Hey everyone, this is my first post and I am new to the forum. I've recently begun taking some blacksmithing classes and I got hooked right away. So, naturally, I've been scouring craigslist for anvils and happened to find one in "decent" shape (to my knowledge) for a good price so I jumped on it and picked it up the next day. Its old and used and looks like it could use some love. Basically I'm looking to find out if anyone might know what the make is because I cant see any markings under the rust, and also if there are any steps i should take towards restoring it. I have read into how to restore anvils and what ive gathered is that i could wire brush and oil the body of it but to leave alone the face and it will clean up with use. Just looking for some input.

As you can see there is a chunk of the working face missing... but i figured that there was enough space there to still justify getting it. The face that is intact is nice and flat with decent edges.

Thanks!

She's in rough shape.  Looks like you also have damage by the hardy hole.  Do you know how much it weighs?  And can you take some pictures of the sides of the anvil.  Also, look by the feet to see if a serial number is visible.

I don't know the exact weight. It is (by my educated guess) around 140 lbs. Ideally a 2 man job to move it, although I can move it on my own. I'll get some more photos tomorrow, but I have examined it closely and could not notice any markings on any part of the anvil. My other question is, would YOU consider this a usable anvil? or does it look like a project before being usable?

It is YOUR anvil so use it.

Lightly wire brush any loose rust followed by some ATF (auto transmission oil) or other protection to keep it from rusting again. Use a strong light at an low angle to try to uncover any markings. Then dust the anvil side with flower or chalk and brush away the excess to see if there are markings. Maybe a sheet of paper and a pencil rubbing will show something.  Identification or not, it is YOUR anvil and YOU can make it work. Keep an eye out for your second anvil (grin).

By all means, use it for what you got it for.  If it serves its purpose for you, it doesn't matter what it's made of or where it came from.  I have seen lots of anvils with rust covering every inch of them that looked really nice after they were cleaned up.  

Take some of the suggestion Glenn gave you and see if you can find any markings that may be hidden.  Looking forward to seeing some more pics of it.

You can absolutely use that anvil even though it is busted up pretty bad. Give it a good clean up and save as much of it as you can. When your working on it i would try to avoid working near the broken edges to preserve what remains for as long as possible and try not to do any cold work or punching right onto the face, thats a general thing for me but especially when the anvil is already damaged you want to extend that life as much as you can. If it were me i would also try to keep an eye out for a replacement anvil once you get into the swing of things. I like having two anvils anyways, 1 which is smaller and i can take with me for meets or shows and 1 which is my heavy sucker that stays put and sees the most work. Can i ask what you paid for your anvil?

I feel like I overpaid, it was $200 and the guy was very firm about the price. I couldn't find anything else for less than $400 so I just decided to go for it. Your opinion would be appreciated

I'll post more photos after work. I feel like she looks a little worse in the picture than in real life.

 

1 hour ago, BorisK said:

I feel like I overpaid, it was $200 and the guy was very firm about the price. I couldn't find anything else for less than $400 so I just decided to go for it. Your opinion would be appreciated

Its worth what its worth to you. I would not have paid nearly that for one in such condition but i am lucky. I have acquired a 190lb and a 93lb anvil both in very good condition and both for about 200 a piece. Patience is a virtue and sometimes its worth holding out a bit until you find the right one next time.

I bought 3 belt grinders before i finally got my 2x72 for this same reason. I wanted a grinder right then and only had 200 to spare for it but once i had those smaller grinders i made some things sold some things and used that money to eventually get one just how i wanted for a price that fit me well. I also get wanting something right away and only having so much money to put out for it. You work with what you can get and thats fine especially going from nothing to something.

14 hours ago, K-9JAX said:

By all means, use it for what you got it for.  If it serves its purpose for you, it doesn't matter what it's made of or where it came from.  I have seen lots of anvils with rust covering every inch of them that looked really nice after they were cleaned up.  

Take some of the suggestion Glenn gave you and see if you can find any markings that may be hidden.  Looking forward to seeing some more pics of it.

 

At $200 for a 140 pound anvil you are in within the market price range around here for "ugly but perfectly functional" anvils which are kind of ideal for a starting smith.  It's RARE to find an anvil in decent shape (typically some edge damage and other signs of wear) around here for less than $3 a pound, and examples in decent to excellent condition 4-6 a pound right on up.  It's a tool, and this specific example is a good weight for blacksmithing, has usable edges, a good chunk of flat face to work on, a hardie hole and a horn... all the stuff a prettier anvil is going to include at a higher cost.  I'd take one like this over one that's had the face repaired with welding rod any day.

Use it, clean it with a wire wheel and protect it as Glen stated above, just avoid hitting it wherever there isn't steel plate along the top particularly right of the Hardie hole or you may lose the entire heel of the anvil. 

More photos. I cleaned the body with a wire brush halfway through taking pics. Found some markings on it! I can see that there were two words but I can only really make out the last 3 letters of the second word which look like EED or LED. 

 

EDIT: Hmm, Im not sure why those are upside down or how to fix that...Sorry!

Sheffield maybe?

That is probably what is left of the word Sheffield.  As in Sheffield, England.  You may have a Mousehole Anvil there.  If you are looking straight on at the horn, on the left foot, can you see a serial number?

Here is what the side of my Mousehole anvil looks like:  See any markings like these?

I only just learned this info my self about a week ago from some of the guys on here.

I could swear I just saw that same anvil on Craigslist CT.  Are you in CT Boris?

I wouldn't be surprised Lou. I'm in western MA

Judging from the last photos, you have a rare "Antigravity" anvil. Be careful with those: if they're not securely fastened to their stand, they can pop up and break your jaw.

could be an australian anvil

Borisk

There is a New England Blacksmith 3 day event started today Colrain Mass outside of Greenfield through Sun Noon need to be a member  but they sell them there X out the NEB site here on IFI. How close are you?  I  know this will draw a lot of comments but they hold an anvil repair event at the same place in Jan. and do a great job.   

Notownkid, I'm taking classes at that shop. They had mentioned the event which I'm not able to make it to. but I could talk to my instructor about repair.

Well, I just went to that event and let me tell you, that is one heck of a nice shop!  I'm jealous you get to take classes there.