Big Swedish Anvil ID

[Rockcrusher]

I found a big Swedish anvil today and am hoping someone will be able to positively identify the manufacturer. It Seems to be forged steel rather than cast with handling holes front and rear. I've looked closely and can't make out a parting line such as a casting would bear. Rebound is very good...85% + with good ring and a pretty good face. Hardy hole is 1-1/2".

 

The only markings I can find are SWEDEN in small letters with the weight stamped in larger letters below it in lbs. There is also a small crown to the left of SWEDEN. I think right now I'm leaning for this being a Soderfors Paragon....but would appreciate any input from the experts here. Thanks.  Ed.

 

Here are a few pics of the anvil:

 

 

And the markings:

 

 

Detail of the Crown:

 

[Harri]

Söderfors it is. I have the same shield stamped plus "soderfors" on my little anvil.

[otisdog]

How  much did it cost you to 'find' this big pig?

[Rockcrusher]

Thanks for the info Harri, I appreciate the positive ID. I figured the shield would be recognizable to someone. Well otisdog, finding things like this takes a bit of luck and usually a good bit of sheer diligence. In this case there was more luck involved. I'm not 100% sure how this big anvil came to be lying near an old scrap pile fully half buried in the earth but I have an idea it began long ago in a small shop filled with black smoke from diesel engines and coal fires. This would have been in the age of the mechanic when working smiths were still in high demand.

 

As time went by the work being done in the shop changed. Change came slowly at first, trucks and equipment got a little more complex and there were fewer jobs that could be completed soley relying on the resourcefulness of the old mechanics. Many of the old tools were not being used like they used to be and newer ones were taking their place. Most of the younger guys coming into the shop knew about electrical diagnostics and who to call for factory service but would never consider a structural repair of a critical part....why fix it when you can buy new.  Eventually all the old hands had either died off or retired leaving only the younger men, who had never seen the  value of an anvil, to work in the shop. It was in this period this old anvil was used primarily as a sawhorse or a cutting bench. Numerous torch nicks and dingles bear witness to this time of abuse.

 

At some point, probably in the last ten to fifteen years the business, including the shop, changed hands. A large corporation was now in charge and changes would be dramatic and swift. The safety people were tasked with getting rid of unsafe equipment and obviously anything they think you hit with a hammer is likely dangerous. A corporate attorney probably weighed in as well writing policies on PPE and risk management. The efficiency guru was right behind with programs like 5s and the lean manufacturing doctrine. Hard to say just what corporate program doomed the anvil but it, and any other equipment surviving from the old days and now deemed unsafe or unneeded were banished to the scrap heap.

 

Not every scrap heap holds such treasure but sometimes....every once in a while!!! While the above story is purely speculation I think it is as likely a scenario as any how this big Swedish anvil came to be half buried in the dirt near an old scrap heap and long forgotten. Before a stampede erupts remember you should never access private property without permission. And no...there were no other significant items in this particular junk pile. There are many things these days that go unappreciated by most people. One mans junk is another mans treasure. :) Ed.

[Maillemaker]

Its good to know you gave that old girl a happy home.

[Rockcrusher]

It is now in a warm dry shop surrounded by many other vintage tools and equipment and I'm happy so I hope it is too. :)  I have had a chance to clean it up a little more and do some more research. I know in Copes book he mentions finding parting lines on all of the Soderfors anvils he's seen but there is not even the hint of a casting line near the center of this anvil under the horn or the heel. No grinding marks either. When you look at the old adds Soderfors were claiming to make forged steel anvils and I for one believe they were.

 

The only marks that look a little suspect are on the outer facing ends of the feet on one side and in line with the width of the body. The line does not appear on the bottom or across the body in the hollow between the feet so I think it is a mark left by some type of large clamp. The handling holes also show signs of the tongs working around a bit during the forging process splaying a bit of steel to the sides. Ed.

 

 

[Rockcrusher]

Just one more thing to add. I found a pic of this neat old tin sign....so that's what the shield with a crown is suppose to look like.  Ed.