"new" anvil

[wolfb]

I recently acquired this anvil: markings on it are: FISHER, 150, 1900 and a horseshoe with an eagle on it. I'm assuming it is a farrier anvil. It doesn't seem to ring at all, no cracks but some surface rust and pitting. Is it useful for anything other than horseshoes (hobby blacksmithing)? How much is something like this worth? Should I do anything to it to make it more serviceable?. Any thoughts or information will be greatly appreciated

[Harley]

Nice anvil. I had a 165 lb. Fisher Norris Eagle anvil . Sold it and have regretted it ever since. Yeah, they do not ring. I sold mine for $400.00. Do nothing to it except USE IT. Have fun.

[HWooldridge]

Just use it and be happy. They are great anvils.

[knots]

Looks like you done good. The edges appear to be clean and undamaged. Can't really tell if or to what degree that the face is pitted . In any event that looks like a good solid serviceable anvil. The only thing I would do is to wire brush the anvil face and get going. If the face is a bit pitted the pits will tend to be worked out with use. One thing not to do is to take a grinder to it and thin the plate in order to pretty up the plate. Far more harm can be done by grinding than almost any thing else you might do.

[fluidsteel]

That anvil looks near mint. It's beautiful. It isn't supposed to ring. It is a cast iron body. Fisher's are known as a "neighbor friendly" anvil.

I wouldn't even take a wire wheel to it. Just wipe it down with an oily rag. Then see how it looks. If you want an anvil that rings I'll trade you for a #119 Kohlswa. ;-)

Congrats!

[Marksnagel]

Good for you Wolf! You have a great anvil. There are a lot of people that wish they had what you had. Enjoy it and post more pictures when you make things on it.

Mark <><

[njanvilman]

Fisher made a line of Farrier anvils in the early 1900's that were about 150 lbs, and had the horseshoe cast into the side. It also has the toe clip extension on the horn. Your anvil is in great shape. It does not appear to have had much use. Just a light wire wheeling and some light oil and its good to go for a few hundred more years.

If you want to know more about Fisher anvils, look up some of my past posts.

[ThomasPowers]

Not restricted to Horseshoeing! A great home shop anvil. Price varies a lot depending on LOCATION but 1.50$-3$ a pound is probably a decent range.

As a quiet anvil Fishers are great for home shops with neighbors close by and for *you* the users helping to prevent hearing loss.

My main shop anvil is a 515# Fisher.

[njanvilman]

I picked up a Fisher farriers pattern anvil identical to the one at the top of this post. I now have two of these Fishers with the horseshoe and eagle on its side. Todays has a 1897 date, my other one is dated 1902. This topic is about one from 1900. Anyone out there have one of these? If you do, could you report on its date. I am trying to figure out the year range that Fisher made this style. Thanks.

[pkrankow]

Clean it up with a wire brush and use it! Pitting on the face needs to be pretty deep to transfer to your hot work.

Phil

[Finnr]

SWEET! Fisher with it's cast iron body will not have a real ring. Some love that . Some want to hear the anvil ring. In either case you scored a fine tool! Give it a good brushing and make use of it. If the pitting isn't too deep then just have at it!. Off hand I don't know the thickness of the face on these but taking any off unless you must is always a bad idea.