Too many years ago, pre internet, I read in an English book about a stake shank being inlet into the end grain of a timber. If memory serves, the worker sat on the edge of another (movable) timber with his feet on the ground. This latter apparently acted as a stool. From this position, he did his raising or whatever. The term "stiddy" was used to describe the stake and timber (I thought). I search-engined stiddy and found that it was used to describe a small stake-anvil used mainly by cutlers. In any event, it sounded like a good way to work for prolonged periods, although I haven't tried it.

http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools

I thought of this by reading another thread about stake plates.

I looked up Stiddy to and found stithy a small forge or anvil and then found this, strange, real strange! http://aesthetic-machinery.com/stithy_desc.html

You are not talking about a setter are you? Small pocket anvil that could be driven into the end grain and used to set teeth on a saw?

nah, Stiddy is the right tern for what Frank is talking about, Google brought up plenty of diversions related to it

I looked up Stiddy to and found stithy a small forge or anvil and then found this, strange, real strange! http://aesthetic-machinery.com/stithy_desc.html

That looks handy!

I used to have a relatively small anvil that was stump mounted that had two horns, and no I don't think it was a sheet metal stake as the "stake" part was more like a large spike. I saw a photo of an Arab using a similar one from a squatting position. Didn't look all that comfortable to me but I was used to standing to forge, still am not used to sitting to even forge silver and copper. When I was a kid in Santa Fe,NM there was a tinker that worked sitting on very short bench fixing pots and pans, even making an occasional copper pan that had a stump mounted anvil and stakes of differing shape, ancient old man, maybe some of these were stiddies? :blink:

I looked up Stiddy to and found stithy a small forge or anvil and then found this, strange, real strange! http://aesthetic-machinery.com/stithy_desc.html

That's just CREEPY!

Frosty the Lucky.

A "Stiddy" can be more or less any anvil or stake. It's a northern English word, hence the usual association with cutler's stiddies, Sheffield being the main centre of English cutlery.

I believe "stiddy" is a North country dialect form of "steady" - so you use the stiddy to steady something whle you hit it.

i remember seeing some on the british blade forum... i'll take a looksee if i can find the link


Greg


ah...got it
http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?97213-pretty-little-stiddy&highlight=stiddy