matei campan

I don't think is garbage, that anvil anvil have seen some service and seems to hold up well. I can see on the line at the right at "YC" a serial number stamped on it (you have to zoom the picture). you won't see that on ASO's. so, I'd say that you rather have luck. don't pass over it without checking, you could loose a very good anvil.

for that, they have to make you a big discount

hello Bogdan, I like the evolution of your anvil. I somehow follow your anvils for some time, since seeing them on here for the first time. I was always tempted by a small portable anvil, and also I contemplate the idea of making myself an anvil to my own specifications. but, "unfortunately" I already have too much anvils of different sizes and patterns so I don't need it badly and it's not very reasonable to invest the little spare time and money I have, but maybe someday... till then I just "meditate" about the shape and making methods. the thing I was feeling that I would miss on your first anvils was exactly the pyramidal horn which brings so much in terms of versatility. now I see it so cleverly added in your new design. congratulations! how much they charge per kilogram of cast steel? I am thinking from a long time to find a foundry here (Romania - it seems we are neighbours) able to work with on such project.

mystery solved!

at a moment it was said that they are made in Belgium

start forging on it as it is, learn to make some nice simple items which could be sold easily to friends, neighbours (I don't know, S-hooks, bottle openers, blacksmith knives, etc.) and you'll soon have enough money to buy a better anvil. meanwhile you have learned something, your hammer blows get precision, you won't hit the anvil too often (you won't cry if you hit this damaged anvil), and you'll be ready for that better anvil. consider it a learning anvil.

hello! here's a Chinese inspired cleaver. the material is O1, the bolster is forged from iron pipe, the handle is boxwood. I put a lot of pictures, it's always hard to choose the few best ones

my "pig" is also crooked, the front is not symmetrical to the back side. mine has no markings at all. your anvil, as mine, too, is forged not cast. anyway, you have a combination of rectangular heeled with a double horned anvil. the narrowing face towards the horn is very handy. nice French safety shoes you have!

tu vois maintenant puqoi j'aime les francaises maintenant il te faut une bigorne I seems that the table is a bit convex and there's no sign of dishing/swayback. it always amazed me how much craft is involved in forging such an anvil, that feet and all

remember that most of the horns of the London pattern anvils are not hardened and most of them are just soft wrought iron and nobody complains

for 30 spoons you can even use some hard wood "swage" - just carve the shape on the end of a small stump, etc. you can carve several depressions, some for rough forming others for final cold finishing. or you can forge one from some thicker flat bar (lets say 1/3inch thick). or take a round bar, bend it oval, close to the desired shape and weld it on a piece of steel to be put in the vise, or in the hardy hole. there are fast & good & cheap & easy enough solutions which could allow you to make that spoons in no time. if you'll produce thousands, then, yes, it's worth making/buying a real, specialized heavy duty swage block. or even make some male/female dies to make them in seconds.

if your anvil face is painted, there are chances that your tested rebound isn't great. remove the paint with some paint stripper and the rust if it's thick, and then you'll have a more accurate rebound test. when I first saw my last anvil at the flea market (a Trenton ?) and checked the rebound, it was awful, as on a plain cast iron anvil. but the anvil was painted and under the paint was quiet rusted, so I expected to be like this and this doesn't discourage me to buy it. after removing paint and rust, the rebound is ~ 80%, before it was something like 20%. so, that's a nice Christmas present!

Luxury anvil! what else could be said?

I don't know if it's universally and officially known as "pig anvil", that's the first thing that come in mind when you see one, so, maybe more people have called it like this independently. I've already seen them called "cochon" in french, Is just an unofficial nickname and the most of the people seem to know what we're talking about. I saw it used in other places than IFI. for my part, that's why I always put that nickname between commas.

Matto, that's for sure French. the French have more types of anvils and have many anvil manufacturers (I think more than the italians), so I don't see why to import them (even that I saw some american or english ones for sale in France and german ones in the N-E of the country) I also saw some slot/dovetaliled anvils for sale in France, some in Thiers area, so they made and use them, too. Vaporlock - that anvil wasn't mine, I just commented on it. I still have to take some pictures of my anvils and show off here, but I'm a bit lazy as French anvils, I have a Hulot-Harmel of 101kg , then a no-name older "pig" of about 150kg, then an army small "field" anvil of ~30kg, the one with a hollow conical sheet metal toolbox as base, to be carried on mules/horses, and a cube, maybe tin-smith, ~60kg anvil which is still to be shipped from Toulouse, where a friend bought it to me. and thank you for the help offer

it's clear that's a special purpose anvil, but for what trade, i don,t know. check the area's specific trades/manufactures. in the cutlery areas, you can find cutler's anvils, etc. I don't know to consider you happy or unhappy to live in a such anvil rich country like France, where you can find the most diverse and great anvils at very decent prices. 3 years ago I discovered the anvils on leboncoin.fr and I got mad, now I'm better, but at the beginning I was sick for months... but somehow I have 3 french anvils, among which there's a "pig" double horned anvil.

northern-german pattern anvil, in very good condition, big size, who cares about the maker...

for example, on the Austrian anvils you can see ones with horns to the right, others with the horns to the left, there is no rule. on your anvil, everything is ok, nothing abnormal. I have always wandered why the upsetting blocks are on the far side not on the near one as it seems logical to me.

HA! you made it! great anvil! "church windows" and the upsetting block on the good side on the same anvil, that's a rare find. more pics, please!

now you have two anvils that complement each other. don't worry if the czech is a bit softer and has less rebound than the HB. use the HB for heavy forging, the czech is better for forming, the second horn is a + in terms of versatility. and use softer hammers on it. if you already have dressed edges on the HB, keep the ones on the Czech untouched for the moment. you'll see if you will need them dressed in time. the only thing I would do is to smooth the horn if that parting line on it is protruding.

Hm... after all that "suspense" you let us wait like this?

hello friends here are some prototype latch elements. unfortunately I don't have pics with the finished latches. the starting material was 14/14mm square bar as it can actually be seen near the square holes, the only part where it still is 14/14mm

learn the basics on it. the advantage is that you don't have to mind too much when you misplace a blow. when you'll be able to make some simple nice items to sell for some money, you can very fast save them for a good anvil. that cold be items that you can sell for, let's say 15$. sell 20-30 and you can have enough money for that anvil.

thaaaat's a beauty! It's a French (or maybe Belgian?) cast steel anvil of the north-western type. it seems that they are very good anvils. if your anvil is secured firmly by some means, not just prevented to move around, this will quiet it more. that's a very versatile pattern. on a French site I saw quiet a few of this kind of anvils for sale, all in very good condition, that speaks a lot of their quality an maybe of the quality of the smiths they use them.

be aware that the rust can affect rebound. the thicker the rust the less rebound. remove the rust as much as you can with a wire-brush or with some sandpaper, so the ball fall on steel. to me that anvil it doesn't look like an ASO. that anvil has seen some use, if it was a ASO, it would be really damaged. the condition shows that it's a very good anvil (if it doesn't have hidden flaws - dellamination, annealed soft, cracks, etc.).