My first real "Anvil" advice needed on refinishing

[norrin_radd]

I finally bit the bullet and bought me an anvil. Its a 150+lb Star I think its in pretty good shape. It is probably in the best shape of any I've seen in person. But the top is not very smooth, and the edges don't have a real uniform radius, no radius at all mostly. What should I do to this anvil, if anything, before I start to use it?

http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/38405-americanstar150/

Thanks

[the iron dwarf]

just use it, it will improve in surface with use, also as long as you have some sharp edge and some radius it is good

DO NOT GRIND THE SURFACE

[njanvilman]

Take a wire wheel on a portable grinder and clean off the paint of the top.  Then assess the condition.  Even with the paint, it looks decent. 

 

STAR anvils were made in Trenton, NJ, from about 1855 to 1870 by a former employee of Fisher, who went off and started his own foundry.  They were made almost exactly like Fisher's, except for an oval core in the center of the anvil.  It was thought that as the iron cooled and shrank, the core would absorb some of the stress of shrinkage.

 

Your anvil should perform just like a Fisher.  Take care of it, it is a relatively rare piece of anvil history.   Be careful moving it, the feet are brittle.  I have two with broken off feet, and have seen others.

[jmccustomknives]

Think of it this way, if the pits in the face are no deeper than your hammer marks then there is no problem.

[norrin_radd]

 The main reason I went back for it is because I had researched it on this site and found out its history, thanks for the info.

 

I took a my drill with a wire brush to it a little bit and the face does look a lot better. Cant wait to get a stand made and start using it.

 

Thanks again for all the advice.