Advice on anvil

[backyardsmithing]

Hi everyone, I posted earlier about advice on books, now I am looking for some advice on an anvil.  I don't do the blacksmithing, but the hubby does and I am looking for a GREAT Christmas present.  I have been told our local scrapyard had two anvils last week, so was going to try to get by there and see.  However, since I am clueless and the hubby has steered away from buying a "new" "cheap" anvil because he says he's not sure of quality, I am puzzled (I probably would have just bought him one from Harbor Freight had he not said he wasn't sure of them).  I also know they can be quite expensive.  He currently uses one that was my grandfather's but it has no horn.  He also has a piece of railroad track that he uses as well. So, I am looking for any help you could give me as to what to look for ect... since I want this to be a surprise.  If it matters, so far he has only been playing around with blacksmithing and forging for a few months.  He's made some railroad spike knives and some tomahawks but I think he wants to expand on some more stuff (and since his wife loves this stuff and the look of iron and old stuff, he will probably be stuck doing stuff for me as well).  We have a 15 year old that wants him to do more knives ect.... maybe the youngun will take up an interest as well.  Anyway I didn't know if what he was doing made a difference with the type of anvil, so included it just in case.  Thanks for any advice you can give.

[Fatfudd]

I'm sure you can expect all kinds of help but we need to know where you live. That's because anvil prices vary greatly across the country. Please don't buy a harbor freight anvil as a gift.

That would be a huge mistake because they are made from cast iron and are of no value what so ever for actual forging. If the scrap yard has two old anvils you may be in luck, I have 

gotten one of my best anvils from just such a scrap yard. The dilemma is that you need to to be able to access the condition of the anvil and herein lies the problem. 

 

Once we know where you live its quite possible that someone one this site will be able to direct you to some local smiths that could help you to determine the quality of the anvils or better still sell you  

a decent anvil. 

[backyardsmithing]

I am in central Alabama.  

 

And from what I was told, it was a couple of old anvils, but you know how that goes.

[jeremy k]

Let him use what he has for now(lots of ppl use lots less) until he gains some control of what he wants the metal to do and has more practice forging. Save up some money until a later time. Just my thoughts

[tetomas]

While I agree that an anvil from Harbor Freight can be useless for forging, not ALL of them are. I bought a 110lb cast STEEL russian anvil from harbor feright, not a name brand or 100 year old design by any stretch of the imagination, but not every aspiring blacksmith needs a $500.00 or more anvil. I am pleased with the performance of mine, but then again I have only been smithing for a few months.

[ThomasPowers]

Anvils usually don't wait around long; so waiting to get one may not be the best thing.  Unfortunately there is so much to know before getting one:  Types, good brands, how to check for delamination, which anvils should ring and which anvils shouldn't,  why an anvil with a flat face and sharp corners may be worthless compared to one showing wear---or may be worth twice as much!  You might research the "ball bearing test" a simple test that can tell a lot about how good an anvil is.  A picture of the face of the anvil and any writings on the side(s) posted here can give you a quick note on what it is and how good a shape it's in.  If no writing is visible on the side a picture of the underside of the base of the anvil can help.

 

Many people turn down perfectly usable anvils because of damage.  Far more important that the face is thick and smooth than if the anvil has a heel or horn!  For almost 2000 years anvils didn't have much in the way of horns---Japanese swords are still forged on hornless anvils to this day.  The london pattern anvil design is about 200 years old.

 

Now as is typical on a blacksmithing site I'm going to contradict a previous poster:  there are several people I would buy a HF anvil for as a gift---but only because the law won't allow me to shoot them!

[jmccustomknives]

Don't know where you are in relation to Greensburo.  There's a little hole in the wall "flea market" run by an old gentleman.  Hidden in the back is a good user Swedish anvil around 100lbs.  He was firm at 150, which is about what it's worth.  Being that the area is economically depressed I doubt he has sold it yet.

[Stephen Olivo]

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