PlT Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 Hi Folks, I just signed up to see if I could get info on this anvil I purchased for my husbands upcoming birthday. I saw the posting on craigslist for $250 negotiable so I jumped on it. It had only been posted for an hour and I have bern watching the prices rise for many years so I finally bit the bullet. It was only an hours drive away and by the time I got there the guy had two full price phone offers, so no negotiation. He owned a storage unit and this was left in one. He said he started checking prices after getting the calls and wished he would have increased the price. He said he put it on facebook for $200. It looks to me like an Arm & Hammer it has 106 on the front but wasnt sure if its American made if that is 106 Lbs or if you still go by the english method. You can clearly see the word WROUGHT ( but not iron as I have seen in some photos) It looks like the letters ARM at the top and has the arm symbol on it. The serial number is 22523. Any input as to make and age would be appreciated. I wanted to also purchase the Anvils in America book to go with it but too much money, maybe for Xmas. BTW we just purchased a 35 ac property between Whitewater and Gateway CO that has an old amethyst mine high on the cliffs above the house (rock climbers haven) and one night when it was almost dark I hiked up the hill and while returning something caught my eye at the base of a huge boulder that had rolled down the hill at some time. I started digging it out and it was the body of an old Vulcan anvil. The nose and the end were broken off.I wondered if perhaps it had rolled down the cliff and broken. I guess that is what started this quest and so glad I finally got a real one. As its too heavy for me to lift out of the trunk of my car it will have to live there for a couple of weeks till Birthday time, I also posted a couple of pictures of the Vulcan anvil I found buried in Unaweep Canyon at our property. I put cornstarch on them to bring out the writing. Thanks to all of you for the postings, I have learned so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 Arm and Hammer are top notch anvils that were made in Columbus Ohio and so, USA made they have no commonality with Vulcan Anvils made by a different company in a different way even though the trademark is quite similar; but the Vulcan being cast proud and the Arm and Hammer stamped in. (Vulcans are much lower on the quality scale). The 106 is the weight in pounds; a nice weight for a starter and then a travel anvil. IIRC the Wrought is part of "Solid Wrought". I don't have my copy of Anvils in America to hand to correlate the serial number on the front foot to a date. Hopefully someone else will provide that. US$2 a pound would have been a steal; $2.50- is a good price out here anyway! Could you post a picture of the broken ends on the Vulcan sometime. I have a broken one too and the horn break shows massive porosity in the casting and so I was wondering if it was common... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlT Posted September 3, 2018 Author Share Posted September 3, 2018 Thank you Thomas, I sure didnt want to end up with another Vulcan and it sounds like I got a fair deal. Neither of us had any idea of its make or value but the arm sybol worried me a little because I thought it was too much to pay for a Vulcan, but took a chance . I did happen to have a couple of end pictures of the broken Vulcan as I am not where the Anvil is located at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 I would say the Vulcan was damaged while being used at the mine by heavy sledge hammering, then thrown off the cliff. A sledge hammer will take off the horn & heel easily. The number in the picture looks like a 2 to me, if so it started out life in the 200 + pound range, a 3 would indicate 300 pounds. Your A&H looks like a good one. BTW... Welcome to IFI... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 Yup same porosity at the top of the horn; mine looks like you could have stuck pencils in the holes. Arm & Hammer is considered a top tier anvil while Vulcan is the bottom tier of real anvils; but still better than an ASO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlT Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share Posted September 9, 2018 I went ahead and purchased the AIA book since its very hard to find and Amazon had a new signed copy for $84. There was 25 pages dedicated to the A&H anvils. I love the book, well worth the money. The A&H dates back to 1915-1916 which is fairly old for that brand (1900-1950). It looks like the Vulcan is also a very early piece. The number on the Vulcan is a 3 indicating 30# Will see how the anvil cleans up once I can get it out of the trunk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.