A fellow co-worker recently told me that if I would build him a knife he would give me his old anvil. Picturing in my head a venerable classic anvil I agreed and started planning the knife. Not long after a heavy parcel arrived and when I opened it out dropped, for lack of a better description, a 47lbs. Anvil Shaped Object. (ASO). I’m not sure where it came from it has been beat up pretty bad and was rough cast in the first place. The only markings on it are, 1 4 7 . When I put it on the scale it is just under 47 lbs. the one might be a result of the rough life it had, it looks like some one chopped on it with an axe. I’ve dressed it up with a flap wheel and stripped off many layers of paint. I built the knife and a few more but I guess I have to keep looking for a better anvil. Here is a couple pics of the anvil, the knife and just because some of you guys said you like them one of my old dog, and a fish we caught. I’m the one in the red coat.
But I digress.. As stated before the anvil was rather rough and crude in it’s construction. When I was grinding on it the sparks were rather orange, so I’m guessing case iron or lesser steel. When struck with a hammer it rings like a loaf of bread, and I think the bred would bounce the hammer more. It is heavier than the hammers I hit it with so I guess it’s better than a rock but I wonder if there is any thing I can do to improve it? Can they be tempered or are they best suited to sitting and looking rustic in the yard.
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