Farmall Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Just got this old fella. Weighs 140 pounds and has a nice wide 5-inch face. Wee bit of sway (ok, a lot of sway) as you can tell, but has a good rebound. Here's my question - as you can see, the edge is rolled over and stands proud of the surface. I really am new to blacksmithing and believe that I should grind it off, but I wanted to ask those with MUCH more experience than I. So, should I leave it (I don't think so) or grind a smooth radius that eliminates it? Thanks for any and all help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 My opinion is that anvil is an artifact that should be left as found it is not really a user due to heavy ware. You would be better off finding a newer better anvil to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 ide be tempted to reforge it back ... but it would take a lot of work to make that a good anvil ....considering its age i would NOT grind it back....if i could not reforge it properly ide leave it alone and use a newer anvil for forging on.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmall Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 just want to clear up something....I was not planning on grinding on the top, only on the edges that overhang so they would be less likely to break off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 If it starts to chip then do something. The face is very rough it will be hard to do good work on this anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmall Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 I agree....but if it is the anvil at hand, then one does what one can. I'll leave it alone then. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 where are you at?if your close enuf i might be willing to trade a good anvil for yours... i am into history and its defenitely a historic anvil... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 The original owner was a smith that used that anvil enough to cause the issue---what did he think should be done---(as evidenced by what he did do?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 For its age it appears to be in pretty good condition. My main avil has a bit of a sway. I work around the bad spots and use the sway for straightening. I see no problem using it as is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 For knifemaking it's a bit rough; you might kiss the forward part of the face just the smallest bit with a belt sander or angle grinder flap disk. The center section is for heavy hitting and is fine the way it is---it will clean up a bit with use from the plannishing aspect as well as scale being an abrasive. I'd leave the heel alone. If I was doing F&I or Rev War demos or Fur Trade era I'd be proud to use that anvil. Unfortunately it's a bit more modern than most of my demos call for... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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