I'm curious about their reputaion. Is there anyone here who has actually used one (especially the Competitor) who will share their opinion?

Thanks

I've worked all of about 2 hours on one, hardly enough to make recommendations. I'm currently looking as well and have pretty much settled on a Steve Fontanini Anvil after dismissing the farrier models since I'm really interested in blacksmithing for sculptural purposes. Good Luck.

Bob

I had a JHM Shaper. very nice rebound. I sold it to get a larger refflinghause anvil. I wish I would of kept it now. nice anvil but the casting around the edges of the face was a bit wavy.

I use a JHM Competitor. After getting some better hammer control I was allowed to choose my anvil to use. I picked this one out of the pile in the shop.

In my honest opinion it is a great anvil. Plenty hard. Good horn size....and I really like the deep step from the face too. The hardy is a little over 1 1/8" I believe...

The casting on mine is beautiful, pretty much the perfect anvil for me.

Peyton

A friend of mine has 3 JHM anvils and swears by them. I purchased 2 new shapers two weeks ago.I picked up one from anvil brand two weeks ago and pick the other up tomorrow. I have not forged enough on the one to give you an honest opinion but like I said my friend who is a full time farrier swears by them. The finish on the one I picked up last week is good. Theygave me a break for buyong two. Nice folks to deal with.

John

I think we have about 15-20 of them here at school and they hold up very well to those working on there hammer control, nice horn and good strength, I give them a thumbs up

Thanks all. I actually bought a Competitor some time ago. I haven't yet been able to get it setup. In the meantime some of the fellows in my local group made some disparaging remarks about them. I was just wondering if I was going to regret the purchse.

I went with the journeyman, and still wishing i saved up for the competitor. But it works for me, just stating out and all.

This is what's waiting for me when I get home from work. My wife (a true Goddess) bought me the JHM Shaper for my Christmas present. Of course it arrived while I was at work, so she and the female UPS driver had to get it off the truck and into the garage. I have been working with a hunk of railroad track up to this point, so obviously this is a BIG deal for me. A huge step up.

I have a Journeyman, and like it. The cams come in handy for making some bends. I got mine from a retired farrier.

The only thing with the journyman and the shaper is they are "turning" or "scrolling" anvils. Meaning they have nig heals and horns and a little bitty waist (yes kindof like a pinup ;-) so strap them down good and learn to forge over the waist. I use one as my shop anvil. Some times tooling is a bear, as you want to get out ofer the sweet spot for heavy work, you ofset your hardy tools some times

My main anvil is a 260# Fisher. The JHM is just one of 6 anvils. I really couldn't pass it up. He sold me the anvil, folding stand with spring vise, single burner forge, a toolbox full of hoof epoxies, a toolbox of tools-hammer/hardy/rasp/files/hot shoeing tong?/fluxes/etc, and a toolbox of shoe blanks/flat stock for $250.

I loaned the JHM to a friend who had recently moved here from Italy so he could do some knives. He liked it for the work he was doing. The JHM waist isn't as tiny as most farrier anvils, so you have a little bit bigger sweet spot. It is also a size that I can comfortably pick up, and use as a traveling anvil.

I have a 70# JHM that I use on the truck, it has a very flat horn. Good for squaeing the toe and turning the branches on rear shoes. You have to stay way out on the tip third to turn the branches on a front. More work than its worth on a draft shoe. Thats where the joreneman pays its way. As it is the shop anvil, it sees most of the traditinal forging. Tho i do have a collection of hevy chunks of steel that i use, including rail, bull pins, and even a cast and steel anvil that had a broken heal that i had TJ cut the horn off of (yes blasphemy).

Here's the old with the new. 160# Shaper. I followed other wiser heads on this forum and put a piece of conveyor belt under the anvil prior to bolting in down, to lessen the ring. I mostly do smaller pieces, so the smaller sweet spot isn't a problem for me. The rebound was a pleasant surprise - working off of an old railroad track, I'd never experienced that before. All in all I'm in Heaven

I love my Competitor.  No complaints at all