Mark Ling Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 on craigslist there is a 220 lb church window anvil that their asking $2200 for it. Heres what the add says: It is a Styrian style anvil (Austrian) found in an East German factory dating back to the 1930's, pre WWII. I want to say that it has never been used but I can't prove it. One side has a church window with a radiused edge while the other side has a straight edge. The church window and stepped feet can be used as a swage. It is cast steel with a hardened face and has excellent rebound. Priced for rarity and condition, $2200 or best offer. Open to partial barter, especially other vintage tools, and I can process a credit card if necessary. If you love it and want to do a payment plan that's fine too. This anvil is definitely an antique with historical significance but more importantly it is ready to be used. is this a crazy price or should I jump on it? to me it sounds really high, but I don't have a lot of experience/don't see much anvils like this. heres some pictures: Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matto Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 That is one really clean anvil,. A lot of style and grace. Would be tempting, make an offer But my 275lb rifflinghaus made in 2015 was $2100 and has a life time warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rmartin2 Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 I saw the ad for that one and it's pretty cool looking. If I had $2200 just laying around I would pick this up just because it was cool. If I had the same money ready for that one anvil purchase I would prob do like matto and buy new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 That anvil is beyond cool. But it is 1500 miles away, and a tad pricey. But it does have that neat factor, and is in terrific shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 here is a couple more he is selling: Up for sale is a 143 lb German hornless anvil. Difficult to date, probably 1800's but possibly earlier. The sloped side reinforces that side of the anvil, helping to prevent edge chipping. A very versatile anvil, if you lay it on its side, the sloped face can be utilized for its angle, and the church windows as a swage. This essentially turns it into two anvils. The rebound is very good, though the face has some minor dips, nothing too severe but worth mentioning. Priced for rarity and condition, $925 or best offer. Open to partial barter, especially other vintage tools, and I can process a credit card if necessary. If you love it and want to do a payment plan that's fine too. This anvil is definitely an antique with historical significance but more importantly it is ready to be used. \ and another: Up for sale is a vintage Peddinghaus double horn anvil. It weighs 179 lbs and is excellent shape with minor cosmetic wear due to age. This is one of the first Peddinghaus anvils produced, dating back to somewhere in the early 1900's. The "PFP" stands for Paul Ferdinand Peddinghaus. This anvil was forged in two parts and forge welded together at the waist. It has excellent rebound and a wide work surface. Priced for rarity and condition, $1400 or best offer. Open to partial barter, especially other vintage tools, and I can process a credit card if necessary. If you love it and want to do a payment plan that's fine too. This anvil is definitely an antique with historical significance but more importantly it is ready to be used. like matto said, really clean. Littleblacksmith I was thinking about the sawyers anvil, but don't have that amount of money being a 13 year old kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 When you go to buy your first car will you be looking at Maserati's, Lotuses or a used pickup truck? Enjoy looking at them but start working toward a "user" anvil and try the TPAAAT as you may find one you can afford right now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foundryman Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 I would dearly love to own a church window anvil but would never buy one described in this way. "This anvil is definitely an antique with historical significance" I would contract the seller and ask what makes these anvils historically significant compared to the hundreds/thousands of identical ones available in and around Austria. Fortunately my girlfriend has family in that part of Europe so I hold onto the hope of sourcing myself one of these beautiful anvils at a reasonable price one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 those are probably my top three dream anvils, and all sold by the same person! He has other adds that I enjoy looking at. This seller enjoys restoring tools and then squeezing out every penny. I am currently using a 100lb Trenton anvil, and love it, but like most of us, has anvil envy...... Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 speaking of anvil envy, have any of yall seen Liam Hoffman's videos? in his shop he has a small church anvil AND a bridge anvil that's not in to bad of shape. I know, I know, you got to start small, and that's what I did. I started out in the middle of our yard using first an old 10 pound sledge hammer head, then a piece of railroad track, then one of those flat plated that are underneath the track?, then borrowed an anvil from a farrier that I know, and finally used (and still am) a hundred pound Trenton from craigslist that I got for $150. now I have a small shop that we are still in the process of putting up walls on, with a super sucker, to many hammers and tongs to count (well, maybe like 10 pairs of tongs, and about 15 hammers) most of the tongs I made, and the hammers are mostly scrap yard and garage sale finds. I got a small bucket of chisels that more that half of them I made, and two post vices, and 2000 lbs of coke to replace the charcoal that I started with. Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Got a local CL for a "rare" HB; No special features---just a standard HB and only rare in that HB made hundreds of thousands of anvils... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 You can buy a bigger Nimba for that price. http://www.nimbaanvils.com/pricing.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minaret Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 They are awesome anvils, and definitely not easy or cheap to get from Germany to Texas. I spent about half the CL ads telegraphing how open I am to offers/deals/barter/etc, and I ended up selling them significantly lower than listed. And I have to say that though these may be readily available in other parts of the world, in Central Texas they are definitely rare, and historically significant in the same way that Greek pottery may be considered historically significant in London but not in Athens, though I've heard the Greeks are trying to get their stuff back Foundryman In any case, I'm crazy about German anvils and I have an early Refflinghaus that I'm just in love with. And yeah, you can get an amazing Nimba or Fontanini for the same price, but so can the next guy, and I think the folks that wanted these really wanted something different to work on. I plan on bringing some more back from Germany in the next year or so. Definitely not getting rich selling them, but it's a lot of fun and I've met some stellar people! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 "rare" one out here too, they want US$675, I'd give $100... " This is a very unusual German made - hand forged hornless anvil from 1891. The face is only 1 1/2" wide, overall length 15" and 10" high. Probably custom made. It was forged by Soeding & Halbach (S&H), the maker of the most beautiful anvils in Germany." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Frog Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 An S&H in that configuration is indeed quite rare. I know the seller, he may know more about German anvils than anyone in the U.S., and I've purchased from him before. I don't see that price for that anvil being horribly out of line, sure it's a bit high, don't all sellers start high? I do. Saying $100 for that is ridiculous for anyone that knows anything about anvils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foundryman Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 2 hours ago, minaret said: They are awesome anvils, and definitely not easy or cheap to get from Germany to Texas. I spent about half the CL ads telegraphing how open I am to offers/deals/barter/etc, and I ended up selling them significantly lower than listed. And I have to say that though these may be readily available in other parts of the world, in Central Texas they are definitely rare, and historically significant in the same way that Greek pottery may be considered historically significant in London but not in Athens, though I've heard the Greeks are trying to get their stuff back Foundryman In any case, I'm crazy about German anvils and I have an early Refflinghaus that I'm just in love with. And yeah, you can get an amazing Nimba or Fontanini for the same price, but so can the next guy, and I think the folks that wanted these really wanted something different to work on. I plan on bringing some more back from Germany in the next year or so. Definitely not getting rich selling them, but it's a lot of fun and I've met some stellar people! I believe possession is 9/10ths of the law though if your referring to the Elgin marbles, I think they're currently on loan to Russia which could prove problematic! I don't believe an objects' location has any bearing on its historical significance, however, by taking these anvils to a place where they are considered rare and are highly desirable you are ensuring their continued survival which can only be a good thing. I hope they're happy in their new homes and are getting fed lots of hot iron, Simon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 The collectors market for anvils is a shallow one; so hunting for sales on a localized forum seems to be a bit odd. If they had put it on ebay I would understand but Albuquerque Craigslist? If he wants to sell it to Fred he should just call him up! Do you regularly check out the Albuquerque Craigslist for anvils? It may be not only rare but unique; but it still is not something I have need of and so for me it is only worth US$100. I am the only person who can say what it's worth to *ME*. Your opinion on what it might be worth to others may be very valid; but to *ME*, it is as I stated. I am not an expert on "collecting" anvils but I have been buying them and using them for over 35 years and own about a ton of them currently which most all get used on a regular basis---teaching in multiple locations helps getting them used. The only ones "resting" are on my wall of shame for extremely abused anvils. I freely admit that my views on anvils are based on utility and I am not interested in rarity, age, etc unless they affect the utility. Others opinions differ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minaret Posted July 28, 2016 Share Posted July 28, 2016 Simon I've always thought that half of the world's treasures would no longer exist if it weren't for British museums! One of the most memorable travel experiences I ever had was spending a week in London, and a couple days of that in the British Museum and National Gallery. Yeah, I hear what you are saying, but I was using the term 'historically significant' in a very broad and somewhat casual sense. I could have just said 'antique' and I doubt anyone would argue with it. But the whole context of it was to say that although these anvils are antiques they are ready to be used. I thought it was a point worth mentioning in the ad. Best regards, Scout Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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