Faceplate crack

[Chancellor]

Well, I went ahead and cleaned up part of the face, and it is much easier to turn out clean work. However it has made it painfully obvious how soft the face is. Maybe it was indeed in a fire. I was greatly surprised at how little rebound it had when I got it home, around 30-40%. It's an anvil though, which is more than many people can say about what they use.

[knots]

I wouldn't sorry about it too much. It looks like a flaw in the steel face that may have been there since it was new. I would work around it as much as you can but don't make a big deal out of it. It should last another 170 years unless you are banging cold steel with sledge hammers. Use it and enjoy.

 

I have an old unmarked anvil of this pattern .  There is a small flaw in the face that looks like a delamination of the surface layer of the blister steel face .   I say that because the bottom of the flaw has a fiberous texture.  On mine the flaw is really to small and shallow to make a difference in the function of the anvil but I have been watching it with interest.  

[Chancellor]

There is a small flaw in the face that looks like a delamination of the surface layer of the blister steel face .

 

 

The crack that I originally posted about was shallow enough to come out when smoothing. I did, however, find a new crack that looks like it is a boundary in face sections. Its interesting, and I don't think it hurts it much, haha.

Do you have any pictures of it?

[knots]

The crack that I originally posted about was shallow enough to come out when smoothing. I did, however, find a new crack that looks like it is a boundary in face sections. Its interesting, and I don't think it hurts it much, haha.

Do you have any pictures of it?

 

 

So here is my flaw .  My camera is not up to high resolution detail shots but I think you can get the idea of what is going on , at least with mine.  The hook shape flaw looks like a small forge welding flaw which has , over time, come loose .  The thing that is amazing to me is that, with these old anvils, you do not see more of this than we do.  When considering the process that was used to produce these steel plates back in the 1850's, the process of joining them with the wrought iron body,  and the fact that these anvils have out-lived generations of smiths under hard use, I am awed by their acomplishment.

 

My take on your anvil is that it is a good serviceable anvil that has seen it's share of abuse but will survive to serve a few more blacksmiths.   I would continue to use that wonderful hunk of iron and steel as it is.  When I bought my main anvil, a 300lb Peter Wright, it was badly pitted and had hammer and chisel marks.  However I elected not to grind or polish the face.  Over the years the work has healed the surface to the extent that it is not objectionable ( to me at least) .  Sometimes less is more.