Anvil I.D. For a rookie

[Forginghappy]

Hello, I  just purchased a very similar anvil with the same identifying 100 marking.  Did you ever learn any history about yours?   I noticed that I could make small dents on the top surface when tapping it with a hammer.  Is that normal?  Thank you, Mike 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Welcome aboard Mike... Small dents with light tapping is not normal for a real anvil.

I doubt you will get an answer from Scout as he hasn't logged in since April 5, 2018. If it dents with light hammer tapping, it's what we call an ASO (anvil shaped object). Usually made out of cast iron without a hardened face of steel. More than likely made in China or Mexico. Both countries are known to produce inferior anvils which will work for light use but with normal forging they turn out like the Scout's.

[Forginghappy]

Hi Irondragon,

Thank you for the reply!   Interesting, here I thought I was getting a deal.  It has a ~.5in top face that is very flat and no rounding, or gouges.   Is it possible to do any smithing on it?  

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

It can be used with care and good hammer control. I would radius the edges to keep from chipping with missed blows. Sharp edges are a detriment to good work anyway, the horn, hardy and pritchel holes are very handy, just don't do any heavy hammering on them. It is better than nothing and a good learner anvil. Hot steel at forging temperatures is softer than cast iron. To tell if it's cast iron, take a small drill and drill a hole in the underside of the base and look at what the drill brings up. Small chips indicate cast iron, small curls mean it may be cast ductile iron, which is a step up. If it has a hardened face plate or is cast steel it would ring like a bell when tapped and have 70-80 percent rebound.

[ThomasPowers]

And please note: cast iron anvils often have a "fake" face cast to make it look as if it has a real steel face.  TEST before you buy!

[Forginghappy]

Thank you Irondragon and Thomaspowers.  To be honest don't laugh to hard, but I bought it yesterday for $250 in Western Washington state.  I thought  $250 was a good deal for what a 100 pounder goes for here.   How would you recommend rounding the top face edges?  Thank you! 

[ThomasPowers]

Angle grinder, file, mill,...    If it is an ASO it was over priced.  But what is done is done.  Every time you make something on it; chip a dollar into the "good anvil kitty" and hopefully by the time you find a good one at a good price you will be ready to buy it.

OTOH  You do have a hardy hole to make use off and can use an improvised anvil for the heavy hammering and that one for tooling.

[Forginghappy]

Thank you ThomasPowers!  Live and Learn :).  How big of radius should I be trying to get, or am I simply trying to break the edges?   Thank you! 

[ThomasPowers]

The radius needed is the one that works best for YOUR work and YOUR projects.  However 1/4 radius would probably work, a little more is needed for cast iron edges due to friability.

[Forginghappy]

Thank you ThomasPowers! 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

3 hours ago, Forginghappy said:

Western Washington

If that's your general location, you might want to add it to your profile because we won't remember it once leaving this post. I bought a 55 pound anvil from our local farm supply place back in '84, that looks like your's. I didn't know anything about anvils and later learned it was made in Russia. As luck would have it it does have a hardened steel face and is still in use as a traveling anvil at meetings and such.

[ThomasPowers]

Did it have the hardy hole at a 45 deg angle?

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Nope straight through, I'll go out and take a picture of it.

Edited August 17, 2020 by Irondragon ForgeClay Works
add picture

[Marc1]

A lot of cheaper anvils turn out to be decent for most work a hobby blacksmith produces. Any ASO is, in my opinion, better than a piece of. rail. 

There is always too much emphasis placed on the anvil from beginners, at the detriment of all the other tools that are required.  Anvil is just a tool, and to be used for what it was made, beat hot iron on it. All anvils deteriorate and suffer from work done on them, the only difference is the rate at which they do so. 

You can damage the best and most expensive anvil if you are really determined. A cheaper anvil will require a bit more care but will be a useful tool until you find a better and bigger one. 

100 pounds is a small anvil for small work with small hammers. Use it and learn with it. Take a before and after photo, after one year and two and three years of work. That is the only way to tell an anvil quality or lack of it. An anvil with 95% rebound may end up chipping, and anvil with 50% rebound may turn out to be a real workhorse for 5 years, when you will invariably buy a bigger and better one. And it beats a piece of rail, hands down and blindfolded, on the side or standing up.  

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Yep... I agree, we still use that 55 pounder and If I do say so the face is still pristine (except for the surface rust) which a wire brush takes off and hammering hot steel shines it up.