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Fisher 500 Lb. anvil


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hello, I am looking at a couple different anvils and I have found this one that interests me the anvil is 500 lbs. and the base is 250 lbs. and marked Blacker Engineering Co. New York any info and or price guide anyone could share would be a great help... sorry but this is the only photo I have of it....thanks, John 

00n0n_cGUOranMdkE_600x450[1].jpg

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If you can, run, don't walk and pick that sweet anvil up! If its within your price range, grab it before you regret it. Blacker hammers were a power hammer set, if I recall, and these anvils were the bottom portion, thus the cut out. It looks to be in good condition, so, whatever you can get it for within your budget, do! 

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That anvil was made by Fisher for the Blacker hammer.  Many are being used alone.  

Pluses= very heavy duty.  Two hardy holes. Its a BIG anvil.  The Cool factor.  The cutout portion.  The cool base.  Its a Fisher.

Negatives= Working around the cut-out portion.  The very thick heel.  Big hardy holes. No pritchel hole. 

 

If the base is in the way, the anvil can always be removed and a custom base fabricated.  Just keep the base.  The combo is worth more than separate.

These were made mostly in the 1920's.  There 'might' be a serial number on the anvil.

The $$ they are asking is generally the going price for these.  I already have two in the museum or else I would have owned it already.

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10 hours ago, Ridgewayforge said:

If you can, run, don't walk and pick that sweet anvil up! If its within your price range, grab it before you regret it. Blacker hammers were a power hammer set, if I recall, and these anvils were the bottom portion, thus the cut out. It looks to be in good condition, so, whatever you can get it for within your budget, do! 

thank you Ridgewayforge !! I have three I'm looking at right now A 131 lb.HB, a 340 lb.Trenten and this Fisher.. I like all three but the two larger ones I am more interested in if the prices are fair but I'm not sure what prices to expect to pay for them... thanks, John

6 hours ago, njanvilman said:

That anvil was made by Fisher for the Blacker hammer.  Many are being used alone.  

Pluses= very heavy duty.  Two hardy holes. Its a BIG anvil.  The Cool factor.  The cutout portion.  The cool base.  Its a Fisher.

Negatives= Working around the cut-out portion.  The very thick heel.  Big hardy holes. No pritchel hole. 

 

If the base is in the way, the anvil can always be removed and a custom base fabricated.  Just keep the base.  The combo is worth more than separate.

These were made mostly in the 1920's.  There 'might' be a serial number on the anvil.

The $$ they are asking is generally the going price for these.  I already have two in the museum or else I would have owned it already.

thank you njanvilman !! I did see photo with a couple of these in your museum last night while looking around to find out what this was... do you mean the $$ this seller is asking is generally the going price ?? or what every any seller is asking at anytime is generally the going price ?? do these turn up often ?? thanks, John

6 hours ago, John McPherson said:

Matchless Antiques on fleaBay would be my first choice for an appraisal on something odd like this. Steve P. makes his living buying and selling blacksmith equipment. He even has a youtube video of one of these running.

thank you John McPherson !! I have looked at some of the anvils Matchless Antiques has for sale and have talked to Steve a couple times lately.. I didn't think to ask his opinion on this one ... thank you , John

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I've seen several at Quad-States over the years---including the one when I was asking Postman about this odd Fisher I had bought with an inset on one side and he laughed and told me to walk up the row a bit and there was one with the hammer....I got mine *DIRT* *CHEAP*  so much so that it's been suggested I endow a religious order to pray for my soul to avoid the problems of sulfur contamination when forging in the afterlife.  Mine came from a RR repair shop, when it closed the anvil went to one of the workers there.

If you do get it:  I make bottom swages for those large hardy holes by buying trashed top swages and forging the mushroomed hitting end down to fit the hardy holes---I got a large screw press that is a treat for making flat parallel sides on the stems. As for a pritchel hole, easy enough to have a disk of metal with a spiral of differing size holes to be used over the hardy hole.

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56 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

I've seen several at Quad-States over the years---including the one when I was asking Postman about this odd Fisher I had bought with an inset on one side and he laughed and told me to walk up the row a bit and there was one with the hammer....I got mine *DIRT* *CHEAP*  so much so that it's been suggested I endow a religious order to pray for my soul to avoid the problems of sulfur contamination when forging in the afterlife.  Mine came from a RR repair shop, when it closed the anvil went to one of the workers there.

If you do get it:  I make bottom swages for those large hardy holes by buying trashed top swages and forging the mushroomed hitting end down to fit the hardy holes---I got a large screw press that is a treat for making flat parallel sides on the stems. As for a pritchel hole, easy enough to have a disk of metal with a spiral of differing size holes to be used over the hardy hole.

thank you ThomasPowers !! this one isn't cheap in my opinion.. I believe I will pass on it,  I have a couple others I'm leaning toward.. JT  

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6 hours ago, VaughnT said:

Honestly, I'd buy the Fisher without hesitation if I could.   Part of the price is getting that really nice stand with the anvil, and the combo is always pricier than either of the pieces separately.  

the seller seems to be a jerk.. doesn't answer emails, and then when he did... sent me his phone number but doesn't answer that either or return a call ...

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People can get busy, keep trying.  

A Fisher is a fantastic anvil to work on. My main anvil is a 260# Fisher even though I have a 306# Sodefors because the Fisher is so quiet. 

As to price. Anvils are running around $3 a pound in most areas now, but I have still found some recently for $1 a pound out my way. Big anvils-500# on up usually get a premium price attached due to rarity.  BUT, it doesn't matter others are paying, you need to pay what you can comfortably afford.  

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JT, don't fret.  Like BGD says, folks can get busy with all kinds of things.

My main anvil is a 300# Fisher and I've never been happier.  While anvils of that size do present some problems when you're doing different things, they are an absolute dream 99% of the time.  You'll never want for a bigger or better anvil, that's for sure.

I'd love it just for the stand.  I've been keeping my eyes open for some thick plate or an old cast iron stand to go with my Fisher, but haven't had any luck.

The only caveat I'd add to all that is to consider what you're planning and what you hope to accomplish.  You certainly don't need an anvil that size, so if mobility is more important you could easily make do with a smaller Hay Budden or the like.  They're not as awesome as Fisher anvils, but being smaller, lighter, easier to move and easier on the wallet isn't necessarily a bad thing.

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On ‎9‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 6:49 PM, BIGGUNDOCTOR said:

People can get busy, keep trying.  

A Fisher is a fantastic anvil to work on. My main anvil is a 260# Fisher even though I have a 306# Sodefors because the Fisher is so quiet. 

As to price. Anvils are running around $3 a pound in most areas now, but I have still found some recently for $1 a pound out my way. Big anvils-500# on up usually get a premium price attached due to rarity.  BUT, it doesn't matter others are paying, you need to pay what you can comfortably afford.  

thank you BGD !! I have a early 112 lb. fisher that I paid $375 for a little while ago.. just been looking at larger ones since I bought this one.. and this large boy caught my eye... JT

On ‎9‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 8:20 PM, VaughnT said:

JT, don't fret.  Like BGD says, folks can get busy with all kinds of things.

My main anvil is a 300# Fisher and I've never been happier.  While anvils of that size do present some problems when you're doing different things, they are an absolute dream 99% of the time.  You'll never want for a bigger or better anvil, that's for sure.

I'd love it just for the stand.  I've been keeping my eyes open for some thick plate or an old cast iron stand to go with my Fisher, but haven't had any luck.

The only caveat I'd add to all that is to consider what you're planning and what you hope to accomplish.  You certainly don't need an anvil that size, so if mobility is more important you could easily make do with a smaller Hay Budden or the like.  They're not as awesome as Fisher anvils, but being smaller, lighter, easier to move and easier on the wallet isn't necessarily a bad thing.

hello VaughnT !! I understand about getting busy we all do... but when someone advertises something for sale and you get several responses of interest and phone calls you would expect to get a reply from the seller at some point... I have a couple other nice anvils I'm interested in besides this one.. both these sellers answer my responses every time  I ask a question ... ones a 340 lb. and a 440 lb. with a original base to the anvil.. both good anvil's neither is a fisher... and both are about half or less $ then the fisher...kinda on the fence with this one.... JT

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1 hour ago, JT said:

have a couple other nice anvils I'm interested in besides this one.. both these sellers answer my responses every time  I ask a question ... ones a 340 lb. and a 440 lb. with a original base to the anvil.. both good anvil's neither is a fisher... and both are about half or less $ then the fisher...kinda on the fence with this one.... JT

Seems like you've answered the question of the day right there!

Fisher's are genuinely great anvils, but the thick heel on the Blacker version can be something of an issue depending on what you're trying to do. If you have the opportunity to buy a similarly sized anvil from another maker, and the owner of the Fisher isn't being real courteous, buy one of the others.  A narrow/thin heel comes in quite handy when you're making forks and the like.  

While Fisher's are top-of-the-line in my opinion, I could get by quite adequately with another maker.  It might not be a Fisher, but they'll certainly get the job done!  And I never mind saving money.  If you can get another anvil and a nice stand for half the money, go for it.  The key thing is the quality of the face and edges on the anvil.  The more chipped and dinged they are, the less value, in my opinion.  The Blacker in the photo looks to be almost-new and would demand almost-new pricing.  Anything less than almost-new would be a good purchase as long as the price is commensurate.

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