Starting over

[addenbrokedennis]

A fellow co-worker recently told me that if I would build him a knife he would give me his old anvil. Picturing in my head a venerable classic anvil I agreed and started planning the knife. Not long after a heavy parcel arrived and when I opened it out dropped, for lack of a better description, a 47lbs. Anvil Shaped Object. (ASO). I’m not sure where it came from it has been beat up pretty bad and was rough cast in the first place. The only markings on it are, 1 4 7 . When I put it on the scale it is just under 47 lbs. the one might be a result of the rough life it had, it looks like some one chopped on it with an axe. I’ve dressed it up with a flap wheel and stripped off many layers of paint. I built the knife and a few more but I guess I have to keep looking for a better anvil. Here is a couple pics of the anvil, the knife and just because some of you guys said you like them one of my old dog, and a fish we caught. I’m the one in the red coat.

 

But I digress.. As stated before the anvil was rather rough and crude in it’s construction. When I was grinding on it the sparks were rather orange, so I’m guessing case iron or lesser steel. When struck with a hammer it rings like a loaf of bread, and I think the bred would bounce the hammer more. It is heavier than the hammers I hit it with so I guess it’s better than a rock but I wonder if there is any thing I can do to improve it? Can they be tempered or are they best suited to sitting and looking rustic in the yard.

 

,

[Glenn]

Ok you now have your first anvil. Use it to make the money needed (and learn about metal working) so you can buy a better anvil. Search for TPAAAT and put it to use. There is an anvil out there with your name on it.

[swedefiddle]

Good Morning Dennis,

 

Your picture looks like the REAL Left Coast. LightHouse and Rocks. Graveyard of the Pacific.

That's no fish, that's a flatty. Commercial fisherman pan fry the cheeks in Butter.

 

Where abouts are you, might have something you may be interested in.

 

Neil

[arftist]

Just for the halibut, there was a thread here about a fellow who welded a heavy section of thick plate to an ASO such as yours. Some of us thought it was a bit silly, but Grant, one of our great mentors applauded the effort, so, out of respect to Grant Sarver I suggest that you could improve your anvil with a section of fork lift tine or the like. 

 

Of course there are those here who would point out that a very suitable anvil could also be made from the tine itself, especially for knifemaking, using the tine in a vertical orientation. Search the site a bit, you should find what you are after. 

 

So long and thanks for all the fish. 

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Quit worrying, and get forging like Glenn said.

Nice fish.

[LastRonin]

Cute dog.

[addenbrokedennis]

Thanks for the responses. I’ve been haunting this sight for a week or so now lots to learn from everybody. Very informative and mostly friendly and helpful folks here. I especially like the references and videos of primitive smithies. Makes me feel better about what I got.

 

Interestingly the fellow who gave me the anvil was named Glenn too. This is my first real anvil even if it is only an ASO. I’ve mostly used bit’s and pieces of heavy equipment for anvils in the past. I’ve been pounding on hot steel off and on since I was 14 and now that I’m looking down the barrel of retirement I though if I got a forge going maybe I wouldn’t get board. Out here I don’t have access to forklift parts but would a heavy chunk of spring steel suffice? I have one of them.

 

Neil, I’m at Addenbroke Is. (thus the moniker) north of Port Hardy about 50 miles. If you Google it, it’ll make you want to come here and fish.

 

Sadly the dog passed last Oct. for such a small mutt she left a big hole in my house. Best fishing buddy a fellow can have. By the way is there a problem with the chat room? Every time I go there it locks up on me could just be my limited internet……. D

[superdome65]

Sounds like the knife was worth more than the anvil