brianstucker Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 I have been looking for a used anvil. I'm in the Austin TX area. And I checked craigslist. Called a guy that has a lot of used anvils. He said they start at 6$ a lb. I think it's high. Considering I've seen new ones for that. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 $6/lb is approaching Alaska prices. He'd have to have something spectacularly good to even consider that price. If I lived in the Lower 48, I'd buy new for that money. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Quade Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 Lately people have been asking some pretty high prices for old anvils. Im not sure why, i mean 6 bucks a pound why wouldnt you buy new? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kozzy Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 That seems high even for the "new normal" and those willing to sit and wait for a buyer to fall in love with an anvil. If it's a REALLY good anvil, maybe, but you said that was the start price: As Frosty said, you can start getting into the range of some quality new ones if you get much into the "...and up" part of that. Heck, at those prices you start to get into the range where it's worth shipping from some distance where the seller isn't pushing the market so hard. $ 3/lb difference on a 150 lb anvil gets you an anvil AND a mini-vacation to go pick it up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstucker Posted May 10, 2016 Author Share Posted May 10, 2016 I thought he was joking at first. I told him you could buy a new one for that. He said he knows the market well and sells around 10 of them a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 Anvil prices are crazy lately. There is a guy nearby asking $5,000 OBO for a rusty old 200# Fisher anvil on e-bay. Needless to say, it didn't sell and he has it relisted. Was tempted to send him a question asking what it was made of at $25/LB asking price, but can tell he is fishing for a sucker (no pun intended...). Anvil prices seem to have been driven up sharply by both demand and collectors. Still can't believe that anyone can sell 10 anvils a week at $6/LB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Quade Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 10 minutes ago, latticino said: Anvil prices are crazy lately. There is a guy nearby asking $5,000 OBO for a rusty old 200# Fisher anvil on e-bay. Needless to say, it didn't sell and he has it relisted. Was tempted to send him a question asking what it was made of at $25/LB asking price, but can tell he is fishing for a sucker (no pun intended...). Anvil prices seem to have been driven up sharply by both demand and collectors. Still can't believe that anyone can sell 10 anvils a week at $6/LB. Me too but thats just math alone not even price based. Does he really have 520 anvils just kicking around on his property somewhere? How? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicodimas Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 That Haybudden went for $9 pound just recently...any reasoning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 (edited) Nicodimas Please allow me to hazard a guess. Such a buyer may be what Mr. P. T. Barnum. was describing, in his celebrated quote. "There's a sucker born every minute, and a man born every five minutes who will take his money". This thread has intrigued me. So I checked out Centaur Forge for anvils. I paid attention to anvils around the 150 lbs. range. (one only manufactured up to 100 lbs). The prices per pound worked out to. Cliff Carrol Co. $5.44 per lb. Emerson Co. $5.90 per lb. Kanca Co. about $6.30 per lb. N.C. Co $4.06 per pound (they make a 100 lb. "Cavalry anvil", (that weight is the highest Centaur sells) Centaur throws in free shipping for anvils 150 pounds and under. (in the contiguous U.S.A.). SSooo! a minimum $6.00 per pound price for a used anvil seems to be outrageous. But then again the seller is hoping that the prospective buyer may be one of Mr. Barnum's "one born every minute " crowd. I should like to offer the seller a huge post vise (6 inch) in pristine condition for $9.50 a pound! (I will even sign the tool for free!). Warm regards to all the site members, & readers. SLAG. Edited May 10, 2016 by SLAG correcting wording Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 that sounds crazy to me! and we are relitivily close, location wise. Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstucker Posted May 11, 2016 Author Share Posted May 11, 2016 Found this one from another craigslist seller. Does it look painted or just cleaned up? Anybody with any info on this one. I would definantly try to talk him down on the price. Thanks It weighs 100. Lbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mhomer33 Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 I can attest to the prices being this high all over TX. I'm in DFW and saw what appeared to be about a 100lb Budden on CL for $125. I contacted the seller within 3 hours of it being listed and they had 12 offerss to buy including offers over $300 already. Wilton bullet vises and South Bend lathes are floating on the same bubble right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notownkid Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 5 hours ago, crappiew said: He said he knows the market well and sells around 10 of them a week. That falls under the heading of " Talk is Cheap" Asking and receiving can be two separate things. Are their fools who might pay this most likely esp. now with all the New Interest in Knife making on the TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigb Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Put an email notification in on Craigslist for "Anvil". I did that about a year ago and thought I would never get a good deal. Then it happened. I got a 118 lb Mouse Hole Forge anvil for $150 plus a blown propane forge thrown in. Sure the anvil is beat, but for roughly $1 per lb? I could barely sleep the first night thinking about that anvil sitting out there in the garage! Just be ready to jump on it when a deal pops up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 I've seen that one to. A decent price for its condition. it looks to me like it was wire wheeled or sand blasted, don't think it hurt anything like what grinding would do. has crisp edges, ( I don't even use my sharper edges on my anvil)made by southern crescent, don't know a whole lot about anvils but I think that one is on of the more "rarer" ones. Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstucker Posted May 11, 2016 Author Share Posted May 11, 2016 I looked up southern crescent. It said they were made for 6 yrs in the 1920's. They are cast with a thin plate forge welded to the top. What would be a descent price per lb for this anvil? I Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Well, for a cold ger he ruined it by removing the patina, for a using anvil, a "thin" tool steel top isn't impressive, horn shape sucks. For that money you can do better, if the froidi watching the BS blacksmithing showed on TV want to waste their money, cool, save your coin. Buy a solid drop at least 4" square and a foot tall (5" round works) even a foot of heavy rail. Now with the other $390 you can set up a small hobby forge and still have $300 to jump on a good anvil when it comes along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstucker Posted May 11, 2016 Author Share Posted May 11, 2016 I appreciate guys. I have decided to wait. I put an add on CL in my area for wanting to buy an anvil. I'm gonna be patient and see what pops up. In the mean time I'm gonna find some RR track or some big chunk of steel to get started on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Desaster averted... so now we can get down to the fun of helping you grow your forge... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatfudd Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 It appears that the shows on TV about forging knives and making guns have stimulated the anvil buyers market. I recently led a group of NM blacksmiths down to Fred Moore's place(check out youtube largest anvil collection). Fred had indicated he is getting old and was considering selling much of his collection. In the past he had been selling his duplicate anvils for $3/lb so I figured he was still in that price range. When got to his place he showed me a check for $18,000 written to him by a buyer from Texas who had purchased "a few" of Fred's anvils. He told me that he thinks the Texas buyer is going to buy the rest of his collection. It turns out Fred's prices now start at $6 to $10 depending on make and condition and he knows he is selling to resellers. Some of the anvils you now see on ebay are from Fred's collection. You can still find reasonable deals locally on anvils but they are getting fewer and farther apart. I agree it makes more sense to buy new rather than a beater anvil for $6/b but when newbies get the bug the prices go thru the roof. I'm afraid that what we are seeing is the new norm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 I tried to find your add bu couldn't.I look at the Austin and searched for anvil, anvils, forge, blacksmith, blacksmiths, and blacskmithing 12 hours ago, littleblacksmith said: and we are relatively close, location wise I'm not sure why I said that earlier, where not. must have been thinking of someone else. Littleblacksmith wait, never mind, I was thinking that you were in Austin, I had seen that anvil, or a similar one on my craigslist for that price. but your in MO. Littleblacskmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstucker Posted May 11, 2016 Author Share Posted May 11, 2016 The add was in Austin for the 6$ a pound. There are a lot of anvils in his pics. The one I have a picture of up. Is a guy from Houston CL. I work over the road. I'm always traveling. So I check CL wherever I'm at. Never know you might get a deal. In this case I struck out. Here is his add BUY SELL OR TRADE!! I keep a large inventory of blacksmithing equipment, bench vises, and vintage tools. I don't have any junk and wouldn't be interested in trading for any! Tuesdays Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days for you to come have a look. Other days via phone. I will and have been selling to some great folks around the community and desire to continue doing so. Mopac and West Howard Ln. Call Andrew (972) 824-0041 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Greetings, The current run on most things related to blacksmithing tools is a pain. But may very well be a blessing in disguise. The current television "black smithing" shows are the probable cause of people wanting to try their hand at a great craft. But most of them will get frustrated and fed up in a little time. ( so many dive in and will try to forge something like a samourai sword, or Scottish claymore, and fail). Soon after, the tools will fall into disuse and collect dust as the owners attention goes elsewhere The forges and anvils are heavy, bulky and a real pain to move. So, about 3-5 years from the end of the "smith reality" shows, the price should substantially fall. And real smiths will be able to afford the tools again. (just like the cabbage patch kids dolls, of ancient memory) Patience is a virtue. Frosty's advice for anvil acquisition is a good one, for now. Look it up. Auf weider sehen, Herr SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstucker Posted May 11, 2016 Author Share Posted May 11, 2016 4 hours ago, Fatfudd said: I admit the TV has rekindled my interest in blacksmithing. But I am also a trained welder. And had interest in blacksmithING years ago but never pursued it then. I am not wanting to start off with trying to forge knives , or complex items. I want to learn the basics and progress as a smith. I have a very physical job and am used to sweating so hard work won't scare me off. I am wanting to get started but I am trying to do I as cheap as possible. I have enough scrap metal to put together a descent forge. I have just been reading and learning. I appreciate everybody's comments and guidance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS3900 Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Seeing questions like this pop up, along with a increased frequency of people hopping on the forums posting anvils for sale with what I would consider high prices, I have to ask is there any benefit at all in purchasing a used anvil that is almost equal to the cost of a new one? Looking at the anvil as a working tool only, ignoring historical value, are there any anvils out there, not currently in production, that are some how better than whats currently available to smiths from quality anvil retailers? Size, shape, features, metallurgy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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