July 7, 201213 yr I'm guessing its a Mousehole anvil but I'm not totally sure. Some hairless ground ape ground a big gouge in the face but other than that its got lots of good edges on it. It has no prichel hole. She is an old one how old I have no idea. The book on the Mousehole forge shows a drawing of this and calls it double arch anvil.
July 7, 201213 yr Author Its about 130 lbs. I wonder what type of smiths preferred this kind of anvil.
July 7, 201213 yr Looks like the kind in Bayport prefer them :D Oh, and love the hairless ground ape crack. I might resemble one.
July 8, 201213 yr It never ceases to amaze me what a determined nimrod with a torch or a grinder can find to damage. Looks like your new find has unfortunately experienced both. Still a nice find Tim.
July 9, 201213 yr Well as unmarked I'd say it's one of the over 200 brands of English anvils that Postman has documented; not necessarily a Mousehole.
July 9, 201213 yr Could it have been cracked and ground out in anticipation of a repair? I'm just shootin' in the dark.
October 11, 201213 yr Author I did some wire brushing wile my mill was making a very long slow pass. I was able to identify this anvil positivity as a mouse hole.
October 12, 201213 yr At least the grinding wasn't in the "sweet spot" How can you tell it's a mouse hole? The anvil in my other thread has very similar feet to this one. Though it bears a stamp for weight. We're these not blade smithing/ saw doctors anvils? Cheers
October 12, 201213 yr Mac, before about 1800 these were known as "anvils" and were in common use everywhere, and those funny things with horns were "farriers anvils", used by specialists. You can identify an anvil from about 1750-1830 because it is thick waisted, if there is a horn, it seems to be more conical and stuck on as an afterthought, the heel is short with a small hardy hole, and there was no original pritchel hole. Later, when water and steam powered circular saws came into general use, block anvils to tune them had to be used.
October 12, 201213 yr Author At least the grinding wasn't in the "sweet spot" How can you tell it's a mouse hole? The anvil in my other thread has very similar feet to this one. Though it bears a stamp for weight. We're these not blade smithing/ saw doctors anvils? CheersI can very clearly read the letters "ouse ole" this is an old style of anvil but anvils with horns have been identified going back to the 1500's at least. This style of anvil actually cost more per pound than one with a horn. Because more steel was used per pound to face it.
October 12, 201213 yr (and IIRC the first circular saws were used in the low countries in the 1500's---but they were quite uncommon!
October 13, 201213 yr Author According to Richard Postman's book "Mousehole Forge" Mousehole anvils always have the weight stamped on the same side as the trademark. This one has the weight on one side and the trade mark on the other. It also has the earliest trademark shown in the book placing in from the late 18th century.
October 17, 201213 yr Nice find Tim! That's cool that it is such an early Mousehole. Do you think you will repair it? Dan
October 17, 201213 yr Author If I do ever fix it, I will do it in the traditional way. By forge welding some new steel on the face. It's a dream at this point. We will see.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.