September 28, 201213 yr A while back i put out emails and texts to all my friends asking if they knew the whereabouts of any anvils. I'd found a forge and so naturally needed an anvil. I ended up finding this old thing: After a clean up she looked much better: Not much, but it'd do for a start! On Monday evening i had a call from a deer stalking friend of mine, "Nick, I've found you an old anvil, it's got two pointy ends, one flat, one round and a couple of holes in the top. It's been at the back of a shed for 50 years, it's bloody heavy, i can't lift it". This was all the info i had on it, then i got this photo: I'm now really excited as i always liked the idea of a double piked anvil, but they normally go for silly money. This one's coming for free! He won't take any money, but i have to forge him a blade on it. Can't say fairer than that :) I asked if there's any markings or names on it, but he'd left for a trip to Scotland, so i won't know for a week or two now :(
September 28, 201213 yr Nice anvil! That's a double horn Peter Wright anvil. Those are RARE! Be sure to post pictures of you using it, we LOVE pictures!
September 28, 201213 yr Author Nice anvil! That's a double horn Peter Wright anvil. Those are RARE! Be sure to post pictures of you using it, we LOVE pictures! Will most definitely take some photos mate. Do you really think it's a PW? I thought it might be with those flat areas on the base, but then i thought that would be too good to be true :)
September 28, 201213 yr I have a hard time believing they are rare being they were made in England to start with, maybe they didn't get exported as much as the single horn version. Congratulations on the new anvils!!!
September 28, 201213 yr You are ignoring the fact that they did not make many of them; that combined with natural attrition over the last century or so can make them rare even in the county the factory was in!
September 28, 201213 yr Thomas - you are correct, I just ment that they would be far more prevelant in England than here in the US.
September 29, 201213 yr DON'T mill the top!! Give it a good wite wheel brushing and use it. When you grind or mill the surface you are taking years of use off the top.
September 29, 201213 yr Are you going to mill the top on this one as well? I'll go with an "English response"..... Bloody hell, please no! Don't touch it with a mill!! Lovely anvil. I'd love to see it cleaned up with a wire wheel and rubbed down with some linseed oil. Oooh la lah!
September 29, 201213 yr Author I'll go with an "English response"..... Bloody hell, please no! Don't touch it with a mill!! Lovely anvil. I'd love to see it cleaned up with a wire wheel and rubbed down with some linseed oil. Oooh la lah! Don't worry folks, no way I'd get this one milled! The little one got done because it's face was a complete mess of rust and pitting. This'll get a good going over with a wire wheel, and I've heard of this stuff: http://www.idealworld.tv/Black_Magic_Paint_-_2.5_Litre_Tin_@bCovers_approx_28_Square_Metr_156102_156102.aspx?fh_location=//idealworld/en_GB/&cm_mmc=Google%20Base-_-Ideal%20Feed-_-Home-_-Black_Magic_Paint_-_2.5_Litre_Tin_%40bCovers_approx_28_Square_Metr_156102 I might give the base and sides a coat of it in the name of preservation :)
September 29, 201213 yr Really nice anvil! Interesting the lack of a step at the horn, or am I just forgetting the double horned anvil shape? Any guesses on the weight of that beauty?
September 30, 201213 yr You should try the electrolysis technique for removing the rust from that lass! The rust-preventing paint isn't nearly as good as an occasional rub down with an oily rag, you just need to get her down to bare metal first. Electrolysis seems to be a great way to clean rust off, particularly for men of a more sedate nature. Let the electricity do the work for you! Either way, she looks a sure beauty, for sure, and I wouldn't mind having it in my shop should you decide to donate it to the cause!
September 30, 201213 yr Author I'm afraid i haven't seen her in the flesh yet, only got the scale of the anvil and the wheel behind it to go on really. If my guesstimations are correct she's a minimum 200 lb'er. I've been reading through this thread with interest re electrolysis: I think that i could do that fairly easily. I've worked as a diamond tool maker since leaving the army, and the electrolysis technique is exactly what we do to coat tools in diamond, except that our anodes are Nickel and the solution is also Nickel based. So i should be able to take it into work and get it in a tank. I could wire it up to our meters, some of which go up to 20+ amps, though I'm not sure it'll need that much juice!
September 30, 201213 yr If only your boss would let you coat the sides with diamonds.. :-O Looking forward to seeing it all cleaned up. I've never seen an English double bick anvil. All that I've seen were German, Peddinghaus etc...
September 30, 201213 yr Author Well it could still be a "Foreigner", only thing leading to the belief it may be a PW is the shape of the base. Surely he can't have been the only anvil maker that put those flats on? Each day that passes brings me nearer to seeing it, really looking forward to it now. :) This pic shows a few more anvils made in the UK
September 30, 201213 yr Author An interesting eBay listing: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-Mid-19th-Century-Double-Horn-Blacksmiths-Anvil-In-excellent-condition-/110953949937?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item19d55eeaf1#ht_500wt_1413 :)
October 1, 201213 yr Author What are your thoughts about the best anvil stands? When i get this baby I'm going to need to get it on a stand. I really like the look of some of the laminated ply pyramid stands, but are they the best option? Or just a relatively cheap way of doing it?
October 2, 201213 yr What are your thoughts about the best anvil stands? When i get this baby I'm going to need to get it on a stand. I really like the look of some of the laminated ply pyramid stands, but are they the best option? Or just a relatively cheap way of doing it? For the most part any anvil stand that's well built works. I love my three legged stands. Sturdy. Heavy. Can be bolted to the floor. Stumps etc work too.
October 2, 201213 yr I'd go for hard wood stumps. I have 2 solid teak blocks under 2 of my anvils and I love them! I wouldn't want to trade them for any other stand. But these are personal preferences. What Fluidsteel said, get what you can get and make sure it's safe.
October 16, 201213 yr Author Well kids, I've brought her home and had a clean up. She's not a Peter Wright, she's an Isaac Nash! Done some military service, two other name stamps in the body with the broad arrow next to them, pics to follow. There seems to be a bad crack around the thickest part of the round horn, enough of one to make me fear to bang on it. T'is a sad thing, but can't complain with a freebie! Incidentally, she weighs 233lbs
October 16, 201213 yr Terrible just terrible,,,better send it to me and I'll hide it in an old mineshaft or something!
October 16, 201213 yr Well it's still a beautiful anvil. My anvil doesn't even have a horn. I get along just fine with her.
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