So I figured I'd update this.     First of all I want to make it very clear that if you’re just starting out in blacksmithing you DO NOT NEED a “London Pattern anvil” to start hitting hot metal on.    London pattern anvils are usually very expensive (your location in the world makes a big difference) not to mention relatively rare and hard to find.  All too often I see posts on forums or Facebook where a new smith has spent all of their spare cash because they “HAD”