Great Grandfather's Anvil

[plainoldjason]

Hi all,

I'm brand new to IFI and I've always wanted to try my hand at Forging/Smithing. I'm interested in blacksmithing in general, but I'm especially interested in learning to make hand-made knives. Who knows what I'll be interested in five years from now, lol.

I've been lugging my great-grandfathers anvil around for a couple decades and finally pulled it out of the shed and cleaned it up a bit. From what I've been able to determine by surfing the web it's a Wilkinson. I would like to use this anvil, but it's been in the family a long time and I don't want to do anything that would ruin it. I did use a flap-disc and sandpaper/wire brush to clean some rust off the face and horn.

I'm going to attempt to attach a pic and would love to read any comments or suggestions anyone may have. I know this anvil is a little worn and swaybacked, but would I be ok using it or would I be better off keeping it for its family heirloom value and finding another anvil to work on?

Oh yeah, I haven't built a forge yet and would like to keep it very simple since I'm in the military and move around every 3-4 years, any suggestions? I was thinking about making a small propane forge...

Thanks in advance! -Jason

[arftist]

It's your anvil, use it. You will not hurt it much, unless you pound cold steel on it.

[clinton]

I am not familiar with that brand of anvil but it has seen some use and if it were my anvil I would use it until I found another one

[John McPherson]

The Wilkinson of sword and razor fame made that fine old English anvil. Use it, but don't abuse it and it will last another 150 years. Keep it in the family, and add to the history.

The slight swayback does not affect most uses, and is often found on wrought iron body anvils. The steel face is fairly thin and you could easily grind right thru it trying to flatten the face. The sway can be helpful in straightening knife steels and such that have 'spring memory' and have to be overbent to return to true.

Small propane forges tend to be easier to move around, fuel is pretty much universally available.

[plainoldjason]

Oh yeah, forgot to say: It's 158 lbs. I weighed it. Any advice about whether I should try to dress/grind/hardface the face and horn? Will the swayback and dings in the face negatively affect the work I try to do on it? Here's a better pic of the top of the anvil...

[plainoldjason]

Thanks Mr. McPherson, I didn't see your post until after I'd already hit "Add Reply" on my last post... interesting to know that the swayback can actually be useful. I definitely don't want to do anything that would ruin this anvil and I figured grinding/welding was probably out of the question, but wanted to throw it out there to see what more experienced folks thought...thanks so much for the helpful info!

[John McPherson]

There are some pretty deep knicks and gouges on the face. To grind them totally out would definitely compromise the anvil. Many will fade with use, but will never go away. You only need a clean flat area about the size of your palm to do the finish work on blades. If I was going to do anything, I would take a flap wheel to just barely clean up about that much behind the horn shelf.

Make or acquire a sacrificial cutting plate and a cut off hardy, and smack anyone who uses the anvil face to chisel on! Single hand hammers, no sledge work, and radius the sharp edges on your hammers, so a missed blow inflicts no more damage.

[plainoldjason]

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like a good plan, using the flap disc to smooth that area behind the horn shelf a bit. I may try to obtain a large chunk of steel to use if I find I need a perfectly smooth surface. Now to decide on a stand design, build my forge, find a good hammer and get started! :)