nonjic Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Ive been buying a few nice anvils recently, but this one really stands out - going to sound all hippy now but you can feel the energy from it... A beautiful anvil so I thought I would share. 6lbs shy of 600 lbs. 42" long x 6.5" face - the classic london pattern with Peter in the second photo is over 650 lbs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Lake Forge Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 dude you are lucky to get anvils in that good of condition. most every non-smith now beats on anvils just to hear them ring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Interesting patterns. Was it common to have two hardy holes in the larger anvils? Funny how they lost the sweet shape right at the end of the horn. You know what they say; "Old blacksmiths never die, they just quit using their Peter Wright"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Another interesting feature is that the 600 lb. has no step but you can see that the steel face continues right on out over where the step should be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 What John didn't say is sometime in the not far off future these beauties will be state side and available to Purchase Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloe01 Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 how does one go about buying one of these. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonjic Posted November 20, 2011 Author Share Posted November 20, 2011 Yup, the anvils are heading state side, but for the near future they are mine! I had mixed feelings about sending anvils overseas, but in the UK most end up as garden ornaments and will never be appreciated! Grant, Ive got quite a few 400+ that all have that little 'reverse ski jump' under the horn. A good number of the 500 lb'ers have 2 hardys. Lots of the big ones dont have a cutting shelf, just a straight table to the horn. There has been a few discussions on here about people milling anvils faces, and the base not being true to the face, so the face gets milled unevenly, thus runining the anvil. I can take this one further, the 650 lb one in the photo above has a convex base, you can spin it round! this wanst lazy manufacturing as it was obviously a high dollar anvil back in the day. They must have just decided that it doesnt matter as it would be taken into account when the anvil was mounted for use. Lots of the anvils are biased towards the direction the smith stands aswell (ie, they look wonkey when viewed from the horn, or heel). To much skill involved in making them for this to be a manufacturing defect in my opinon. Its interesting in the big peter wright that the forward (horn end) hard hole was punched as a tapered 'round' hole, and then the top 1/2 of it must have been drifted out square. It makes it more personal that the punched round hole is not quite central where it exits.... we have all done it :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Nice iron! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesley Chambers Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Man my eyes can get much bigger, dem's some nice pieces! Maybe Ill have some fun money by the time they reach US soil! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Very nice. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 And here I thought the 405lb PW I saw at the auction today was awesome. Biggest around here in a long while, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloe01 Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 John, How much did the 405PW go for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javan C.R. Dempsey Posted November 20, 2011 Share Posted November 20, 2011 Was that the auction in Hickory? I planned to attend but was broke. = Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Javan it was between Lincolnton and Maiden, NC actually. A dealer paid $1200 for a 405 (weighed) and unmarked but probable PW in pristine shape. Advertised as 11 anvils, more like 7 and some ASO's, including RR track. Notable was the first counterfeit anvil I have ever seen in person, a rough casting of a small English style anvil, including porter bar holes only 1/2" deep and a distorted hardy hole . Even the worst stuff went high, average $3/lb. I bought a 3' long tinsmiths stake cheap early on because almost nobody knew what it was, and gave up after 3 hours. 200+ absolutely insane bidders for one packrat's garage full of rusty junk. Ugh! Sorry for the auction rant/thread heist. Mea culpa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javan C.R. Dempsey Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 No complaints on the rant from me, glad to hear I didn't miss out. To be completely honest, I figured that if I heard about it, every dealer in the state must have also, so I can't say I'm surprised. It's probably no big surprise, but of all my equipment, the only fair or really good prices I've gotten locally (in NC) have been from other smiths, or my old dealer friend, but he part-times with a smith, so is practically in the club. Flip side is, I think I've found a great deal on a "new" 400lber, so all these monkeys can pay me $3lb for my old ones that don't have particularly great usability, and heavily off-set the cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boilerguy Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 About that auction I got 4 of those anvils a paragon two hay budden and a mouse hole prices not too bad on 3 of the four but the 155# soderforst was pricey. ( but I like cast steel ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billingstwo Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I bought a 404 lb Peter Wright in great shape for $600, don't know if I got a good deal or paid going rate but either way I am happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I bought a 404 lb Peter Wright in great shape for $600, don't know if I got a good deal or paid going rate but either way I am happy. I'll give ya $675...... :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billingstwo Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 No thanks, took a bit of looking to find this one, just curious are ebay prices the real going rate or are they for people who want their anvil search to only take 30 minutes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 No thanks, took a bit of looking to find this one, just curious are ebay prices the real going rate or are they for people who want their anvil search to only take 30 minutes? Dang! I reckon you could just about double your money on that one........Sometimes ebay has great deals other times they're good for a laugh......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 e-bay is generally for people who don't know any better! (especially when they don't factor in the shipping cost---that $4 a pound anvil might really be $5!) I bought a 112# PW in excellent shape here in anvil poor NM for US$1.34 a pound last year---and this was on the open market not a "friend deal". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 eBay is always the best judge of an items true retail value... People dont want to admit it, they want to think only crazy people pay that kind of money for things... But the fact is there is no price set, people pay what they want. There are always flukes where something brings more or less but if you look at the average something is selling for over a period of time you can get a very good feel for what the market will bare.... Everyone has a story about how cheap they bought an anvil, how those people who pay those prices just dont know better... The truth is an average anvil will probably bring less than you could get locally on eBay.... the anvils that bring the insane money usually are in exceptional shape and are ideal for some use or very hard to come by... Big anvils demand big money, rare anvils demand big money.... If you dont understand the market it can look like the people are "crazy" that are paying the price but that's your shortcoming not theirs... I have an anvil story that is a perfect example... I found a perfect, and I mean perfect 200lb Hay Budden that was one of the very late production ones that where electrically welded at the waist... Many feel like they where the best Hay Buddens ever built and there are not many of them.. It was at a flea market and it was priced $600... I wipped out the cash and handed they guy full price... The guy next to me laughed and said your an idiot! $600 for that anvil? its been broke and welded back together! ( it is what they look like) I sold it the next day to an anvil collector for $1200... So who is the idiot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 eBay is always the best judge of an items true retail value... People dont want to admit it, they want to think only crazy people pay that kind of money for things... But the fact is there is no price set, people pay what they want. There are always flukes where something brings more or less but if you look at the average something is selling for over a period of time you can get a very good feel for what the market will bare.... Everyone has a story about how cheap they bought an anvil, how those people who pay those prices just dont know better... The truth is an average anvil will probably bring less than you could get locally on eBay.... the anvils that bring the insane money usually are in exceptional shape and are ideal for some use or very hard to come by... Big anvils demand big money, rare anvils demand big money.... If you dont understand the market it can look like the people are "crazy" that are paying the price but that's your shortcoming not theirs... I have an anvil story that is a perfect example... I found a perfect, and I mean perfect 200lb Hay Budden that was one of the very late production ones that where electrically welded at the waist... Many feel like they where the best Hay Buddens ever built and there are not many of them.. It was at a flea market and it was priced $600... I wipped out the cash and handed they guy full price... The guy next to me laughed and said your an idiot! $600 for that anvil? its been broke and welded back together! ( it is what they look like) I sold it the next day to an anvil collector for $1200... So who is the idiot? Best reply ever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I'll be one of the those ebay idiots- I picked up a nice 260# John Brooks anvil from Matchless, Link- http://www.ebay.com:80/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120744586046&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123 I paid a little over $3.00 a pound, delivered. Although its not as big as I wanted It was the right shape and I've only seen a dozen or so over the last year + and they went for way more money.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I'll be one of the those ebay idiots- I picked up a nice 260# John Brooks anvil from Matchless, Link- http://www.ebay.com:80/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120744586046&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123 I paid a little over $3.00 a pound, delivered. Although its not as big as I wanted It was the right shape and I've only seen a dozen or so over the last year + and they went for way more money.... You're not an idiot if you buy what you want. It's entirely up to you if you are comfortable paying the money for it. We are all in different situations and each one of us has different priorities. Noone can tell you different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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