter ahead of the year numbers. Looking carefully, can the mark be a M? I can barely see the V between the I I? Crossley was know to try to be as efficient as they could be. It is not surprising to see grinder marks appear under the paint. They did the grinding to quickly clean up any iron flash on the anvils. The anvils that Fisher made back in the 1880's were of a better finish overall. For the few anvils I have repainted, I find that John Deere Blitz Black paint to be a good color. Not gloss, not flat. Yes, the demise of American Industry is sad. If we ever had to tool up the way they did for WW2, we couldn't. Even if we had the tooling, we do not have the manpower with the skills needed.

The 79 represent 1979, the year the anvil was cast and the final year of production. I cannot make out what the other letter are. Maybe II? Do not use a sanding disc in the future. I wire brush will do fine.

The Letter and numbers are on the other end, under the tail. I can see them in your original post, but cannot read them. After Crossley shut the foundry down, them scrapped all of the tools used there. All of the iron Flasks, clamps, boards all went to scrap. When I explored the building in 1999, I found the remaining patterns, and whatever else was laying around in the dirt. Everything I recovered is in the museum. The Crossley building was demolished in 2001.

Are you sure of the timeline....I have all of the artifacts from Crossley in my Fisher & Norris Factory Museum. When I was given the material in 1999, they told me they actually cast anvils until the end of 1979. They were ordered to close the foundry by the end of the year due to EPA regulations of the open furnace. You state you got your anvil in 1977. I am wondering about this two year gap. Also, could you tell what the initial and number are under the horn? If you are on Facebook, check out the "Fisher & Norris Factory Museum Page" to see more about Fisher anvils and where all of the artifacts ended up.

If I am reading correctly, and the serial # is 38808, your anvil was made in 1898. It was made in Brooklyn NY. Hay Budden made anvils from around 1892 till 1928. They are considered one of the best brand anvils. Your anvil obviously has some use and chipping, but it is still fully functional for another few hundred years of pounding.

The Z is probably an inspectors mark. The 126 was its original weight when made in lbs.

That anvil is just about worn out. Walk away and look for a better one. Most of the horn steel is missing, you have no edges to work with, and what is left of the face plate is very thin.

Hard to tell from your photos, but does it appear that the heel area was forged as one piece as the body, or was the square-ish section welded on as a repair for a broken anvil?

TRENTON anvil, made in 1928, in Ohio, 127 lb when stamped.

Probably a Trenton. They typically marked the front with the weight on the left, and the serial number on the right. HB put their serial number on the left, and the weight on the side with the name.

Interesting that two more of this identical pattern were sold on EBAY last week. One brought $700 and the other $560. It must be a very popular configuration.

At Quad States this year, someone was selling cut up HUGE forklift pieces, tool steel, by the pound. These were as big as 4" x 6" x 10". A lifetime of hammering would probably never ever show. You should make it a destination for you next September. As noted above, people drive in from all over the country for this event. Me....650 miles each way.

Anvils listed on CraigsList are open for sale to the world. There are people who use programs that alert them to certain key phrases in every listing in this country. And from the wording on the ad, it might have just been someone fishing to see what their items were worth? There is no public accounting as to whether this was actually sold or not.

If it is a Trenton, you serial # puts in in 1910.

Thanks John. Yes, it does match exactly. Do you know where this foundry was?

I recently got this 100 lb block on a trade. It is 12" x 12" x 4". Interesting that I already have two others that are identical to it. All three blocks came from from different places and over a period of many years. I guess that these were all made by the same foundry. I think it is rare to have two swage block that match. Now I have three that match. These blocks will be for sale in the Spring time. Too busy to mess with them now. Does anyone else have a swage block with this exact pattern?

One can never have too many anvils! If you can afford the Brooks, buy it. Use them both, and eventually sell the one you do not like. But I would bet you will keep both.

How heavy is the anvil? The heavier the anvil, the thick the plate. It is probably about 7/16" thick.

Your welcome. Sweet piece. A lifetime investment that will never decline in value.