Working way too many hours lately.  Still haven't bought a decent anvil.  Any trends lately? Used to be $2 to $4 a pound for a decent anvil until Forged in Fire drove up prices to insane levels.  Any pullback lately?

Not out in my neck of the woods. But if you keep your nose to the ground and ask around you can find one for a decent price. My only "real" anvil is a 126 lb swedish London pattern that I picked up for $100 because the edges where dinged up.

You should be near Allentown, Harrisburg, Philadelphia,  Wilkes Barre, Scranton, NJ and NY. 

Do a site search for TPAAAT and apply the technique. Carry cash so you can move when you find a deal.

The more you search the more reasonable the price of the anvil gets.

I will have to be more diligent about this.  I start to seriously search for one, as well as other implements, and then I get swamped at work.

Retirement has a lot going for it.

Well,  I stopped by the local farrier/blacksmith shop I found last week and picked up some refractory. 

As I was talking with the owner we started talking about anvils. He said that he as a used (but mint condition) JHM 160 lb. anvil at his south store and he'd let me have it for $600.00. That's $3.75/lb.

I've been planning on just building a post anvil from a forklift tine, but this deal was too good to pass up. I'm picking it up on Monday! 

The overlooked factor in the price of the anvil is the payback. Not many tools will pay for themselves. How long will it take you to make and sell enough product across the face of that anvil to get the purchase price? Today's used anvils can be dated to be 100 years old or more.

You may want to read the thread Anvils, rent to own on the site.

1 hour ago, Glenn said:

Not many tools will pay for themselves. 

Glenn, how can you say that? If one keeps a list of how many times you use every tool, one would be surprised how many times they are used but one never thinks about it, or takes it for granted. Every time the tool is used the cost goes down per use. Many times down to pennies per use.

Jeremy, you are correct, each tool has value and returns part of the value with each use, but only if or when the item is sold. If you hang the item on your wall or give it away to a neighbor, you do not get a return on the value of the tool, it costs you money through wear and tear of the tool. 

My point was an anvil is not that expensive when it can provide a lifetime of use. You can rent to own or sell the products you make and offset the purchase price of the anvil relatively quickly. After that the tool has paid for itself, and costs nothing to use. Yes they can be expensive, but it is a one time expense. It does not take electric to operate for instance. 

 

Back to the original post, the cost of everything keeps going up. The challenge is to know when to jump in and make that purchase. Folks have figured out that anvils are in demand and have searched them out so they can resale them for a profit. The buyer has the money to spend and wants to try blacksmithing.  Many of the buyers will later put the stuff in storage or try to sell it to use the money to peruse another hobby. They will remember what they paid and want that much, or more, so as not to take a loss. 

When is the best time to buy? When your need, the money, and the item arrive at the same place at the same time. 

8 hours ago, Glenn said:

The overlooked factor in the price of the anvil is the payback. Not many tools will pay for themselves. How long will it take you to make and sell enough product across the face of that anvil to get the purchase price? Today's used anvils can be dated to be 100 years old or more.

You may want to read the thread Anvils, rent to own on the site.

Not sure how to do a "like" on this forum, but if I could "like" on this forum I would--three thumbs up!

I am very much a beginner but I actually thought some day I might actually make this back and the cost is relatively irrelevant as it might pay itself back over time--as I raised my bid card TWICE and purchased two Peter Wright angels at auction earlier today.  One being 152 lbs, the other 13 lbs shy of 200 lbs.  At $525 for the first one and $650 for the second one--no buyer's premium or sales tax, they were both around $3.50 a pound.  I'll take that--all day long!

My thread was actually a devil's advocate sort of post --where are prices today, after having attended a few auctions in or too near New Jersey where the going rate for these pushed or exceeded $6 a pound. 

Did I need a London pattern anvil? No, of course not.  For me, a section of rail would have worked, but it makes me HAPPY and lots of other stuff out there to waste money on without the personal satisfaction.

Pleased to have these.  I had all but given up.

 

29 minutes ago, MrBojangles said:

Pleased to have these.

Now we need pictures or it didn't happen.

Congratulations on your purchase. Do a site search for the proper anvil height, put them on an anvil stump and to work. 

Nothing wrong with putting the two anvils side by side and using both. A challenge for you is to figure out which anvil is better for a particular job.  Does the weight difference matter? Does the shape matter? Let the testing begin (grin)

Photograph and post any markings on the anvils. 

 

24 hours and two anvils, congratulations.

35 minutes ago, Glenn said:

Photograph and post any markings on the anvils. 24 hours and two anvils, congratulations.

Yes of course!

Both say PETER WRIGHT.  The one in the foreground English hundredweight 1 2 19.  One in the background 1 1 12.

Much better than 24 hours.  Forty lots apart, more like half an hour apart.

Photographs not the best...

Wipe the anvil body with ATF automatic transmission fluid. Hammering hot metal on the face will make it shine. When you finish for the day, give the face a light wipe of ATF. No need to do anything more then wipe it with a rag before the next use.

Read the section on anvil stumps and choose a style that you like. Then get to hammering.

I took better images of the markings on these anvils.  Not great photographs but better than the other ones.

One more thing...

Based on these markings, I think the top anvil dates from eighteen 52 to 90 and the bottom one between eighteen 30 and 52. Correct? (Sorry eight key not working).

I need to get a copy of Anvils in America.  Anyone know where to find a copy at a decent price?

Next, a cone anvil and then I can forge.  Actually can forge without the cone anvil but will save my pennies and eventually get one.

Nice work, Ian. It's about time. If you need a hand setting things up, give me a yell. Also, 10/13 is the next  PABA meeting, up in Stroudsburg.  Andrew's shop is always worth a visit if your schedule allows. I can even give you a ride if you're interested.

Steve

Wow!  Thank you.  I might just take you up on that offer.

From my posts on Sunday, is my dating of these two anvils correct?

What is the pricing on a good anvil these days ? Price per pound ?

New or used? 

What location in what country?

 

Used here in Tn seem to be from $4 to $5/pound. 

You want that in Singapore dollars, Canadian Dollars, Pounds, Euros, Pesos?  We have folks participating on this World Wide Web forum from over 150 countries so we can probably dig out a price in Iceland or Finland for you.

Do you know how to tell a good anvil from an ASO that someone thinks is a good anvil?

Have you read this yet?

I live in Indiana USA. Lol sorry to be so vague but I have no clue on most of this stuff . I’ve been reading on how to tell a good anvil from a bad one . I know I don’t “need” one but it would help . Im sure there is a reason everyone has or gets one . 

Well not too too far from you over in southwestern PA, anymore it seems like $2./lb is a good deal. $3-5. Is what some are going for. And above that (depending) I might start suggesting looking into new quality anvils. 

The pricing on a good (or bad) anvil seems to be all over the place lately. What they sell for is up to how badly the buyer wants it. From what I have been seeing just browsing CL for the fun of it, if an anvil is in what looks to be good using condition, it doesn't seem to last long priced up to around $3-4./#, while I constantly see the same anvils listed for $7-10/# if thats any indication.