njanvilman Posted December 24, 2021 Author Share Posted December 24, 2021 Happy holidays from the Fisher & Norris Factory Museum. Newest addition to the collections is this superb 1975 Fisher/Crossley 150 lb anvil. This anvil is just about as Mint as you can get. The black paint is factory, and the remnant of the paper label is there. This anvil will be mounted on the last unused iron base from Crossley from when they closed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted December 24, 2021 Share Posted December 24, 2021 Wow! The last pretty cool njanvilman! what’s the chances of finding new old stock like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted December 24, 2021 Share Posted December 24, 2021 Merry Christmas Josh! She's a beauty. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted December 25, 2021 Author Share Posted December 25, 2021 11 hours ago, TWISTEDWILLOW said: Wow! The last pretty cool njanvilman! what’s the chances of finding new old stock like that Its amazing that these continue to turn up for many people across the country. The seller said it had been used, but not much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted December 25, 2021 Share Posted December 25, 2021 Merry Christmas Joshua, Thats a beauty. Still looking for that European double horn.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted January 11, 2022 Author Share Posted January 11, 2022 New addition to the Fisher & Norris Factory Museum for 2022. Nice 20 and 30 lb. Fisher anvils. Clean and perfect edges. Obviously they had an easy life to survive over 130 years and still look like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 I would absolutely love to hear what stories different anvils could tell. I used an anvil nearly 20 years and it looks exactly the same as when I got it and it was 100yrs old then. You see many anvils that look prestine having been used for several generations and then also the anvils completely beat up. Is it the wormank solely responsible? The amount of work done?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 11 minutes ago, jlpservicesinc said: Is it the wormank solely responsible? The amount of work done? I think it's more dependent upon the workman using the anvil. Some people are much more conscientious about the care and feeding of their tools and others just look at them as a means to an end. I used to have to get on people when I had my assembly company when I let them use my tools. I learned that people will do things to your tools that they'd never do to their own. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Bullet Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 I'm sure that training level and type of use has something to do with it. My anvil came from a plantation sale many years ago. The typical person using it probably had minimal training. They just saw someone else use it to beat a new point on a plowshare and figured they could do that too. The anvil was supplied by the plantation owner and the workmen didn't really care how long it lasted, much like Pnut said. On the other hand, I remember seeing an anvil on an offshore sulfur mine that looked pristine. I think the folks that used it there were protective of it and most of the guys who didn't smith just left it alone. I don't even know what they used it for (other than making cable-damascus knives, that is.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgeway Forge Studio Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Had an unexpected windfall- a monastery I used to go spend time with had an old anvil, which I always kept in my mind. I thought it was a fisher, but it has been almost 7 years since I’d seen it. Asked about it recently, they said come take it gratis. Got down there, and lo and behold it’s a 200lb Fisher without a flaw- even still a factory chamfer on it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Very nice. One can get some interesting things from monasteries. I have a couple of bell clappers that I use as the weights for my anvil hold-down; I'm pretty sure it was Brother Stavros who left them on the driver's seat in my car, but I'm not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Ridgeway congrats and very nice.. Will will go nicely with the other one in the shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Just remember to not say any bad words when you accidentally burn yourself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgeway Forge Studio Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Thomas, does this I can’t use it to squash roadrunners, given its monastic heritage? or perhaps being a Fisher it has taken a vow of silence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 No, you can't use it as a roadrunner squasher, it is not an Acme brand anvil. Silly blacksmith. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Well I was going to say: "Not during Lent or on a Friday or other meatless day!" I like the "vow of silence" was it a Trappist monastery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Coyote squasher, wouldn’t it be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 a posse ad esse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgeway Forge Studio Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 12 hours ago, ThomasPowers said: Well I was going to say: "Not during Lent or on a Friday or other meatless day!" I like the "vow of silence" was it a Trappist monastery? It was a capuchin Franciscan order in Washington DC- and it’s a wonder they had this one: it’s marked 1930, depression era fisher, and I can only guess that perhaps one or more of the monks decided that this was a good way to prepare for the financial apocalypse of the time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted March 30, 2022 Author Share Posted March 30, 2022 Newest addition to the Fisher & Norris Factory Museum: 1906 F&N #4 sized Chainmaker's Anvil. 220 lbs. This style of anvil is made exactly like standard Fisher anvils with the tool steel faceplate on the top and cast iron base. The side square holes were for specialized bicks used by the Chainmaker to shape round bar to shape, and for welding. The technology of chain making changed around 1930, so this type of anvil was not used after that. They are getting rare. Check out my profile for the link to my museum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Josh, do many of those bicks survive? It seems like they’d be of a size and shape that lends itself to resorting into other items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted March 30, 2022 Author Share Posted March 30, 2022 (edited) I have two bicks in the #10 Fisher CM anvil. They are huge. The anvil weighs 1000 lb, the bick about 70 lbs each. But to answer your question....no, there are not many out there. These two are the only ones I have seen. I am sure some exist somewhere. Edited March 30, 2022 by Mod30 Remove excessive quote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted April 6, 2022 Author Share Posted April 6, 2022 I did a gentle wire wheeling of the rust areas only on the Fisher Chain Maker's anvil. Then a generous application of Gibbs Brand oil. This leaves the anvil protected from oxidation, and gives it a nice dark color. And it is easy to reapply as needed. This anvil is was made in 1906. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted May 7, 2022 Author Share Posted May 7, 2022 #4 Fisher Chain Maker's anvil shown above, with two rare bicks. These came from the same estate as the anvil, two auctions apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.