It's deliberate that I didn't put this in the anvil section. We pretty much all know what a plowmakers anvil looks like. It has a characteristic angled table. The question I have for you guys is how is that used? Any of you ever sharpen or redress a plowshare? Am assuming the angled table makes it more conducive to that type of work but never having seen it done am kinda curious about it.

George

I'v wondered this myself. 

Anybody?

Practical Blacksmithing, Richardson has a whole chapter in Vol III on plow making but glancing through it I didn't see a mention of using a special anvil for it. Back a dozen years or so at a SOFA demo we had one of the older members demonstrate pointing and laying a plow as that had once been his bread&butter and none of us had seen it before.  He used a regular anvil as I recall. I would have thought that the German anvils with the slanting off side would be more useful than the American ones with the diagonal face edge at the front.

BP0017 Plow Work

Nice post regarding the plow work Glenn.  I have some draft horses (no plow) and have attended many plowing bee's.  Most of the old plows in use would not go into the ground and bounced in and out if you could get them in at all.  One of the old horseman (now deceased) was a blacksmith of some note in these parts.  He loved to chuckle as most of the plowman cursed and adjusted draft etc etc. on their plows to get them to work.  His son was the beneficiary of a plow that had been set up in the smithy and always plowed along happily making nice straight furrows and having no trouble at all.  I regret not getting into his shop and taking some note.  I did overhear him one day "dress" a man up pretty good when he asked if he could send his son over for a "half a day" some time to learn the blacksmithing trade.  I don't remember the conversation word for word but at the end everyone was clear that a half a day in a forge does not make a Blacksmith.

P.S I do have what I have been told is a plow makers anvil in my shop.  It is a nice anvil (a friend is allowing me to use it) I would love to buy it but not sure I will ever talk him into it.  He does not blacksmith but found it cheap many years ago.  I will take a photo and see if someone can identity it.  I believe it may be a Hay Budden but cannot find legible markings on it that would identify it for me. 

A guild mate by the name of Dick Carlson demonstrated sharpening a plow up here like a month back…sadly I could not go.  Work got in the way. Thanks for the link.  An enjoyable read.