Is this average price?

[RiffRaff]

So I'm looking around Craigslist for an anvil and I came across this post.  Is this for real? Or just an unbelievably high price...

 

One vintage blacksmith anvil - 200 lbs, manufactured by Trenton and made in the USA. $775

[quint]

Seems pretty high even for down there. 2-3 dollars a pound is good price if its in decent shape. Once you start hitting 4 a pound its getting pretty pricey unless its something you really want/need and have the funds or its just a special anvil (IMHO). Up here most of the time guys are trying for antique prices on stuff so its hard to find decent deals. I have found a few though but its taken a while. 

 

Looking at those pics there is something wrong on the face. Almost looks like the front 1/3 has scene some serious abuse or welding or something. I could be wrong and its just a trick of the light but looks a little odd. 

[quint]

Want to add that anvil looks almost new (very little use) except for that part I mentioned previously. If the face was in as good a shape as the rest of it then the price would seem ok if you could afford it. 
link removed saw this one down there, if they still have it would be IMHO a better option. These sodofors are nice anvils.

[RiffRaff]

Yeah I saw that one too, it's still a little north of my price range though unfortunately. 

 

Saw this one as well.  I hear there are some Hay-Budden fans around these parts :) link removed

Saw this one after I made that post that was going for over $5.55/pound link removed

 

crazy stuff going on around here.

 

 

I have to say, I miss your area!!!  I spend 4.5 years stationed in Whidbey Island back in my Navy days.  Beautiful part of the country and by far my favorite of the 7 states I've lived in!

[Judson Yaggy]

Moderators will remove the CL links.  The anvils shown are nice but frankly not all that rare in terms of size and condition.  

 

While I don't get as upset at high anvil prices as some members here for $5 per pound I'd want to see something a little more unusual i.e. bigger size, better condition, rare style.  Note that NEW anvil prices start around $5 per pound and go up to $8 or $9 per.   

[RiffRaff]

Moderators will remove the CL links.  The anvils shown are nice but frankly not all that rare in terms of size and condition.  

Sorry didn't realize that.  I tried to go back to edit the post myself to remove them, but couldn't figure out how to do that.  Can we not edit posts here?

 

 

While I don't get as upset at high anvil prices as some members here for $5 per pound I'd want to see something a little more unusual i.e. bigger size, better condition, rare style.  Note that NEW anvil prices start around $5 per pound and go up to $8 or $9 per.   

That's good information to know.  I just started shopping for an anvil so wasn't sure what to expect in my area.  I'll probably end up having to get an anvil shaped object to start and hold out hopes for getting a traditional one in due time.  Thanks for the info!

[Jim Coke]

Greetings Riff,

 

That's a late Trenton ... With a X...  It is a belt line weld one with a complete tool steel top.   They are great anvils and will serve you well..  Its a little pricey for my area but if you need an anvil that's a good one..

 

Forge on and make beautiful things

 

Jim

[Frank Turley]

It's higher than a cat's back, but having said that, 15 years ago, I paid $700 for a 227 pound Hay Budden. Hey! It was in good condition and I wanted it!!

 

Sayings and Cornpone

Why did the cowboys all start wearing tennis shoes?

 

So you could tell them from the truck drivers!

[Black Frog]

To me that price of $700 for 200# is quite steep, unless it is something really special or in mint shape.
Or something you just can't live without.

If you've been looking for a long time with no luck in finding something, then this might be an acceptable price for you. It's all relative I guesss....

But the title of your thread was "is this price average? ", no that price isn't an average deal.

[macbruce]

Quite often people (like me) will throw a price against the wall and see if it will stick.. :ph34r: ...Asking the seller if the price is firm is a good place to start. Looks like a fine anvil to me, make em an offer with cash in hand........ B)

[George Geist]

Is a good anvil. As for price that's what anvils cost. Go ahead and buy it. At the rate prices of this stuff rises you'll at least make somebody a happy widow someday ;)

George

[Hyper Iron]

Lol really? 8 or 9 dollars a pound? I've never heard of someone willing to pay that for a used working anvil. Why do that when you can buy a brand new full tool steel anvil for less than that!!? A collector I can see. But your average joe? No way.

[George Geist]

Lol really? 8 or 9 dollars a pound? I've never heard of someone willing to pay that for a used working anvil. Why do that when you can buy a brand new full tool steel anvil for less than that!!? A collector I can see. But your average joe? No way.

 200# @ $750 is $8 or $9 a pound? What's that the new math? According to my old math it comes out to $3.75 a pound.
Anyway, I could say that most new contemporary stuff out there right now sucks. I could also say that a classic Trenton is one of the best the likes of which will never be made again. Main reason being that it would be far too expensive to produce something like that today.
Problem is if I explained it to you you wouldn't understand.
George

[Hyper Iron]

Maybe you should read this entire post my good sir..... Maybe then you will understand my statement...... I was referring to a comment Judson yaggy made about anvils. The new price for anvils starting at 5$ a pound and going up to 8$ or 9$ per pound. Now that I've explained it.... Do you understand?

[RiffRaff]

Thanks for all the responses guys.  Unfortunately I'm not in the market for a $500+ anvil at the moment.  Looks like I'll have to get an anvil shaped object to start and work up to a traditional one in the future.

[quint]

Well I would say keep looking, be lucky and pounce quick. Plus a good 100 or 150lber should work for most things. Ofcoures getting a good piece of steel now will help ya be patient waiting for that right anvil to come along. 

[LastRonin]

I agree with what I have seen a lot of the senior and most experienced smiths I've seen on here post many times... a good heavy chunk of steel with a decent size and flat face will outwork a typical ASO any day.

[Steve Sells]

Thanks for all the responses guys.  Unfortunately I'm not in the market for a $500+ anvil at the moment.  Looks like I'll have to get an anvil shaped object to start and work up to a traditional one in the future.

forget anvil SHAPE,  get a block at scrap yard for 30 cents a pound, as Thomas Powers says  90%  of your work will never need  a horn or hardie.  after ya sell a few things save that money for an upgrade.

[LastRonin]

forget anvil SHAPE,  get a block at scrap yard for 30 cents a pound, as Thomas Powers says  90%  of your work will never need  a horn or hardie.  after ya sell a few things save that money for an upgrade.

^
|
One of them I was talking about mentioning another. (I am referring to my post just before Steve's)

[RiffRaff]

forget anvil SHAPE,  get a block at scrap yard for 30 cents a pound,

Oh I didn't mean actual "anvil shape", I meant exactly what you said.  Any hunk of sturdy steel I can get with a flat face on it in my price range haha.  Sorry for the confusion.

 

On that note of using scrap steel...I've seen videos of people demonstrating a "good" anvil from a "bad" anvil by listening to the ring when it's struck.  Does that apply to using scrap?  I guess the question would be is there anything to AVOID when looking for scrap steel to use.

[LastRonin]

Rebound is more important than ring. Ring is more effected by shape than quality of metal (not saying that the quality of the metal doesn't effect it). The noise it makes doesn't effect the metal being worked. It is a matter of force transferrance. The more rebound, the more force that is applied to the metal being worked. Less rebound means the 'anvil' is absorbing more of the energy from the hammer blow, so less of it is used to move the metal.

[RiffRaff]

So basically take a hammer with me when I go "shopping" to check the rebound?

[Black Frog]

Or get yourself a large ball bearing to check rebound.
You never know when you might find an anvil, so I keep 1.5" ball bearing in the glove box of my truck.

Do a search for ball bearing rebound test, I think it is a better and more quantifiable test than a hammer.
Especially when comparing anvils in differnt locations.

[Javan C.R. Dempsey]

 200# @ $750 is $8 or $9 a pound? What's that the new math? According to my old math it comes out to $3.75 a pound.
Anyway, I could say that most new contemporary stuff out there right now sucks. I could also say that a classic Trenton is one of the best the likes of which will never be made again. Main reason being that it would be far too expensive to produce something like that today.
Problem is if I explained it to you you wouldn't understand.
George

 

 

I gotta disagree with the notion that contemporary anvils suck George..  At least, not from a "tool" standpoint.  You may not like the styles, or the aesthetics of Nimbas, Fontanini's, the current Peddinghauses, Jymm Hoffman's anvils, etc.. but they're all *TOP* quality tools. As good or better than the "majority" of anvils produced in the hay-day.  Yes there were exceptional anvils produced all over the world at various times (personally, I prefer and think Fisher anvils were the best ever made but it's a preference), but there were, and probably always will be more crap quality ones made than great ones.

 

Just my opinion, but I don't quantify "nostalgia" as a factor in what makes a tool good.  I've worked on all the above mentioned anvils, and most of the usually regarded "classics", and when it comes to moving metal, the contemporary anvils do the work as well as any of the old ones, on top of which, when it comes to *larger* anvils, in the 250lb+ range, they usually do the job better than most of the pre-1900 anvils of any stripe I've used in the same weight class. Many of the old monsters had pretty soft faces and mediocre rebound.

 

Just my 2c, but I don't want to see the continued proliferation of this "urban myth" that they'll never make anvils like they used to. Unless you're talking about nice quiet Fishers, which hopefully, somebody will replicate at some point in the future.

[Hyper Iron]

Completely agree Javan C.R. Saying old world anvils were better than anything we can make new today, is just as silly as saying old Damascus steel was the best steel ever made. When everyone knows that's not true. They didn't have the metallurgy we have today and the ability to make the alloys we have today. There is no need to continue this old tools were better myth. When that's just what it is. A MYTH!