Is this anvi cast iron?

[QCsmith]

Hi everybody! I've been blacksmithing for a year now and I'm pretty much equiped (got a leg vise in excellent conditin for 40 $, a forge, etc.) I also go a 140 lb Mousehole from my grandfather which is in pretty bad condition (the anvil , not the grandpa ). Anyways, it's decent for blacksmithing but I'd prefer a smootherand flatter surface for bladesmithing. So, either I reface my Mousehole or I buy this 220 lb anvil for 200$. Does it look like cast iron?



Thanks,
Simon

[Sam Falzone]

Sorry Simon,
I'm pretty sure that's cast iron.

For $200 you could get a good size block of mild or tool steel for bladesmithing.

[Wesley Chambers]

And its horn looks like poopie for lack of a better word~

[pkrankow]

And its horn looks like poopie for lack of a better word~

How about the bow of a nice runabout boat?

Phil

[Wesley Chambers]

Yea that's better

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Cast iron isn't necessarily a bad thing; Fisher Norris for example.

More important is the quality of the material used, shape, and the tool steel plate (if it even has one).

Some ways to spot a casting are; parting lines, raised lettering / designs (these could actually be forged in, but not the norm), and for an anvil the sound will be duller than a steel anvil.

[MattBower]

Well, let's not confuse the new guy too much. Yes, cast iron anvils can be OK. But this one almost surely isn't.

Cast iron can make a decent anvil if:

(1) it has a high carbon face; or
(2) it's hardened ductile iron.

However, nobody is making cast iron anvils with high carbon faces anymore. Lots of new cast iron anvils are cast to look like they have tool steel faces. That's how this one looks to me. I've never seen a steel faced anvil in which the face had an obvious overhang, like this one. But many of the cast, fake steel faces look just like this. This anvil also looks too new to have a steel face on top of CI.

I only know of a couple companies in the U.S. making ductile iron anvils (TFS and JHM), and this doesn't look like one of theirs. What's more, the shape of the horn tells you this anvil wasn't made by anyone who knows anything about using an anvil, or who expected this one to really be used. So that's another point that suggests this isn't ductile iron.

It's possible that it's cast steel. But it's far more likely to be CI, based on numbers. And if it is cast steel, it's poorly designed. (Besides the nasty horn, it doesn't seem to have a pritchel.)

It has all the hallmarks of being a cast iron ASO. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck....

[orgtwister]

looks like a giant harbor freight ASO think this would make a great boat anchor but i dont think i would want to hit it with a big hammer
i would keep looking around and see what else comes up for sale and tell every one you know and meet that you are looking for an anvil you never know what some one has lying around

[QCsmith]

Thanks again guys! Yes, I guess the horn was pretty suspicious... And also the fact that it has no markings except the weight...
Anyway, I might settle on a big chunk of steel or reface or surface grind my existing anvil, but that'll have to wait for another thread :)

[HWHII]

I have two cast iron anvils one is about 200lbs and I use it for yard art. The other is about 100lbs. This one is a better anvil and I keep it next to the forge on the ground and use it for a upsetting. Works great for that.