Greetings,

I've been searching for a decent anvil for ages, and for the longest time 'good anvils' happened when I didn't have money to buy one, and when I did, there were nothing but ASOs around. However, I just found one online that's only a couple hours drive away. My first inclination is to jump on it, as it looks in 'decent' shape- some of the edges are worn out, but it doesn't look swaybacked. But, at $350, I'm inclined to get a second opinion- is this thing worth it?

 

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$350 for a 158 LB Peter Wright aint so bad. It looks useable to me. Where are you located? That makes a difference in price. In my area you can get good anvils for $2 a LB pretty regularly, sometimes less. In other areas, you won't find much for under $4 a LB. On another note, That size is perfect for just about anything you would be doing. 

-Crazy Ivan

I'm in southern Colorado, I tend to see anvils in the $2-5/lb range. Unfortunately, ones that are decent sized, like this one, either tend toward the latter figure or are too worn out to be of use (or were sawn in half and welded back together with rebar- didn't entirely trust that one). I generally see 110lbs and under, so I was surprised to see something that's right smack in the middle of the weight range I was looking for, too.

You're right at $2/lb, which is considered the benchmark for used anvil prices.  The edges on that anvil are rounded, but not badly so, and they will come in very very handy for a lot of projects.

 

Personally, if I needed the anvil, I'd make a day-trip of it, see the sights and grab the anvil, too.  That's a great size for general smithing and she looks to have a few centuries left in her.

 

Remember, the price you pay today is not the cost of the anvil.  When you go to sell it, you subtract your selling price from the initial purchase price.  Buy it for $350 and sell it for $250 in a year or two, and the anvil only really cost you $100 - or less than $10 a month to rent.

Check the rebound on it, cf The Ball Bearing Test.  This type of anvil should also ring when tapped with a hammer. The face looks a bit dented, having the hardy is worth a bit; so it's coming close to US$2 a pound.  An ok price many places; a bit high for it's condition others and cheap in other places. Where you are we haven't a clue.

 

I'd still offer $300 in cash and see if they would accept it.  (if it has a decent rebound and ring!)

Give him a sob story on how far you have to drive and the gas & time involved both ways.
Can't hurt to try and get him down a bit. 

That said, if I needed an anvil and the rebound was decent on that one, I wouldn't think too long on it.

You can always get your money back out of it if a nicer one comes along some day.

it works i knocked 100bucks of a cattle scale i was selling bc they guy that wanted it had a long drive and I ended up splitting the cost of the gas for him to pick it up

I agree with Black Frog not bad today. If you want a decent anvil go for it. I paid $60 for my Peter Wright back in the sixties from an antique dealer. But inflation and time has changed everything. The rough surface will clean up while you are working on it. Use it and watch it change. I wanted mine to be pristine no corrosion holes and no sway. I learned to live with it's condition and would not trade it for anything. We worry to much. Just use it and you will improve your skills.  

Is a good one, buy it! You'll be glad you did ;)

George

Honestly I find it much easier to work on an anvil with at least some sway, which is another reason milling an anvil flat is such a bad idea.

As I see it, if it will work for you, and you can comfortably afford it, get it. We all have different pain levels when it comes to what we pay for blacksmithing equipment.

It doesn't hurt to make an offer based on travel distance, what YOU can afford, etc. I have found that talking with the seller for a bit usually helps when the negotiating starts. A lot of times when they find out I am using the tools, and not flipping them like collectors I can get the price down. Letting them know that you will need to do some work on it to get it up to snuff to work on is a point to bring up.

It appears to be a farrier's anvil with the clip on the side. Make sure that design will work for you.

Take cash with you,bigger bills help too.