zampilot Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Not that I've seen hundreds of anvils, maybe 20 or so, and most of them have the tip of the horn blunted and it looks on purpose. Is there a reason for that? I can imagine someone who walked into the tip mid-thigh once or twice (OUUUCCCHHHH!!!) would remove the point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ishoe Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I believe every "old" anvil that I have ever seen had the horn blunted on it also. Somebody on here posted that they had punched a hole with the point on an anvil horn but outside of that I have never heard or seen anyone ever use a needle point horn for any forging procedures. The smith probably walked into the horn and in his pain and anger took his hammer and bashed the tip in. Troy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fciron Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I don't think you need a needle point on your anvil horn, but coming down pretty close is handy. The taper of the horn means that it actually needs to be quite a bit smaller than the hole you are trying to dress. I do use the end of the horn to dress and finish punched holes (such as you might find on the end of a handle), little curlicues, and the occasional chain link. It is easy for an errant blow, or even an overly effective blow, to hit the tip of the horn while doing this. I think this is a more likely explanation than thigh safety. In my experience, walking into a dull horn hurts just as much as a pointy one; it's the large mass behind it that does the damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fosterob Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 An old horseshoer told me once that they cut the horn tip off so if they got pushed into the anvil by an upset horse it would not skewer them. Probably not why large shop anvils are blunted though. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WmHorus Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 There was a thread on Don Foggs site started by one of the guys showing a nice bruise he got from running into the point of his horn, it was rounded I believe now imagine having done that with a pointy horn. It would slide right into ya, so it more than likely is a safety response who can afford a hole in vital areas because of an accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I am sure my anvil was dropped on the horn on concrete. The previous owner said so. It is rather mushroomed. I recall some pictures of a tennis ball strapped to the bick of an anvil like a clown nose. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I crashed into a horn with my thigh once, it resulted in a deep bruise that had me limping for weeks. Pointy or not It's going to hurt like hell ! A friend of mine, had a Kolswa with a fairly fine tip. We were at a blacksmithing school were it was customary to ''blow the anvil'' when a student graduated. They preferred the Kolswa cause of the cavity under the base would hold more powder. They touched it off, it went up 100+ feet and came down horn first on the anvil below!! Jim's anvil wasn't as pointy after that, and NOT available for ceremonies anymore This undoubtably explains the reason so many anvils are blunted ......mb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric sprado Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I shoed horses for 25 years and used the sharp point of my anvil as a bob punch to draw toe clips. Not shoeing now but still use it to open up a hole that I have punched. The point evolved for a reason... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old N Rusty Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Emmreson horseshoe supply anvils from bossier city louisiana are good anvils with a satisfactory rebound and a nice ring to them very musical. it also comes with a horn so pointy you could sew with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 We don't know the history of old anvils, but I suspect that many of them, when no longer used, sit in a store room, a basement, or are out behind the barn. Little boys who don't know better will beat on the anvil and will discover that they can upset the horn tip. Fun!! I think that there should be a reasonable radius to the point. On old wrought anvils, I have restored the horns by tipping the anvil back on it's heel while it's on the ground. Using a rosebud, I hammer the smunched horn first on its underside, then the sides and finally on top. This is done freehand. You don't need to put the anvil on another anvil to forge it. If you get fibrous separations while hammering, they can be welded as you work. http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of Blacksmith Schools Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 When I need a fine point I use a bick in the hardy hole. I have several including several that I made from old structural steel hole aligners---one vertical and one bent 90. And yes a sharp horn does do more damage than a blunt one! As another data point: Recently my 134# HB was tipped onto it's horn on a concrete floor when two doofuses decided that they could load the anvil and the stump at the same time as the stump had nice steel handles mounted on it. So they each grabbed a handle and picked it up only to have the stump turn turtle as the CoG was higher than the handles when the anvil was on it. The anvil rested between two 2x4 semi circles to make it easy to place/remove when transporting it. Once it was not on the level it easily dropped off---probably a 3' drop onto the horn. Horn is pristine, concrete has a large spall in it. This was a commercial concrete shop floor for a University and so it was pretty good stuff. The HB is quite hard though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beslagsmed Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 An old horseshoer told me once that they cut the horn tip off so if they got pushed into the anvil by an upset horse it would not skewer them. Probably not why large shop anvils are blunted though. Rob If a farrier has his anvil that close to a horse, then he needs to get stabbed!! I was shown by Michael Wildenstein at Cornell how to pull clips using the point of the horn. Works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesley Chambers Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Ran into this while image hunting the other day, its not a matter of the farrier putting his anvil too close to a horse but that horse being spooked or not properly tended by the owner or any number of odd happenings in a barn that could cause them to flip out and get loose. I saw this almost happen a number of times while in shoeing school, with a row of 20 anvils per shop sitting 15 foot from the stalls ya just never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KST1-Derek Fultz Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 When I bought my Trenton anvil the horn was slightly blunted. Gary Jameson showed me how to heat it with a rosebud and, using a heavy hammer on one side as support, hammer the other side back into shape. By working my way around the horn tip, I forged it back to a nice point. To keep from stabbing myself with it I made a little cover that I usually leave in place. It pulls off and hangs below when I need to use the tip. Some of my buddies refer to is as an anvil condom or bra. Whatever, it works. My appoligies for the bad pics. -Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KST1-Derek Fultz Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Found a couple more pics. The first one shows the tip cover hanging below the horn when using the tip. The others are of the magnet mount and how I mounted the cane tip for those that are interested. With this cover in place, most of the horn remains usable. When going all the way around the horn (bending a ring, etc.) or using the tip, it it easily removed. -Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Being ''aware of what you're doing'' is a simpler solution........... Quote; Frank Turley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KST1-Derek Fultz Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Being ''aware of what you're doing'' is a simpler solution........... Quote; Frank Turley Agreed!! No substitute for that! And I rarely if ever come close to bumping the horn tip. However, my wife, kids, and buddies, join me in the shop pretty frequently and I can't say the same for them. Safety is a big thing in my life. Why take the chance when an accident can be prevented. Just an option... -Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Evers Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 My shop anvil is blunt, I can use a bick, my truck anvil is often used for a center punch to mark left and right horseshoes One accident years ago when a teen age client over disciplined his horse and ran it into the anvil. He missed 4-H fair over it but deserved to miss it - horse didn't reserve the punctured rump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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