Lone Star Mike Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 Greetings! I just purchased my first anvil after a couple years of wanting to get into forging. It is a Fisher-Norris anvil from 1891 and has a scale weight of around 146lbs. Found it for sale in Philly and had to jump on it. I have a question about the numbers on the base that I believe is "12 8" or "12 6". Was curious what that number is. Also, any other information about the anvil I just purchased as well as thoughts on the quality/condition would be very interesting to read. Fyi, I only have a basic knowledge of Fisher anvils and how they are cast from a few hours of research. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalmangeler Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 I like it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 Welcome aboard Mike, glad to have you. Nice score! Fishers are top shelf anvils and quiet. Very desirable and yours is in darned good condition, a beautiful old lady. I wouldn't do much more than maybe wire brush it and put it to work. Hammering hot steel will put a shine on her face in no time. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 Hi Mike What is a Texas boy doing buying anvils in Philadelphia? Anyway, the numbers you are looking at at batch numbers, and really have not significance today. The only number that matters is the date, 1891. This was done for Fisher's one year warranty on their anvils. So you anvil would be replaced until the end of 1892 if it failed. For more information, and if you are on Facebook, check out my page: Fisher & Norris Factory Museum Page for more information/pictures. And, yes, there is a Fisher Anvil Museum here in NJ. Pictures are on the FB page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beech Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 On 4/14/2017 at 8:53 PM, Lone Star Mike said: I only have a basic knowledge of Fisher anvils and how they are cast from a few hours of research. Ha, you're one of those people... you should fit in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Star Mike Posted April 16, 2017 Author Share Posted April 16, 2017 On 4/15/2017 at 3:25 AM, Frosty said: Welcome aboard Mike, glad to have you. Nice score! Fishers are top shelf anvils and quiet. Very desirable and yours is in darned good condition, a beautiful old lady. I wouldn't do much more than maybe wire brush it and put it to work. Hammering hot steel will put a shine on her face in no time. Frosty The Lucky. Thanks for the welcome! I am definitely very happy with my find. I agree. At first I was going to do a little bit more restoration work, such as cleaning up the edges, but quite honestly, I would hate to ruin the patina or ruin the HT by welding improperly. 8 hours ago, njanvilman said: Hi Mike What is a Texas boy doing buying anvils in Philadelphia? Anyway, the numbers you are looking at at batch numbers, and really have not significance today. The only number that matters is the date, 1891. This was done for Fisher's one year warranty on their anvils. So you anvil would be replaced until the end of 1892 if it failed. For more information, and if you are on Facebook, check out my page: Fisher & Norris Factory Museum Page for more information/pictures. And, yes, there is a Fisher Anvil Museum here in NJ. Pictures are on the FB page. Hey Anvilman, My family lives in Maryland, so I am back and forth. I had a feeling it may have been a batch number. I appreciate the insight as not being sure of what the number stood for was nagging at me, ha. I will certainly do that. I would love to take a drive up there at some point as well -- sounds like a great way to spend a day, although my girlfriend may not agree lol. Thanks for the info! 47 minutes ago, beech said: Ha, you're one of those people... you should fit in. Yeah..I may be a wee bit obsessed at this point. Guess I came to the right place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 After you get those edges cleaned up you can read "Practical Blacksmithing", Richardson, from 1889,1890 and 1891 where it says "For my own part I am satisfied not only that sharp edges are useless, but they are also destructive of good work. I cannot account for their existence except as a relic of a time when the principles of forging were but little understood." Vol 1 page 111 If you must have a sharp 90 deg corner for some job make a hardy tool with one and PLEASE leave that anvil alone it's in FINE USING CONDITION! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Star Mike Posted April 16, 2017 Author Share Posted April 16, 2017 15 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: After you get those edges cleaned up you can read "Practical Blacksmithing", Richardson, from 1889,1890 and 1891 where it says "For my own part I am satisfied not only that sharp edges are useless, but they are also destructive of good work. I cannot account for their existence except as a relic of a time when the principles of forging were but little understood." Vol 1 page 111 If you must have a sharp 90 deg corner for some job make a hardy tool with one and PLEASE leave that anvil alone it's in FINE USING CONDITION! Hi Thomas, Already read that article actually along with a great video — whose name I cannot recall — that discussed that very topic. I'm definitely not the type who is looking for a 90° edge. The most I would look for is a properly radiused fuller edge, however, for this anvil, I will not be doing that. I stand far more to lose than gain. I am very excited to forge on this anvil in its current condition. Thanks for the advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 PM me here or at njanvilman@gmail.com if you are in the area. BTW, I am about a 85 minute drive from the bridge on 95 into NJ. Leave the edges alone. Just wire brush or wheel the anvil, hit it with any light spray oil to prevent rust, and use it. If you make to the museum, you will see what factory new edges looked like on Fisher anvils, and other conditions. Look me up on Facebook, and you will see more Fisher anvils than you ever knew existed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branding Iron Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Guess the enthusiasm to forge on this anvil wore off? I see it's on eBay already. Somehow I have a feeling you already found a better one even cheaper than the CL price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Star Mike Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 2 minutes ago, Branding Iron said: Guess the enthusiasm to forge on this anvil wore off? I see it's on eBay already. Somehow I have a feeling you already found a better one even cheaper than the CL price. Not at all. I am still really looking forward to forging on this anvil. It's actually really killing me that I don't have a coal forge yet. I simply listed it there to see if I would get a high enough offer because I did put myself in a bit of a financial bind and found out a few days ago that I owe Uncle Sam a hefty sum. To be honest, I kind of panicked last night, while submitting the tax forms, which is when I listed it. I don't expect I shall get an offer at that price point, but I figured, as crazy a price as it is, that is about the minimum that I could stand giving it up as I may be able to get another shortly after. To be clear, this isn't the direction I want to go. I am trying to find another route, including working a lot of overtime, at which point the listing will be removed. Because the offer on this anvil was very fair and I didn't want to see someone else take it, I ended up leaving myself with no room financially, unfortunately. I'm already signicantly in the red without another paycheck until next Friday without having paid taxes yet. Probably TMI, but I'm pretty stressed out about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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