Klammer Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Hello - First post here - looking for advice on an anvil. I have found a 100#. Kohlswa for $450 in fairly good condition. I am looking for an anvil to do general blacksmithing / bladesmithing / tool making. Is this a decent price? With shipping it would cost me ~$520. Would my money be better spent somewhere else? I had been saving for a 240# Rhino or similar larger / newer anvil. Have been using a 60# "trenton" anvil Ipicked up dirt cheap locally. Cheers! Klammer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Since you already have one with a hardy and horn would your needs be met with just a large hunk of steel to use as a "main pounding anvil" and conserve your cash until you find a better deal? If you can tell us your general location that will affect how good/bad that price is as a whole. However even out here in anvil poor NM US$5 per pound is on the High side of things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 where are you ? it seems a little high but how nice is it ? its kinda hard to figure price without seeing it ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firebug Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Klammer, I posted a reply to an "anvil for sale" by Randy in the tailgating section. Tailgaiting is on the home page under "feedback and support". In the reply I listed the anvils I have bought, one recently and one I am going to buy in a few weeks. The prices are all less than what you are going to pay per pound for a used anvil. AGAIN, some of this depends on location, type of anvil and what others are willing to pay. A new 175 Euroanvil is 850.00 and I love mine as well as the 335 Euroanvil. For the money I think they are hard to beat. My favorite anvil in the states is the Ozark Pattern which for the most part was designed by Uri Hofi. That is the anvil I will be picking up in a few weeks. While all of these anvils are more expensive overall than the one you are looking at, the prices per pound for the most part are cheaper, for a new anvil. In the end it comes down to many little considerations as to whether to buy the anvil or not. Here is how "I" would look at it. Am I going to do this as a hobby or a business eventually? If you are seriuos about turning this into a money maker then spend all you can on your anvil. It will outlast you, your son, his son etc. It is an investment and one that is not cheap to replace if you make a bad decission. What STYLE of anvil do you want. Many love the London patern which is what you are looking at, I don't, I would much rather work on a European style. So, the anvil you are considering holds no value for me except for resale if I found it at a steal. To me you can do so much more with a European style anvil and I like the way they are laid out. This is my opinion, shared by many, but and opinoin none the less. Look into it, take your tiiiiiiiiiime. Don't jump too fast another one will come along soon enough. I would seriously consider a new one in the end. One last thing, depending on what you are going to do a 100 pound anvil is kind of small. I am not a proponent of huge anvils either for the most part the average smith can do with a 175 to 275 pound anvil in my opinion unless you are doing large stuff. So, in the end, you would most likely have to buy another anvil anyway. If you saved this money and put a some more with it later you could buy one anvil that would do most anything you will need. Go to the "blacksmithing general discussion" and check out my 175 Euroanvil with the stand I made for it. The topic is "my portable demo setup" by firebug. This will give you a look at another style of anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fosterob Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 A few months back I got a 165lb Kohlswa anvil in new condition, I think it was used maybe a half dozen times or so. $200 from an ebay guy. The one your looking at seems high and mine was a very good deal. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klammer Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 Thank you for all the advice folks. I am located in just outside Vancouver, BC, Canada and anvils have been fairly scarce. The seller actually had 4 100# Kohlswa's for sale - he collects them it seems. He is a full time farrier. By the time I got to him the best 2 had been sold and the remaining 2 are fairly banged up with very beat up edges. I think I may wait for the NWBA conference in a few months and see what is available while I am there in the 200# range. After listening to your advice and thinking it through I do not think 100# would do me in the long run, and might as well save up my pennies and go in for a long term solution. I also agree that given what I pan on using it for, I would be better served with a different pattern than the London. Thank you all for your good advice and quick response! Cheers, Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 The ones in Hay Lake, Alberta? I thought those were pretty expensive. There are quite a few blacksmith tools available in the Vancouver area. They routinely pop up on Craiglist and Kijiji. I bought a swage block and a large lot of hammers from Vancouver, both for reasonable prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klammer Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 The ones that I have seen for reasonable prices are gone VERY fast - I am talking hours...I am fast - but not that fast There must be a few dedicated folks on the prowl. I will keep looking and trying and hopefully get lucky one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric sprado Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Check with Steve McGrew of Incandescent Iron Works (just Google it)in Spokane. He is Rhino dealer and will have some NICE used ones at the Spring NWBA Conference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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