Proper anvil height

[Glenn]

What is the height of your anvil as compaired to your knuckles when standing beside the anvil?

This may not be a standard unit of measure but it would certainly be a place to start for the newbie.

My anvil height is half way between the knuckles and the break of the wrist.

[Ten Hammers]

My anvils are 33 1/2 " +- a few fractions. This is with the heel of my hand resting on the face of the anvil.

[KjZitur]

My anvil is knuckle hieght (32"), and so is my coal forge and a couple of the tables I have so that if I have a longer piece to work on I have a convenient rest handy.........

[gerald]

Knuckle height seems to work for me, too (knuckles on a clenched fist). It also turns out that this height is about right for holding one end of the work piece between your legs when you need both hands free to use tools (e.g. hammer and chisel). There are a good many hold down tools available, but we all seem to use this "third hand" method at one time or other. So, if your knuckle height and your "crotch height" are about the same, you're in luck with the knuckles, otherwise, opt for the "crotch height". The knuckle height formula seems to coincide with the lower arc of most folks hammer swing, allowing for best efficiency.

[the_sandy_creek_forge]

knuckle height minus about 3/4 inch . seems to be comfortable for my posture (which is by no means anywhere near perfect)

[ThomasPowers]

Glen, which one? I have anvils from about 4" above knuckle height used mainly for bladesmithing to one on the floor used to upset on. I use the one at the best hight for what I'm doing.

Thomas

[ladysmith]

I actually like mine a bit higher than recomended. I want to be able to hold the stock with a slightly bent elbow, while standing upright. I want the hammer to contact the stock while my elbow is still slightly bent.

I found than setting my anvil to the "recomended height" caused me to crouch over the anvil, and lift the end of the stock, creating a bend I constantly had to staighten. If the anvil is a bit higher, I stand up straight, and the stock stays flat against the anvil.

Pam

[irnsrgn]

I like my anvil at wrist height so I don't have to bend or hunch over the anvil.

Proper height is your normal stance with the hammer face setting fair and square on the anvil face.

[primtechsmith]

Mine is set a little lower than knuckle height. My arms are a little longer, and I found myself not hitting "fair and square".

Peyton

[Nick]

Mine's at knuckle height, I like to be able to comfortably stand over my work when I'm doing detail work.

[RBrown]

i set mine same as jr does. If you have a bad back a slightly higer than most anvil helps. i have tryd it at the recomnded nuckle level and it killd my back.

[Dave Shepard]

The anvils I use at the village are about knuckle height. I like the hammer to be about parallel to the floor or a little up at the heel at the end of the stroke.

[Dale Peters]

I set mine at wrist height. My back isn't in the best of shape anymore and setting the anvil a little higher than recommended makes it easier to stand up straight while working, and therefor easier on my back.

[Sam Salvati]

Mine is a little above wrist height, but on my Trenton, it is right at knuckle height, and I like using it for heavy forging, as it seems easier on my arm than the little higher one.

[Dave Hammer]

From my point of view, an acceptable height for an anvil depends upon what type of forging you are doing. If you are doing primarily heavy blows during forging, a knuckle height is probably optimal. If you tend to use lighter blows, or are learning Uri Hofi forging techniques, or are having arm or back problems, the anvil should be higher. How high is a personal thing. You should experiment. It helped me to move my anvil up almost to where my wrist bends (within an inch or so).

[Ferrous Beuler]

This thread is a good place to share a little tidbit on anvil hight I have come up with. My anvil is set on a maple stump and pinned to it with four R.R. spikes. Knuckle hight like most people seem to prefer, it fits me. It does not however, fit a friend of mine who came by to see my tools, etc. as he is interested in getting into blacksmithing. He is shorter than I am. What I came up with was to stack some 3/4" plywood squares 40" x 40" and glue them together with liquid nails. I stacked four of these to make a laminated slab three inches high which proved to be about right. This he can stand on to effectively "lower" the face of the anvil so it fits him comfortably yet I did'nt have to make any changes to my trusty stump. It is a simple matter to just slide it around to the other side of the anvil or under the workbench until it is needed again. Cost- $0. Hope someone else can use this too. Dan:)

[FredlyFX]

I have some trouble with my back so I set my anvil up about 3 to 4 inches from the knuckle height to avoid bending over it. Unfortunatly, I found that this started creating trouble in my elbow, so I dug the stand down into the dirt back to the clenched fist knuckle height, and my elbow problems have gone away.

[Sam Salvati]

Yeah I find my elbow aches sometimes, not all the time but sometimes.

[Shane Stegmeier]

A whole lot to talk about... ;-)

First of all I agree with Thomas which anvil, and what am I doing?
And I agree with Jr, you have to be able to hit square and true without ruining your arm;-)

I can't use a "balanced" or "hofi" technic on an anvil that is too high (and to be honest most anvils are set "too" high for me. I brush my knuckles during the swing and can hurt my knuckles tear skin that kinda thing not cool. Then you have to try and jack your shoulder high and tighten you arc, and it bunches me up... (Probably why I complain so often at conferences that the anvils are set too high, I am only 5'10" on a good day when no horses have sat on me:-)

I find that I like a light anvil set kinda high for delicate work,
my farrier's anvil is set just about wrist high. And if I try to turn draft shoes on it I will ruin my elbow, and be lame for months, it is simply too high to hit hard and flat with a heavy hammer, it shoves me up out of proper position and wrecks me... YMMV

My main shop anvil is set just shy of my loosely clenched knuckles, and is fine for most forging.

For heavy forging with big hand sledges, and or tooling I want the anvil low.

The biomechanics of how you use the hammer will normally be better on an anvil set to your knuckles, but the problem comes in that what suits your arm admiralably, does not suit your mind or your eyes to your satisfaction... ;-) And I am as guilty as the next guy, of feeling like I need to have my face 6" away from the hot steel to really supervise what is going on properly sometimes. ;-) The trick is to train yourself to stand and work at the anvil, and if you need to look closely at the work lift it up so you can look at it, don't crouch over the anvil. (Now if I could do it as easily as I say it I would be set...;-) The other thing to do to help with the symptoms is to do cruches and sit ups:-) it will help balance the sore back...

[B. Norris]

First and foremost it is important to consider what kind of work you are doing. My anvils are way too short for most, I'm only 5'4". I set my first anvil at knuckle height and it worked, but my second anvil is even with my palm, measured with my arm loose against my side, palm parallel to the floor. I like the palm height for general work, knuckle height is good if I'm doing drawing out, basically anything that takes a lot of force. I would like to have a post anvil set at wrist height or maybe a little higher for doing fine work, mostly knives.

[Hofi]

As Some Of You Reffered To Me And My System. I Just Want To Make It More Clear. My Anvil Hight Is 321/2'' (830 Mm) Which Is My Knuckle Hight. This Gives Me The Possibility To Stand Straight Up Not Bending My Back And Get Max Swing For The Hammer And With This Max Valocity And Forging Power And No Damaging My Back.

It Is Also Very Interesting That The 32 1/2'' Hight Is Sutable For 85% Of The People, Leonardo De Vinci In The Medivle Time Found Allready Withe The ''vitrubien Man '' That Eaven If The Hight Of The People Is Different When You Put Your Hands Down They Will Meet In The Same Place With Very Little Difference. In My School ''all'' The Anvils Are In The Same Hight Only If Some One Have Longer Legs Or Shorter Hands Or The Eye Sight And The Glases Are Not In Focus Then I Change The Hight With Pieces Of Wood. And For The Knuckles-- With The Way I Hold -guide The Hammer I Never Never Touch My Knuckles With The Anvil It Maks No Different What Hight Of Anvil It Is (see My Bp On How To Hold The Hammer) And I Was Forging And Demonstrating On Many.

[Xim]

as the title suggests what is the optimum height for the anvil.

is there a formula for anvil / waist , knee height or ??

if someone could advise or point me in the direction if this has been discussed before please.

[Mark Aspery]

There are many formulae. All about as good as each other.
I'll throw in my $0.02 and it is as good as the rest.

There is no silver bullet for anvil height. As soon as you reach for a top tool or use a hand tool, your anvil is not at the correct height anymore.

For me, I take my normal hand hammer - the hammer that is in my hand for most of the day and place that on top of my average stock forged on the face -as if I were forging it. For me that equates to about 1/2 inch bar.

I want to look at my hammer arm. Is it hyper-extended or is it too bent. I want a slight bend or break to my hammer arm at the moment of impact and set the anvil height accordingly.

I also hold a lot of stock between my legs when I am working with a top or hand tool. This means that the anvil height cannot be higher than my inseam with boots on -or I run the risk of.... well hurting my 'other' hand let's say!

[blafen]

I went with the old adage of setting the anvil to be the height of your fist when you stand with your arms slack to the side and your hands clenched, but i musta grew an inch or two since then because now it seems an inch too low.

[Brian D]

I find that the anvil height is most comfortable for me when I can stand beside the anvil, with arm relaxed to my side and with hand shaped like a fist, my knuckles just rest on the top of the anvil.

Do whatever is comfortable for you. I imagine that it also depends on your posture and stance when working at your anvil.