Fisher

[ThomasPowers]

Wow; glad you were able to reunite them!

[jlpservicesinc]

Are you keeping a record of the history or location where all these anvils are coming from? 

I will be putting little notes on all the anvils I have as well as some of the other items..  I'll put them someplace not easily seen like the hollow of the Hay Buddens.. Plenty of room up there. 

Some of the items I have picked up have very interesting histories and I really wish the anvils could talk (gossip).. 

[njanvilman]

Nice anvils are still out there waiting to be found.  I made a great contact at an event where I was promoting my book.  A nice lady told me she had an anvil and would send photos.  A few weeks later, I got the images.  A couple of weeks later, I went to get it.  Bought for a reasonable price, loaded it up, and brought it home.  It is a 1920 F&N 150 lb. anvil, with only minor torch divots on the end of the heel.  Factory paint too.  A 98 point piece.  As TP would say, talk to everyone about anvils; you never know where it will lead.

 

[Randy Griffin]

Njanvilman, I recently ran across a fisher looking anvil, almost exactly like the pic above, only, there were no markings and very little rebound. Maybe 40-50%. A very discernible weld around the waist. Are there fakes out there? I passed on it but I noticed last week the guy still has it in his store.

[njanvilman]

4 hours ago, Randy Griffin said:

Njanvilman, I recently ran across a fisher looking anvil, almost exactly like the pic above, only, there were no markings and very little rebound. Maybe 40-50%. A very discernible weld around the waist. Are there fakes out there? I passed on it but I noticed last week the guy still has it in his store.

Photos of the anvil in question would help greatly.  What might have looked like a weld might have been the seam where the top and bottom pattern met.  The joint was not always perfect.  But the anvil was cast as one piece.

[Randy Griffin]

I’ll get some pictures and post here. I’ll be there again next week.

[Ridgeway Forge Studio]

No one really tells you how small 50lb anvils are… 

Just picked up a Fisher #5 dated from 1887.

oldest anvil I own to date!

 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

They make good traveling anvils.

[njanvilman]

I find it always interesting to see near mint anvils still appearing, even though they might have been made 140 years ago.  It always begs the question: where has it been and what circumstance provided it to be here in 2022 in almost new condition?

[Ridgeway Forge Studio]

Really makes me wonder who didn’t use it. Someone bought it and never used it, and so on. 
Josh, any chance the black paint on this little guy could be original?

[njanvilman]

19 minutes ago, Ridgeway Forge Studio said:

Really makes me wonder who didn’t use it. Someone bought it and never used it, and so on. 
Josh, any chance the black paint on this little guy could be original?

It looks factory.  That is how they painted them.

[Mr_Gixxer]

Time to revive this thread. I've read through the entire thing and would like to add my new addition to the shop since last night. If I'm reading the date correctly, this is a 1918 #40 Fisher anvil. Been waiting to bring this one home for a while now, it's been on my radar since last spring. First thing I noticed was that the advertisements didn't lie, this thing is QUIET. I'm not a stickler on super specific percentages of rebound but a small hammer bounces along the entire thing nicely, no better or worse than any of the other brands or styles I have. This is my second anvil of this size but first Fisher. Can't wait to mount her up and put it back in service!

I feel like I should add this here too since it was brought up here very briefly and I can't find much discussion about these. This swage block has been in the shop for a year and didn't know what it was until now. If I'm not mistaken this is a Fisher too, I think it scaled in at around 150lbs. Doesn't seem like many of these out there and was SUPER excited just to see a swage block like this out in the wild. You just don't find many of them pop up around here.

[njanvilman]

Mr. Gx....Nice find.   400 lb. F&N anvil, in very nice shape.  It is getting harder to locate good condition Fishers, but somehow they keep turning up.  Enjoy your use of your 105 year old piece.

Recent addition to the Fisher & Norris Factory Museum, this 1950s era F&N anvil, on a factory stand.  This anvil resided in the former owners home for the last 40 years, unused.  Originally from the Baltimore City School system, it was surplused out around 1980.  It had very light use.  The edges are perfect, with only a few hammer marks on the horn.   

The factory stands are harder to find than the anvils.

 

[Mr_Gixxer]

1 hour ago, njanvilman said:

Mr. Gx....Nice find.   400 lb. F&N anvil, in very nice shape.  It is getting harder to locate good condition Fishers, but somehow they keep turning up.  Enjoy your use of your 105 year old piece.

After cleaning it up and further inspection, I think the date says 1913 on this one. 

 

What are your thoughts on the swage block identification? It's not my intention to sidetrack this thread in the anvils forum section but didn't see much talk about fisher swages outside of here. (Maybe worth a separate thread?) 

 

Also, thank you for all your contributions here, I really enjoyed reading about your Fishers and seeing the examples you've posted. We've been looking for somewhere new to buy Christmas trees so maybe I can convince the missus to make the 4 hour trip next December, knock out 2 birds with one stone and see the museum too haha!

[M.J.Lampert]

njanvilman every time you post I know I will get a case of anvil envy but this one takes it to a new level.

Thank you for rescuing all these timeless artifacts. If only each one could tell their story...

[njanvilman]

48 minutes ago, M.J.Lampert said:

njanvilman every time you post I know I will get a case of anvil envy but this one takes it to a new level.

Thank you for rescuing all these timeless artifacts. If only each one could tell their story...

I have said the same thing....where have all of these artifacts been for the last _____(Fill in # of years), and what has been made on them and where?   I have been fortunate to have been able to find many wonderful pieces, and have a place to display them.  

Mr. Gxer

The swage block shown is a Fisher & Norris made block.  They only had a few designs, and yours is one of them.  I have a section in my book on pg. 176 -178 on F&N blocks.  Pg. 178 shows the pattern and a block here at the Fisher & Norris Factory Museum.

Info on my book is in my Profile.

[Don Elliott]

Is there away to build up the flat surface of a Fisher anvil?

[George N. M.]

Welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming.  Glad to have you.

If you put your general location in your profile it will help us give better answers to questions.  A surprising number are geography dependent.  This is a world wide forum and we don't know if you are in Kansas or Kazakstan.

Yes, you can repair and build up the face of the anvil but it is difficult and expensive.  It is known as the Gunther and Schuler method.  There are a number of threads about it here on IFI.  It involves preheating the anvil and building up metal with hard welding rods (which are expensive).  It takes a very experienced welder to do this successfully.  Then, you have to let the anvil cool down very slowly.

This is basically open heart surgery for an anvil and is not recommended unless it is seriously damaged, usually bad chips on the edges or bad damage to the face and if you have the resources and the skill or access to the skill.  If you have an anvil that is just a bit sway backed I would say that the effort and expense is just not worth it.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Welcome from the Ozark mountains. If you post some pictures, we could advise if it is bad enough to warrant repairing. Usually the repair cost will exceed the cost of a new anvil, depending upon weight. Any grinding or milling will do more harm than good by thinning out the hardened steel face of the anvil.

[njanvilman]

Beautiful example of a Maine made Fisher & Norris anvil.  Made between 1843 and 1850, during the year F& N were located in Newport, Maine.  This anvil is stamped 129, indicating the weight in lbs.  These Maine Fisher's were made very well, and have nice smooth sides.  They are increasing hard to find, especially in this condition.

This is the most recent addition to the Fisher & Norris Factory Museum.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

What a great find Josh.

 

I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sails. ~ Semper Paratus

[njanvilman]

Beautiful example of what a Fisher anvil looked like when made.  This anvil is a 100 point anvil on the FARS scale.  Exactly how it looked when made, before anyone took a hammer or hot steel to it.  This 150 lb. Fisher anvil was made in the 1950s, when Fisher was not marking them in the traditional way.  It only has the 15 indicating its weight.  There are no other markings.  The paint is what is left of original paint.

To learn more about Fisher & Norris, refer to the book, "The History of Fisher & Norris" 

 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Was that when there would be a paper emblem attached?

[njanvilman]

49 minutes ago, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said:

Was that when there would be a paper emblem attached?

Sometimes.  

[J.P. Hall]

Here is a 300-pounder that I think may be 1950s due to "30" being the only visible markings. I think the seller is reasonable asking 3.25/lb even with the chipped edge, but I'd like to hear others' thoughts as well.