WraithsNinja Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Ok so the horn of my anvil has some small dings and your typical abuse on it and I was thinking of re finishing it. Horns are typically softer than the face right? They arnt plated or anything right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 "Horns are typically softer than the face right? They aren't plated or anything right?" I can tell you with full confidence, without doubt, without reservation: it depends. Anvils have been made for commercial sale to the public for what? 250+ years and on 4 continents by 500+ makers? And made to order before that. Every maker had their own idea of what the market wanted at that time and place, and what the public would pay for. Every conceivable method and material has been tried at some point. We need more to go on: good pictures/good description and a name brand would be a good start. A location would be helpful, too. There might be someone, or a club, right around the corner from you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatfudd Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Typically they aren't plated and are softer, but John is correct some are and some aren't. I guess if you are trying to make your anvil purity go for it. That being said if they are just small dings they add character to an anvil. I personally wouldn't mess with the horn unless there is some kind of ding that is so bad it messes up your work. All of my anvils have dings in the horns and I like them that way, They all are at least 100 years old and the dings remind me of the many smiths that pounded out fine metal work on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WraithsNinja Posted November 4, 2012 Author Share Posted November 4, 2012 Thanks, ill see if I can't get out to the shop and take somme pics, I don't see any marks to tell me what brand it is but I think the guy who sold it to me said it was an hammer and arms? Not sure its been a while, there have been only a couple if times the dents have gotten in the way, so I figures refinishing would make it work better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Well there are *two* wildly different anvils that have an Arm and Hammer logo. One is Arm and Hammer they were in Columbus OH and made EXCELLENT anvils in the traditional way. Their logo is punched *into* the side of the anvil. The other is the Vulcan which was a cast iron anvil with a thin steel face---often fairly soft too. The horn also has a thin steel top plate. They are about the lowest on the quality scale of "real" anvils IMNSHO. Often sold to schools where abuse was expected and cheapness was a factor. Vulcan's logo is cast out proud of the surface of the anvil in an oval "cartouche" I would expect at least a difference in price of a factor of *2* between same sized anvil Arm and Hammer vs Vulcan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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