matei campan

well, at that price it would be a decent anvil in spite of the flaws. and it has two horns, which is a plus, it's an Italian pattern anvil, as seen by a chinese manufacturer. that soft spot is easily avoidable if that bothers someone, plenty of working surface left. just put some radius on the edges and bolt it down firmly on some kind of base

looks like a German made London Pattern, but I could be wrong

between Peddinghaus and Big Blu I would choose the southern-german pattern from Refflinghaus (if I would have an extra kidney)

very nice anvil, I'm a great fan of the French avils. I think they have the greatest variety of shapes and patterns, while in the anglo-saxon world "the anvil" always look as a London pattern, even the new DIY fabricated anvils. I still don't understand why even those making rail anvils try to replicate the London pattern with a cutting table which no one really use, just because that's how an anvil has to look. it seems there is life beyond the London Pattern, and there are a lot of forms of life, the above "cochon" being one of them. I have a different shape of "piglet" (two horns), but still has some convexed area towards the round horn, then you have some flat area which evolves into a light dish, etc., that's very useful. the above anvil could be a specialised anvil, targeted for a special branch of blacksmithing (I'm not shure if I dreamed this or it's a true memory, but I remember that pattern being called shovel maker's). I have a small portable military double horn French anvil which has also has that transition from the horn to the face which I find very useful for my work. anyway, generally, the french anvils are of very good quality, you don't see as much chipped edges as on american anvils (maybe also the kind use has a word to say here). these "pig" anvils (the forged variant), I think, are the most complex to forge anvils, and there's a lot of unnecessary complication of the process for only an "aesthetic" gain, but's how the things were done in old times.

Are there some markings on the front side? Could you provide a close up picture? The pattern is Austrian, but it could be manufactured in a different country

I don't think they use full penetration to ansemble the parts on the modern Peddinghauses either.

If you radius that area you still have sharp edge over the horn and shelf

A southern german anvil, for example, has features that already surpasses your proposed mods/features.

Bear in mind that the rust layer on the face tends to affect the result of the bearing ball test, tye thicker, the less rebound, so for an accurate result the rust must be removed if possible. if i were to consider the result of the bb test on a little Trenton I bought, I wouldn't have it now - it was heavily painted over a good layer of rust, so there was almost no rebound. Also useful for testing is a file - you check if it skates over the edge or it easily bites into it. On that little Trenton the file was very useful to confirm what my eyes told me, that is a good anvil.

If that anvil have served for a time, there's a chance to be a good anvil, if junk, it couldn't be in such a good condition (heavy chipping, hammer marks, etc). as I can see, there is some tooling also, so I'm inclined to think that that anvil has served. Also, usually junk anvils are smaller and with a rougher finnish and ugly shapes. I think that anvil worths being checked, you could miss a very good anvil

Hello Robbie, I just replied to your PM. As I realised now, you're already there or already back home. I regret not being of any help Maybe next time. Maybe this could be a beginning to other visits in Romania not just Bucharest. I's a country that worths visiting.

Nice one! On my rusfed anvils I used a hand wire brush with water and sand, then oil. That removed the excess rust and preserved the patina, the least aggressive method. You just dip the brush in some water, then in the sand and then you rub the anvil. As the brush loses sand, you 'refill' and rub again. From time to time you remove the sand by rinsing the anvil with water to see the progress. It takes more time than power-brushing, but it's more effective than just regular hand brushing.

angiolino please check https://www.leboncoin.fr/annonces/offres/ile_de_france/occasions/?f=a&th=1&q=enclume you asked about eastern Europe - forget about Romania - few anvils survived, bad condition, very high prices. I'm checking the ads from time to time - there are the same anvils for sale for years now. the average price is about 400euros. for that price I could buy from France something awesome and get shipped here, in Romania. I already bought a very nice old "pig" anvil from France, a ~150kg one, with a nice oak stump, for 150euros. there are better anvils, for better prices, but that anvil was close to a friend who moved to Romania, so it was easy to retrieve. just a weak ago I saw a double horned anvil in a as new condition (except a thin coat of rust), 1m long, which means over 200kilos for that kind of anvil, for the price of 60euros. for example, today's anvils, under 200 euros: https://www.leboncoin.fr/bricolage/1088004059.htm?ca=12_s https://www.leboncoin.fr/bricolage/1087909809.htm?ca=12_s something very old, colectible: https://www.leboncoin.fr/bricolage/1087805915.htm?ca=12_s https://www.leboncoin.fr/outillage_materiaux_2nd_oeuvre/1087768834.htm?ca=12_s https://www.leboncoin.fr/outillage_materiaux_2nd_oeuvre/1087743402.htm?ca=12_s https://www.leboncoin.fr/autres/1087711215.htm?ca=12_s

German

when I looked for used anvils in Italy, on the internet, I saw that they are not very cheap, but I'm sure that with little patience you could find one. In France you could find FANTASTIC anvils for around 100euros anytime. just 2 days ago I looked for anvils in France for a friend. I found quiet a few in the area where my friend has an opportunity for the anvil to be shipped.

100% Fisher

look for another one, the money you'll put in the rods, the time to do it, the experience you need will far surpass the investment in a decent anvil.

Use softer hammers, especially the bigger ones for heavy forging, it's easier to dress a hammer's face than an anvil. In the begining I was looking to get the hardest hammers, but, after the first ding in the face of my anvil, I changed my mind.

for my ram guides I'm in train to build I would use this kind of rollers - they are on ball-bearings and are V-grooved. you can use 2 pairs to guide a square rod (used on the corners), for example, and are easier to use in the build than the skateboard rollers. and in my area are 2 times cheaper than the skateboard's ones.

the largest home made power hammer I've ever seen. I wonder if it's just a free falling ram hammer. badass back-yard forging

I can easily "walk" my 180kg anvil, sitting on a solid oak sump, around the shop, that's not an issue. I also effortlessly raised my 150kg anvil on its base, alone, using a thick 3m long plank as an incline - 30 seconds job. so, unless it's 500kg, that's a non-issue. hey, Martin Moldovan, are you of Romanian origin?

my first anvil, a 32kg (~70pounds) was, at first, bolted on a big oak stump. it worked very well. then I got a 101kg anvil took the little anvil off that stump and moved it on a walnut stump I had available, but I have to put 3 pine wood blocks under it to gain some height. the blocks are with the grain horizontally. the difference now is HUGE. there's less difference between the small and the big on the same stump than the difference between the same anvil on different stumps. installed on the new stump, I have the feeling I forge on rubber. not doing heavy forging on it anymore, it doesn't bother me much, so changing for better isn't urgent. I recommend you to bolt it rather than use spikes. the spikes will soon get loose. on a really big anvil it doesn't matter too much, but on a lighter one makes a big difference. on your anvil I would pass two long bolts through the slits between the feet, using big washers or some drilled flat iron pieces as stops (I don't know if I'm clear)

for heavy forging, when the risk of miss-hit and force is greater, I prefer to use softer hammers than the anvil. dressing a hammer is preferable to a dimpled anvil. congrats for the anvil, that's a very useful pattern. for heavy forging, when the risk of miss-hit and force is greater, I prefer to use softer hammers than the anvil. dressing a hammer is preferable to a dimpled anvil. congrats for the anvil, that's a very useful pattern. the only problem I see there which may impact the efficiency of the anvil is the upper layer of 2/4s laid horizontally. that layer may absorb a lot of hammer's energy (your anvil is also being on the lighter side), but also tends to bounce the anvil. so a good stiffer base may improve your anvil "response".

That number is rather a serial number, the 2 in the "shield" may be the size. What are the length/width/heigth? I have a similar pattern french anvil of 222pounds at 80cm length, 12-13cm width.

Marc, you just took the word from my mouth - between Nimba and Rathole I would choose a southern german pattern from Refflinghaus