Jacob Tkalec

I like it. In fact, if I was anything but a poor college student I'd want to own one of those.

Hah! I was actually going to get both so she could work with me (she's going to start as well, but she can't come Saturday because her dad is leaving on a 2 week trip and she wants to spend time with him) BUT I will be there. :)

I had to change my mind. Girlfriend got wind of it, "You don't need TWO anvils." So I'm just going to buy the Russian. I'll give you his contact info if you want to check on the brokenhorn.

$225.00 for both. I think I'll take that.

I'm going to offer $200 for both of them and see if he wants to haggle. (He said he'll take $125 for either)

If the chalk says anything, it's $175 for the broke horn.

The guy I'm talking to has two anvils for sale. A russian 110 and an unknown 130 (prior to the horn breaking off). The Russian is $125. Pictures below... I'd like thoughts on the two anvils. Possible maker for the broken horn anvil and if the Russian anvil is worth the price.

Glad to meet expectations.

I've been talking with you through e-mail. I'm just down 85 in Winder.

It depends on how my weekend works out. I've currently got plans for a scuba diving trip but I might blow them off.

I could use anything at the moment, I have no qualms about that. I'm just looking in hopes of finding something good in the area that I can afford and work with. When I get my forge built I'll be using whatever I can get my hands on.

We don't have any classes like that here. I'm going to end up transferring up to Virginia (hopefully). They will probably have a few blacksmithing classes up there. If not I'm sure I can figure something out. My main concern is finding a place to work if I'm living in dorms. As for budget, I'm going to say $900.00 cash in hand to get started. I'm thinking of building a forge similar to this, but with a different blower. http://www.popularmechanics.com/cm/popularmechanics/pdf/pm-forge-1941.pdf I was thinking of using a bench grinder for a blower if I can't get a hold on a 1/2hp motor. I'd prefer to keep the bench grinder as a bench grinder though. Might end up buying two. Tools, I planned on making that my first goal for working metal. Try to work out some tongs and then move on from there.

If ya don't want to read my story skip to the last sentence. In case it's hard to tell from what I'm about to say, I've never had the opportunity to work metal before. It has been a long time dream of mine since I saw a blacksmith at work in one of those colonial reconstruction towns. Essentially now that I'm in college I've found that I can afford to run a small forge for some beginner smithing. My only problem at this point is finding that "First Anvil." I don't want to pay too much, but it seems like prices are pretty high right now. A new anvil is completely out of the question. I've found a few hefty anvils (250+) but one of them was severely cracked and repaired (not sure how all of this was done or what sort of anvil it is to begin with) and the other (350+) is unmarked on price and in Kentucky (Georgia boy here) that I could pick up at the end of the month. Long story short: I'm looking for a few pointers and tips on picking up a good beginner's anvil for a good college kid price.