ferretman Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 hi guys after reading a few posts i noticed that anvil prices in the us seem stupid in a land so vast i thought they would be 2 a penny ,dont get me wrong in the uk there not cheap but i bet most american smiths could get the anvil of there dreams for less than 500 quid and still have change Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 However, even with some airlines allowing one 30KG's of baggage(no US airlines though) you would still have a devil of a time getting one home. I had thought of shipping some across while my son was in the UK but a container load(23 000 KG) of anvils is going to set you back a fair penny and when you get them there you would flood a local market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferretman Posted April 14, 2013 Author Share Posted April 14, 2013 It makes me wonder thousands and thousands of anvils must of been made in the last 150 years where have they all gone,around my county of yorkshire there were hundreds of foundrys including the mousehole .but sadly nearly all them closed now but anvils are not exactly bio degradable are they Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 It makes me wonder thousands and thousands of anvils must of been made in the last 150 years where have they all gone,around my county of yorkshire there were hundreds of foundrys including the mousehole .but sadly nearly all them closed now but anvils are not exactly bio degradable are they One word....war. During wartime, especially the 2nd WW. Not only plowshares were tossed into the fiery furnace but thousands and thousands of anvils as well. It's not like they were needed for making swords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzer Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Also the trouble for North American smiths is that anvils are in demand by non-smiths, so the remaining ones get their price driven up. Tool collectors, little old ladies wanting one to decorate their flower beds or fireplaces, etc. Seems the decorators want the pristine anvils too, I wish they'd go for the ones with "character" that are not usable/desireable to smiths. :) Prices can vary quite a bit by region, as some areas held on to their anvils (they were still using them) while others (more urbanized areas generally) donated them to war scrap in droves. Ebay has driven the prices up as well. People see the collector prices on Ebay and assume that theirs must be worth lots of money too. Ebay pretty much crashed the antique car and motorcycle parts market, but drove up the tool market. There are still plenty of anvils to be had at a reasonable price, but it takes some leg work and "networking" to find them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everything Mac Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 We certainly do seem to get the better deal price wise at least. I've paid £210 in total for 3 anvils. A 62, 117 and 125kg respectively. Whilst they crop up on eBay pretty much every day, the issue is still location for us too. I could easily afford some of the beauties I've seen go for silly money but going to pick it up and transporting it is still the big issue. I've heard of big collections being sold for pennies in the past! :( I dread to think how many have been lost to the scrap yards though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WmHorus Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 I recently sold one of my spares but only to a working home not the collector that called who informed me he has 90 anvils in his collection. This topic is one that comes up quite a bit here in the states and for over seas and is a sore one for many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 If you really think about it they cost that much because they are worth it. You think there is some conspiracy to stop you from getting one. They are expensive because they are scarce, useful desirable, and generally well made from durable expensive materials. New ones reflect the cost of production plus the sellers profit (this is where they afford to eat) and transportation. More often then not they are worth what you paid for it you, can turn around and sell it for what you have in it. Is your car, computer or boat worth what you paid for it, nope. The real problem is many people just don't want it bad enough. Look at the things a master blacksmith can make on an anvil and meditate on that for a wile. There are good deals to be had but these come in their own time. A pristine anvil flying on gossamer wings will not alight upon your stump in a shaft of moon light. You got to beat the bushes man! hurt you back lifting it and perhaps tear the upholstery in you Buick to get one on the cheap. Remember run don't walk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yesteryearforge Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Well said mr. Miller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Folk ask me from time to time if I'll sell my 300# Fisher and I always say "Yes" and then I get the offer of a life time, $0.50/#. When I sell it the price will be more like $3/# and that sounds reasonable to me but they keep hoping for a bargain. I paid $0.50/# in 1978 for it. Why would sell it for that now? Harold bought my second anvil for $2/# and didn't bat an eye, made me wonder if my ask was too low he jumped on it so fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 I was always under the impression anvils where so cheap in the UK becuase there are no real smiths left over there :P :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFullSmokingBar Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Look at the price scrap sells for these days. Economy is bad so commodities go up. No wonder anvils are so expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philip in china Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Also if you write off the expense over the usful life of the anvil it is infinitessimally small. For example, say you bought a Papa Rhino now. That is a modern, high quality anvil made in USA out of alloy steel. At about 100Kg it is a perfect size for virtually anything yo are ever likely to do on it. It will cost you US$1,250 although if you are an ABANA member I think you get a discount. (I am not, so didn't). So how long is that anvil going to last? There are plenty of 100 year old anvils that were made out of lower grade steel. Let's say it will last 100 years. That is $12.50 a year or about $1 a month. I tried to explain this to somebody when I bought a full size snooker table. I have sons who play the game. It could well still be around in another century. The cost is almost nothing. It is just having the cash up front to buy something like that in the first pl;ace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulsepushthepopulace Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 I have a confession. I am an anvil addict... I collect for the preservation of the craft and have every intention to flip them towards any "smith" that desires a good working anvil at a fair market price. Profit isn't a dirty word either. Any turned profit goes into the pot for more anvils, other blacksmith related equipment, or repair consumables... bring me two or three "in need of repair" anvils, and I'll trade ya one good usable one... Use TPAAT... my last post in that thread I attained 5 anvils in less than a month.... Since then I've added 5 more (2 months)... I'm not a brazillionaire; I'm a dad, I work a crappy part-time job 20-30hrs/week, and I'm a full-time college student... You got to want it... I guarantee that if there is a decent anvil within a 4 hr drive, I'm making contact, en route, and building rapport with the seller before anyone else. I scour the paper, garage sales, flea markets, swap meets, antique stores, any and all places where an anvil might be hiding... I've lost a few deals to a few collectors that offer full asking price before I get there, and I've had to walk away from some because people were holding onto their inflated price tag... Some times you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you... I've even extended my inventory to individuals that I've befriended here and there, at cost! , yet there's still really no emphasis or urgency on their part... DO the leg work. make an educated decision. adhere to a budget. fork out the cash. get yourself an anvil. hit it when it's hot. Friend of mine once told me; "Don't let the situation define your actions... Let your actions define the situation...." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferretman Posted April 17, 2013 Author Share Posted April 17, 2013 I only remarked anvils where more expensive in the us than the uk calm down chaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulsepushthepopulace Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 lol... I have no idea why I'm posting at 4 a.m.???? I honestly don't remember posting anything above, but I'm sure it was more directed to those that find it impossible to find a good anvil at a good price (in the US).... If I were in the UK I'd be a dangerous man, I know that much for sure... I'd love to bring an influx of european makes over here, like some members and ebay individuals do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobL Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Where I live in Perth Australia is more than 1000 miles from any other big city so anvils are rare. The problem is exacerbated locally by one indivdual who has collected over 1000 anvils and just has them all over his back garden going rusty. I had to travel 400 miles to get my anvil and if it was not from someone I knew this collector probably would have picked this one up as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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