August 25, 201213 yr My son and I have begun to acquire anvils, tools and are in the process of building a forge. We are planning to try our hands at making some items. Today I bought a Hay Badden anvil at a yard sale with the following serial number: 211592. The surface seems to be exceptionally smooth and square with very little sign of use. Can anyone give me an idea of its age and if I got a good deal. I had to carry it out of a guys basement and he only wanted $10.00 for it. Also any other information regarding this anvil will be greatly appreciated. I've attached some photos as well. Thanks!
August 25, 201213 yr All I know is I don't like you :P , to find the holy grail of yard sale buys; a Hay Badden for 10 bucks. Why oh why can't I get that lucky.
August 25, 201213 yr According to Anvils in America it was made in 1914. Pretty hard to do better than $10 for that lovely anvil. Excellent score!
August 25, 201213 yr Author Thanks, all. Sorry for the misspelling (Budden, not Badden). We plan to make some blades as I am a chef and have quite a collection of German and American knives already. My son has been researching how to do so but we can use all the help we can get, so feel free to offer any assistance or advice. By the way, i did buy a lottery ticket today!
August 25, 201213 yr $10.00? Are you sure you didn't leave off a 0 or misplace the decimal point? Wow! Enjoy working with your son, it will be quality time as you both learn together. My son and I started out together and now when he comes home to visit he wants to light off the forge. Have a blessed time. Mark <><
August 25, 201213 yr Way to make friends and influence people! Wow!! I can't believe you scored that doll for such a pittance! Tell ya what I'll do, though. You being a beginner and not knowing anvils too well, I'll give you $30 cash money, and pay shipping, to take that thing off your hands! Just think about how much you can do with a 300% return on your investment!?!
August 25, 201213 yr You make me sick! All the anvils around here are priced like they are made of silver!
August 26, 201213 yr Way to go Ken!! Great that you and your son are going to take this journey together. Should be hours of good times for sure And yes, Stuart, we have heard of that anvil....no need to steal the newbie's thunder tho...
August 26, 201213 yr Just a few thoughts. That anvil properly photographed and listed on ebay would fetch a good dollar. It is basicly new out of the box. You just don't see them that nice. Im guessing it would fetch about 400 bucks or more. you could buy a whole bunch of other tools with that money. The edges are sharp, very good from a value stand point but not so good from a using stand point. It should be dressed to be a user but that will reduce its value. Its also quite light that makes it easy to move but it is really too light for anything more than than small work. It will seriously limit what you can forge unless you mount it to a serious base. You may see the the weight as a plus as a hobiest but trust me its not. That anvil will move every time you strike a blow on it and thats not good. I would say turn that loose to someone who values it for what it is. You should get a bigger rougher anvil to learn on. Would you give your son a mint clasic sports car for his first car, No you would give him the beat up old station wagon. if you had that car just laying around you would sell it and put the cash towards school.
August 26, 201213 yr Author Timothy, Thanks for the advice! As a matter of fact, we also have a "learner" anvil. Its a Peter Wright, a little rough at around 150 pounds or so and the one we will use during the hopefully short learning curve. Meanwhile, I'll park the "sports car" in the garage while its value grows. After all, its paid for!
August 26, 201213 yr I already got a 85kg anvil for free, delivered to my door, but not in such a great shape... and also another one in as new condition, but of only 32kg, a beauty, for the equivalent of several dollars and some old clothes. I found it by asking a gypsy I met on the street if he, by chance, know about an anvil for sale. he said that his neighbour has one... and that was my learning anvil, and it was quiet good when bolted down on a massive oak stump... anyway, the guys here are not quiet decided to hate or admire you... congratulations!
August 27, 201213 yr For many years I had more hours forging on my 93# anvil than on my 515# anvil as the light anvil went to all my day long demo's and the heavy one was in the shop where my hobby time was limited. 90# is a great starter size and will make a good travel anvil in the future. I would prefer a 90# demo anvil to a 240# one! Less likely to blow out my back or get a hernia when I had to move it by myself! One other aspect of a light demo anvil is that at demos you are usually working small stock as a demo is best when "short and sweet" as the crows has a limited time to spend watching you and if you can complete an item in that time you can usually sell it to someone!
August 31, 201213 yr Ken, I paid $250 for an HB 20 lbs heavier at Christmas from a farrier here in CA and thought I had gotten a pretty decent deal, and mine isn't near as pretty as yours. Excellent score. I both congratulate and envy you. :)
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.