I just signed on to this forum and have tons of questions. Starting with,
the horn on my anvil is very thick and has a blunt tip, I find I'd like to have a more pointed tip. What is the horn usually used for? I also have a bick anvil so I go back and forth. Is that normal? just a question. PBriel

Horns are generally used for forming round objects like rings. Using a bick or hardie tool is common, I have made many hardie tools of different sizes for different things.

The horn being a cone makes it harder to make rounds in flat or square stock as it tend to want to take on the conical shape of the horn.

Anvil horns vary from Duck billed (Harbor Freight) to more perfect cone shapes. Most shops may also have a Floor Cone mandrel for this purpose.

Welcome to Iforge.

First off.... welcome to the forum, you are at the right place to learn and get your questions answered. If you could post a picture of the anvil horn it would be helpful. I'm wondering if it might be a farriers anvil, which has a much different shaped horn. If you have a bick and it is comfortable for you to work on, go for it. That's why you bought it .... to use ! Most beginning blacksmith projects camn usually be accomplished on the anvil and a normal horn, and that has value to learn the basics, even if there might be some other easier way.

pbriel, You state you want a more pointed horn. Why ? You have a bick. use it insted
of a horn.

If you want to forge your bick down to a point we have done it with 2 hammers one held underneath as an anvil and hit with the one on the top, get it hot with an oxy torch.

Phil

The anvil should be set to a proper working height, and moved to an open space so you can work at the anvil from all sides. Once you have been blacksmithing for a *while* you will realize that a blunt horn actually has a purpose. At some point (no pun intended) you will turn and walk into the horn of the anvil. The bruise on the leg is preferred to speaking with a high pitched voice. A sharp point on the end of anvil can be a dangerous thing.

Use the tools you have, and select the best tool on hand to do the job. If that tool is not available, make it.

Note that if it's a cast iron anvil heating and forging is NOT an option! The description makes me wonder as "very thick and has a blunt tip" is common on cast iron anvils..

Now in general: I have seen several people grind the tip of their anvil's horn sharp---only to learn the hard way why so many old anvils have had the tip hammered blunt! Far better to make a bic that has the needed radii than mess with the horn. (handy too as you can put the bic in a postvise and have another tool in the hardy!).

I've made bics from spudwrenches and bullpins (fleamarket finds at US$1 or less!) and have several conical hardy tools as well

If you have a specific radius you use a lot it may be a good idea to make a hardy tool *with* that radius and not tapered. I have several short pieces of nesting pipe sections that I can drop over a hardy post to have the exact radius I need for some jobs without needing to have separate tools.

Just start working on the anvil. Developing proper hammer control is more important when you begin. You could spend hours grinding, welding, perhaps even forging your horn to a perfect point, then screw up all your work because you haven't learned to control your hammer. People who have worked in construction, or big wall climbers who climb nail up routes, etc. often already have strong hammer skills from the get go, but still need refinement. You could be in this category, I don't know.

You won't have a huge need for a fine point on your anvil right now anyway. If you do, just forge down a piece of large round stock and stick it in your vice when you need a fine pointed horn. It would be a good introductory project. If you do enjoy blacksmithing, you'll probably upgrade to a better anvil down the road.

I'm not sure if you're anvil is cast iron or not. I can't remember from the original post. If it is a cheap cast iron anvil you won't be able to forge the point out anyway.

Happy hammering,
Brook

pbriel welcome on of your questions you asked was what is a horn used for? Well it is for shapping metal towards a round shape. It is also used for spreading or lengthing if you place the hot steel lenghtwise and hammer it. it will get wider. if you hammer your metal on the with of the horn it will get longer. Not as agressively if you use the peen of your hammer in conjuction with the horn. Bick is also a name for the horn.

There are tons of great blacksmithing 101 videos on the web. Youtube is a great place to start. Also check your local library. A rainy afternoon, some hot coffee and a great book will give you a good basic working knowledge.

Here are a few books in publication that you can view on Google Books. The Modern Blacksmith is often at most libraries nowadays.

The complete modern blacksmith - Google Books

New edge of the anvil: a resource ... - Google Books

Good luck!

There are some free books on blacksmithing at METAL WEB NEWS they are older books.