What's a fair price for a 100-150lb anvil? I've been in the market for awhile now and have never pulled the trigger because I really didn't know what I should pay for one.

Thanks
Mike

Well, brand new they're about $4 or more per pound. So for a used one, depending on the condition, $2 is a steal. $3 is a bit pricey. So, check out the anvil, make sure the face is smooth. Just browse the anvil section for more info.

Thanks, I've seen them for about $300 on craigslist from time to time in my area. I'm always hoping to steal one for $200 but I'm sure you could get that for it at a scrapyard. When I buy one, I'll make sure the face is clean.

A couple of years ago I took a blacksmith class from a guy down in Paint Lick, Ky who told me that an anvil should cost $1 to $2 per pound. When I got back home I couldn't find an anvil for that price anywhere. Those prices were probably true 30 years ago when he bought his own anvils.

Craigslist has gotten whacky lately. People are asking at least $4/lb for even the crummiest anvils. It's insane. There are a couple here in my area that have been listed at those prices for months. Not surprisingly no one has jumped on them.

This one has been available for six months in my area. http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/tls/2861951113.html

At $2/lb I guess it would be a good deal but it's out of my budget.

Then there's this one http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/grd/2856304919.html

No thanks

Have you attended a SOFA meeting and asked about any anvils for sale?

We had a fellow here in New Mexico who finally made it out to OH for a Quad-State Blacksmith's Round Up and bought *30* anvils and a trailer to get them back here anvils in OH being much cheaper and easier to find than here in NM.

Next if you want to buy cheap; looking where folks are trying to sell for a profit is not as good as finding the neighbor who has one sitting in a garage, basement or shed doing nothing and would be happy to turn it loose reasonable.

So start by asking *everyone* you associate with---I found one at our church where the retired fellow wanted to just give it to me! When I go to a fleamarket I ask folk selling old barn junk if there is an anvil they left back at the barn as it was too heavy to drag to a fleamarket. Actually I ask everyone I meet at a fleamarket, my 515# Fisher in mint condition for $350 came from talking with a fellow selling greasy old car parts---His Uncle had the anvil and I bought it later that day.

If you are not willing to talk with folks and *hunt* then you must accept that you will pay more.

Either way you need to learn "what makes a good anvil" "what makes a good anvil bad" and what makes a bad anvil. Lots of folks are happy to sell you an ASO (anvil shaped object) for a real anvil price.

also learn the CWT weight system and when an anvil is marked in it and not in pounds: you can sometimes get a deal if a person doesn't know about CWT and wants to sell you that PW marked 111 as 111 pounds and not 141 pounds. OTOH a lot of folks will try to sell you that HB or Trenton marked 111 telling you it's 141 pounds and at $2 a pound gouging you for $60 because US anvils were marked in pounds not CWT

I know i sold a 80lb fisher for about 1.25 a lb to someone that was starting out
first person i "tried" to sell it to would have had it for $1 a lb but they never came back for it so some one ells got it
anyways my thought is sell things to people at a price they can afford and hope someone ells will do the same for you

I attended the Quad State Round Up in 2010. I looked around and saw a lot of good anvils but never pulled the trigger. I'm a member of SOFA but haven't made it out to a meeting yet. I really need to take classes so I know what I'm doing. I took a blacksmith class in Paint Lick, KY by a Welch Chair Bodger named Don Weber. He's an awesome guy but haven't made it back down due to work and finicial limitations. I think I would take more classes if they were closer to me. I know SOFA has classes in Troy but that's still an hour and a half away.

That Fisher anvil in Kentucky is a very very good price and you should jump on it! If I was closer, or working right now, I would jump on it in a skinny minute. Heck, buy it for $2/lb and you can turn around and sell it to someone else in a year or two for $3/lb without any trouble at all. Good quality large anvils are not easy to come by.

A lot of the price depends on what you need. I have a small anvil, only 120#, and it's more than enough for a hobbyist that isn't planning on doing much with heavy stock, or planning to move in a year or so. A bigger anvil is usually better, but not so much that a beginner necessarily wants to shell five or six bills. That's a heck of investment for a hobby start-up.

If it has good rebound, good ring, and is a size you are comfortable with, look for something around $2/lb. Cheaper is better, but something that's in mint condition might be worth $3/lb or more if it's what you want and you have the expendable capital.

It is worth remembering how long an anvil will (out)last you.....paying a few hundred bucks for a lifelong tool really isn't that bad.

'this old anvil aint mine to keep, its just mine to use for a while'

I spent 15 years in Columbus Ohio; we used to carpool 2 hours to SOFA meetings, stopping at a county fairgrounds fleamarket on the way for "pie and postvises".

Carpooling cuts way down on gas prices and a bunch of blacksmiths in a car makes the drive go faster save for the stops for road kill iron...

Also worth remembering is that people list things on craigslist for a price normally expecting someone to offer them less.

http://bham.craigslist.org/atq/2835407165.html So thats an anvil we have for sale. I'm asking $250 because I'm expecting to be offered less. If it was a smith that was going to use it and not someone looking to resale it, I would take considerably less. It all depends on the "vibe" I get from the person interested.

bring some great big friends to load it...not in the back of the car...may have a flat and not be able to get the spare!

I was out hitting flea markets this morning and crossed paths with a 204-pound Hay-Budden farriers' anvil. It was at a tool dealers booth. I passed at $2500. The owner looked mad when I told him I already had one that I paid $300 for. Like all deals, looking longer can save you some real money. I,ll tell the gang at the next FABA meeting about it but I think a working smith would pass over it. I hope that he crosses paths with a rich collector.

The last time I visited the same dealer, he sold me what he called a “Fisher anvil” for $50, it was actually a 70-pound Kohlswa. Even with dealers, prices go all over the place.