Exo313 Posted July 5, 2017 Share Posted July 5, 2017 So I'm trying to compile a list of things to watch out for when it comes to anvil purchasing. The market is insane, and especially so in southern Ontario. Lots of unscrupulous sellers and clueless buyers. Saw one the other day listed as "good condition, nice flat face", that was missing all the face around the hardy hole. And another that was all but destroyed (virtually no face whatsoever) with the caption "good, solid, don't make them like this anymore" So apart from the obvious, like missing pieces, what things do you look out for? What would you tell a novice buyer to look out for? Ring/rebound are the old standbys. Casting lines, flat topped horns in the ASO style. What else? (Anvil below listed at 400 bucks.) Direct quote from seller for above anvil too good not to share: "Selling this Canadian Blower and Forge Company anvil In decent shape, very old and solid. Not like the junk anvils made these days Dated between 1890 and 1970. This one is 90 lb." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lionel h Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Omg! That's a real deal ! I would by two like that ! Just joking ,I've seen a couple that compares to that one at an auction and the guy that bought one paid almost 6 $ us per pound ! I told him I would sell my sisco supreme for 6 bucks a pound if he wanted a real anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exo313 Posted July 7, 2017 Author Share Posted July 7, 2017 My favorite was the date range. Sometime approximately between the first published Sherlock Holmes stories and, uh, the inaugural production of the Ford Pinto. More or less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 Folks tend to forget the preservation bias on old tools. They made tongs of cheap low quality tools way back when but most of the bad ones get broken and tossed while the better ones get maintained and used for a long time. I've seen cast iron ASO's for sale in ads from back before WWI. As for the "they don't make them that way anymore" Nowadays I'm often buying a car and expecting to get a decade of use on it after a car from the 60's was usually considered nothing but junk---remember folks bragging about getting 100000 miles on an engine? My wife's minivan just dies with 249173! (and she didn't change her oil every 3000 miles...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Ling Posted July 7, 2017 Share Posted July 7, 2017 On 7/5/2017 at 5:36 PM, Exo313 said: "Selling this Canadian Blower and Forge Company anvil notice the company isn't "Canadian Blower, Forge, and ANVIL company"....and also how I think very few of us have heard of the brand, and even if we had, I think the anvil speaks for the brand. Littleblacksmith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacksmith-450 Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 How do you like this's one ? «with some use»... looks more like a anvil/swage combo ! On 7/6/2017 at 10:17 PM, Exo313 said: My favorite was the date range. Sometime approximately between the first published Sherlock Holmes stories and, uh, the inaugural production of the Ford Pinto. More or less. LOL !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 Cheap enough and I'd get it for the horn---but the thickness of the heel makes me wonder what it was made from combined with that damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacksmith-450 Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 This one : « Anvil for blacksmith for sale, about 350#️, good condition. 375$ » The price may be fair, but one horn is missing and the side shelf is gone (i guess) and left a big hole near the face.... that's an other weakness. Can be transform as a striking block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Sawicki Posted July 8, 2017 Share Posted July 8, 2017 That anvil is still useful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exo313 Posted July 9, 2017 Author Share Posted July 9, 2017 OP found a grinder... and now instead of 90lbs it's "almost 100" (metal removal increased the weight? If I grind enough will my 200lb MH make 300?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanglediver Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 The mythical coyote slayer has been found!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 you guys are just picky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Can't all y'all tell that thats a *chewing* anvil! Even got the hole in the base to stick your pinky in to sling it over your arm when you feel like a nice chaw... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdnaxe Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 That's hilarious. I saw that same add and couldn't believe the xxxx the seller was trying to shovel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Well here are 3 I just saw on CL. Have seen people ask about them on here before as well. Great deals eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Bet that's a patent date and not a production date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 I would agree. Either way with these cast iron vise combo anvil shaped objects, the sellers are either ignorant to what they are and just see the shape and think it's a usable anvil or they are trying to scam the uninformed people looking for one. So yeah, buyer beware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exo313 Posted July 13, 2017 Author Share Posted July 13, 2017 It's not just old anvils. Taken from fleabay. I've been hanging my anvils up from the wrong end all this time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferrous Beuler Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Here is another Canadian Forge & Blower Co. anvil as tattered as the original on this thread currently listed on the Buffalo NY area Craigslist and the ad has been updated to include just the front anvil portion of the good old cast bench vice/anvil combo. I wouldn't fret over chipped edges with this one, that brand new face makes it good as new~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 That's just what I imagine when I hear people ask about welding steel plate on top of a cast anvil to make it " better" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Come on now I'd give a good US$20 for that set up and everything on the stump! (what do they want?) We got a local add where they are trying to sell 10 sledgehammers and 10 crowbars---but they want $200. At $50 I'd be loading them in my wife's minivan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferrous Beuler Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 41 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: Come on now I'd give a good US$20 for that set up and everything on the stump! (what do they want?) We got a local add where they are trying to sell 10 sledgehammers and 10 crowbars---but they want $200. At $50 I'd be loading them in my wife's minivan! Weight is given as 70 lbs and $100.00 CDN was the listed price. Been listed for over a month now but was just updated this past weekend to include the boat anchor and the asking price was removed. You will have to contact the seller in Toronto. I'm not going to bother because that is 90 minutes north of me and there are lots of scrap yards between here and there that are closer where I can get more bang for my buck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exo313 Posted July 14, 2017 Author Share Posted July 14, 2017 So if I was told in a pm over kijiji that asking was $300 CAD... This is what I'm talking about exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou L Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 I think there is a story being told in the pictures above. The enormous sledge hammer dangling innocently next to an anvil with its working face shredded.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 And it's a stone workers hammer not a blacksmith's hammer to boot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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