Hello, I just picked up this anvil and have a question about it. This is a Fisher as noted in one of the pics. On the other side of the bottom is the number 3. I found several posts where you add a 0 to the number and have the weight but that can't be right for this anvil. It weighs a lot more than 30 pounds. Any idea what the 3 means and maybe any other info you can provide would be greatly appreciated. I added a square for size reference in the pics. The rebound is good but I think the face needs to a little attention. I plan to forge knives on it.

I highly advise AGAINST grinding or doing anything to the anvil, it has a pretty thin steel face and grinding or sanding with only make it thinner. just becouse your forging knives dose not mean you need a shinny ground face.

Any idea what the 3 designates??

Why don't you just weigh the anvil on a scale?

The "3" on the base is a casting code. It has nothing to do with the weight.

Your anvil should have a date cast in under the heal. From the logo on it, it should be between 1881 and 1910.

By guestimating weight by looking at the square, I would guess about 80-100 lbs.

If the face is flat, go not do any rough grinding on it. Dress the face with a piece of 280 grit silicon carbide paper wrapped around a flat block of oak, followed by 320 and 400 should give you a nice face to forge on. Do not remove more material than you have to.

Any other questions?

Thanks njanvilman! Thats exaclty what I was wondering. I did start with a piece of 220 under a block yesterday and got most of the face down to bare metal. There are a few pits on the face, a couple being deep. But over all I'm happy with this as my first anvil!

Once you get the face to the condition you want, be sure to leave an oily rag on it when not in use. Dampness in the air will rust a nice shiny surface overnight.

Forge away....