Omnislug

please do let us know! I am sure you are correct, hardening sometimes doesn't work as every one of us i'm sure has experienced a few times...certain pills are really popular these days to testify to that fact. thanks for posting yours endlessbox!

I got two warnings already and have been on the forum for less than a week, trying to avoid more is all.

I want one with a horn that has a vanishing point, imagine how small of rings you could roll on that! Mithril maybe? getting off topic, hopefully this isn't a negative...

CLEVER!

I didn't, I just ordered some testing files, should be here Sunday so I'll have a video of the tests by Monday evening...maybe i'll get *that* one (crossing fingers) though it's in Turkey so.... I'd be happy to send the files to centaur to do a test on my dime to test a perspective anvil!

kanka rep has been very helpful, they pulled a anvil from their stock and hardness tested all over the face, between 55-59 those are decent numbers for an anvil's face , I attached the picture he sent for anyone's reference. They clearly take pride in their work and for him to have this done just from my phone call says a lot about their company. Don't any of you strike this companies anvils off your list yet, they are working expedited to address this thread....perhaps it will motivate some of you who were considering the purchase of one of their anvils. Now I just need some hardness files to test mine.

just recently found the forum. I've been away from ironwork for a number of years but have started collecting new tools over the last year and just got my new Kanka anvil, posted elsewhere about that, and put up a extension to an old shed as a little smithy. I made my first shop at 15 out of the junk on the farm, tire rim forge, made my own charcoal in a 55 gallon drum , mostly bladesmithing and actually sold a few knives a few years later though I look at my early work with not so much pride but wonder why I was so impatient back then! years later I got to work in professional smith's shops like Iron For life and Harmony Forge in Santa Fe NM as well as Firefly Lighting where I made hundreds of custom lights and some forgework. Got a chance to help teach "the Magic Of Metals" class at the Esalen Institute in California and when I moved back west Rejuvenation Lighting In Portland Oregon. Inherited a bunch of tools from my step uncle who did ornamental ironwork in the bay area, ended up selling the 300+ pound hay budden (regretted it ever since) because I was moving so often it was really a pain to always pack it out but still have a few of those tools. Always felt passionate about this craft but I wish I would have invested more time in learning the older blacksmithing side of the craft than the focus on bladesmithing. I'm just starting again after years of being away from it, have a wooden shed with a lean-to I just built for the forge, going to try making a profit with this little shop. I've got a decent imagination and have drawn/written up lots of ideas for the future. I love the pacific Northwest and I'm putting down roots now so my anvil can actually be my anchor now.

yeah that's a pretty small dent for a full miss, I'd call that acceptable hardness personally, thank you for sharing Rojo pedro!

I've worked on three different Peddinghaus anvils, one that was nearly 600 pounds, they dented the hammers easily. I plan on getting one in the future, really happy with the ones I worked with, saving my pennies till then. Double the cost but as they say ......had a 300+ pound hay budden that I sold years ago and have been kicking myself about since...that one was made in 1910 I think and had a few small chips but otherwise perfectly flat and smooth, my step uncle used it to make many gates and railings all over the bay area so I know it was used hard.

I really apreciate this Bekki! No offense to Dawn was intended but it really sounded she was assuming I was doing things I wasn't to do the damage. I sent the Rep. of Kanka, Ali, a email and the pictures as well. I've been a customer since I very first started this craft..been a long time and I've always been pleased with my purchases in the past. Hopefully I can find some hardness testing files to get the scientific proof, my experience/opinion I imagine carries less weight. I've spoken to two others who have a kanka anvil and one other here says thiers has never dented or been damaged and is as smooth as the day they got it. Hardening sometimes doesn't work, it happens, I'm glad you folks are listening and willing to work with me to resolve it! thank you! my skills have declined from a few years of dis-use I admit but no strike has missed the work completely and hit the anvil, my experience is the anvil dents the hammer not the other way around as well, they are working on it now and I've expressed my appreciation for it. the hammer edge marks are from bouncing a ball pein, there is one where the hammer did strike half off and left a considerable divot. Thank you for your feedback Frosty!

I have a 2 pound Swedish pattern hammer from Centaur and I rounded all edges that I sanded down myself when I got it. I've never seen denting like this except on cast iron anvils that I got many years ago when I first started the craft. You can see that forge scale is driven into the face as well in the pictures.

FORUM OPINION: is this normal damage from only what 10 hours forging max?

here are the pictures I just took, as you can see there is some really deep denting and mis-shaping going on. I have never hit my anvil with a hammer without something between it, bounce it yes but every smith does that and that is what left the smaller crescent shaped dents. the dents in the hardie hole are from bending 1/2'' stock HOT...very soft for this to do damage, i've only had it a week and it's got many dents already...other anvils i've used didn't dent at all, even had one german anvil hit with a full swung sledge hammer strike without denting/damage. I believe Kanka makes good anvils, spoken to two others who are very happy with theirs and there is no dents after years of use, hardening doesn't always work as we ALL know from experience. I'm just starting back into the craft after a few years away...just want what I paid for " High grade steel with surface hardness 54-62 HRC" at the lower end of that range there would be NO denting...bought specifically because of those stated values...I am in contact with Kanka as well. PICTURES WERE TAKEN WITH A GOOD CAMERA, ZOOM IN TO SEE THE DAMAGE archive.zip

I know right! THAT statement is going to turn away SOOOOO many likely customers! I know it would have me! I didn't do a bearing test, it's just denting from regular forgework use, bending the holdfast (which was hot) even messed up the edges badly. I'll keep this updated as I hear back, I DID mention I was directed to call on advice from the moderators here so hopefully that carries some weight...I know there are at least a few on here curious about the quality of kanka anvils, I know of one smith on facebook with the 75Kg. anvil, worked on it for years, face is still true and not dented so I believe they do produce a good anvil but occasionally parts out of spec do make it through quality control, I've been guilty of it in the past.

OOOHKAAAYYYY...so Centaur just changed their advertisement on the Kanka anvils stating that doing the ball bearing test WILL damage -ANY- anvil and they don't cover those damages..beginning to see why they are going out of business. this is a bit low...and I think that statement will likely warn any experienced customers away from the purchase of one of those...HOWEVER...they still list the FACE hardness as being between 54-62...which would NOT dent from such a test. No Bueno Centaur!

anyone here close enough with some hardness testing files or a tester of some other kind to test my anvil's face? I live In WARRENTON, OREGON. my guess is it's 40 something, maybe 44 or so and this may be generous. last night I bent a hold fast in the hardie hole and that dented the edges badly..so yeah, heat treat didn't take at all I'd say. I'll post the pictures here as well when I take them later this evening

A REP. from KANKA contacted me this morning, I'll send pics to the address he's sending, he was very patient and said he'd forward my emails/pictures to his supervisors. and yes, an anvil MUST NOT dent, all those dents end up impressions in your finished work and make for some pretty ugly finished work when it should be perfectly smooth and as you shaped it, NOT as the dents in your anvil shape it! Traditionally the faces were left full hard and not tempered according to a few older references I've read anyways, and my experience with older anvils shows this as well, an anvil will edge chip if struck really hard but will NOT dent, hardened steel bends and springs back or chips if it's really hard...does not dent! and of course anvils are harder then our hammers otherwise this would be an issue every smith through history would be complaining about. I'll post back when I hear more, hopefully they fix this, I wanted to buy a post vice from them as well...we'll see

I contacted her again, though I really need to speak with someone who actually has some time beside an anvil...

she said "they don't cover the "abuse" of bouncing your hammer off the face" "should always have a bar of mild steel between the face and hammer" well duh I wasn't trying to FORGE the anvil's face! heads up to any future anvil buyers from centaur... TOTALY AGREED!!

I completely agree, I contacted Centaur forge and the lady said the ball bearing test/hammer bounce will ruin any anvil...she talks like she's actully done that, well I have and I know for a fact a good anvil doesn't DENT! aparently blacksmith's depot did hardness testing on some and lists the results, maybe you'll get the good one! I really like the shape of it, just think both centaur and kanka should do more quality control, if they say their anvils face is between 54-62HRC then it xxxx well better be between those STATED hardness ranges! it's SPECIFICALLY why I bought this one, because they said between those numbers rockwell... annoying, not a total waste of my money but a little disappointing what really sucks is most of the new anvils listed on centaur are all DUCTILE IRON! why not use decent steel? 1050 can't be THAT much more expensive than ductile in bulk amounts, and they are more expensive than the Kanka drop forged STEEL anvil!

I just bought a Kanka 110 pound anvil, it is much softer than the stated 54-62HRC. at that hardness there should be no denting whatsoever and it's on the harder side of any hammers out there I'm pretty sure. I've worked on 11 different anvils that I can remember, most were older ones and the face didn't dent, even missed with a sledgehammer blow once on a peddinghaus 150 pound I think and that didn't dent it! light hgammer blows such as bouncing your hammer between forging is enough to dent my kanka anvil . it's obviously steel but the heat treatment didn't stick on mine, softer than even my cheap chinease hammer! it sounds good, nice ring, I really prefer the German pattern, I'll be getting a Peddinghaus next time for sure, the Kanka is use able but not the hardness they list on their site/elsewhere...maybe some are, I spoke with someone who has one he says his is plenty hard...