Rhode

Thanks, Lou. I find it pretty interesting how excited I find myself getting over having that old rusty piece of metal. I definitely won't use a massive hammer. After reading a bit, I noticed that the 1:40 ratio is what's suggested. So that means nothing heavier than a 3.5lb hammer. I'm not sure if that's correct though. Either way, I can't wait to actually use it and have that connection to my family and to the past.

Thanks Chelonian! Is that a good working weight for a beginner?

Here are some more pictures my mother took along with the measurements. She tried to wipe a rag over the letters but it didn't do much. Total length - 24 inches Total height - 10.5 inches Base - 10 inches Face - 4 inches wide

Well, my brother just told me that it says Switzerland on it.

Unfortunately, those are the only pictures my mother took of the anvil. I'm going to see if my brother could head over there and snap some better pictures and maybe shine a little more light on what kind of anvil it could be.

Chelonian - That's pretty interesting. I would have never considered that because I was hard stuck on Smith. After looking at some images though, I completely see what you mean. ThomasPowers - I just did a basic Google searching for old anvil makers. The list that I found didn't have anything with Smith on it. I guess it wasn't a very good list! Just a little more info - My great grandfather was born in 1895 and this was on his farm in Tennessee. I'm not sure if that helps at all. Thanks!

Once I saw the word "SMITH" something, there was no going back. Now that's all I see. I looked up names of anvil makers of old and didn't see anything with smith.

Thanks, Irondragon! I did read that wire brushing and some oil is all you should really do to an anvil. Glad to know you think it's in good shape! I've been really excited about it ever since my mother reminded me of it. Next step is getting it across the country.

Hey all, I recently decided that I wanted to learn blacksmithing and started looking for classes in my area. After mentioning this to my mother, she reminded me of a family heirloom that's sitting in her garage. The only thing we know for sure is that it was her grandfather's anvil that was on his farm. I remember sitting on it when I was kid in my grandfather's shop. She took some pictures of it (not very good ones) and I thought I'd post it to see what you all can make of it. I'm going to have it shipped over so I can clean it up and put it to use. She lives on the other side of the country. I couldn't make out what the markings were and thought I'd better show some people that actually know anvils! Any ideas? Thanks!