SnailForge Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 Hey Guys, I joined a couple of weeks ago but didn't quite find the time to post. I'm a hobbyist bladesmith. I've been doing this for a couple of years now. I started out with an anvil made of a piece of railroad track with a hardened plate welded on top of it. it weighs something like 30 to 40 pounds or so. Last year I decided to buy a real anvil that would be heavier and a bit more versatile. I spent some time looking on the local classifieds websites. Most anvils are either very heavy (400+ pounds and very expensive) or around 100 pounds (and sold within seconds). I finally found a 250 pound anvil that people somehow missed and made an offer of 220 euros, which got accepted immediately. The seller was even nice enough to take the ad offline (preventing higher bids) until I could pick it up. Imo, 250 pounds is the sweet spot, because it is as heavy as possible within what 2 people can move without needing a forklift. I've been using it for a while now and it works very nice. It doesn't ring all that much, but that could be because atm it is still standing on gravel. I still have to finish the floor of my backyard smithy and I don't have a pedestal yet. The horns have no damage, and the face is still flat, with only a handful of minor blemishes. the face is roughtly the thickness of my finger. say 6/8 or something like that (I didn't measure). On the front are letters. Just below the face there is a number '572' which could be a serial number or such. Below that there is something the shape of an eye, with inside something I can't really make out.B3 or 83 or something else. It is really vague because at some point it was painted over. I should probably try to trace it with paper and pencil And then underneath that is just says '120 K No3 J' The 120 stands for the weight in kilogram, No3 is probably the type of anvil. No idea what the J stands for. I haven't looked for other markings hidden at the bottom or such. I have no idea of the origin and age of this anvil. Any information would be appreciated. Not that it matters from a practical pov, but it would be nice to know more about the object that is the heart of my workplace. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matei campan Posted May 28, 2013 Share Posted May 28, 2013 a nice French anvil... are you from France? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnailForge Posted May 29, 2013 Author Share Posted May 29, 2013 No, Belgium. A lot of stuff that ends up here is from France or Germany. That makes sense of course, seeing as how we are a tiny country squashed between 2 large countries with heavy industry. Do you have any idea about the timeframe in which my anvil was made? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matei campan Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 I can only guess based upon other similar anvils I've seen sold and said to be made in the 50's. it's clear (?) that they are among the most recent (but not the ones made in our days) of the French anvils. the most anvil rich region of France seems to be exactly around the Belgian border. for prices between 80-150 euros I've seen MANY great anvils, regretting i live ~2000km away. just check leboncoin.fr everyday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Welcome aboard, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header we can stop bugging you about it. <grin> Good looking anvil, part of the reason it's reasonably quiet is how thick and short the waste is, it can't maintain much of a resonance so it goes clink/ban/ etc. then goes quiet. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnailForge Posted May 30, 2013 Author Share Posted May 30, 2013 Thanks all. I'll update my profile shortly. It's true that anvils are not so expensive here. Around 1 euro per pound more or less. Only the little ones (100 pounders and less) cost more because they are popular. It's funny how in this internet age, there are still things for which you depend on your location. Shipping an anvil would be problematic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matei campan Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 check this out :) http://fr.kapaza.be/brabant-flamand/enclume-73200272.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnailForge Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 That's fairly close to where I live. However, I already have one :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matei campan Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 and that's enough? :) :) :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnailForge Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Well, if the seller of that old church windows anvil ever gets back to me, I might add a second anvil 'just because'. Because it is very old, is good enough a reason. Just as a working anvil, my current anvil is more than good enough :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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