smaue Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 Hello. I recently started blacksmithing and got this old anvil from my dad. He has no idea where its from or how old it is. As far as I can see there are no markings on it other than the anchor stamping on the front foot. It weighs about 50 kgs. Does anyone have any idea of its origin and age? I have searched the forum but cannot find any similar ones, but I have seen some english ones from the 1800s that resembles it a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 England, most likely pre 1830 since it's missing the pritchel hole, weight 1 0 0(?) would be 112 pounds; Postman says that the anchor symbol was sometimes found on the foot of Peter Wright anvils and that is what I would "guess" it was. Note: stamped weight is often a few pounds off from modern calibrated scale weight... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smaue Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 Thomas Powers, thank you for answering! Do you have any idea why its "leaning"? The back is quite a bit lower than the tip of the horn. Most anvils I have seen is totalt parallel to the ground.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 Made by hand under open die steam hammers and with teams of strikers using sledges. Many anvils have a lean, especially the older ones. You can build a stump to level the face out. DO NOT TRY TO MILL THE FACE LEVEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The stump it is one is quite interesting too; looks to be dovetailed pieces of wood. Was it originally glued as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smaue Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 Thomas Powers, The induvidual pieces are not glued together, but interlinked with eachother in a way that keeps them all together, but if i hammer hard on one piece it will slide out a bit. It has a plack on the side with the name "Meesenburg" which is an old German company, but i have no idea how old it is. I've always thought it was an old butchers block. I wonder what wood its made of, because itsreally really heavy! Much heavier than the anvil! And, also, message recieved, I will not mill the surface! haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 Interesting to note the absence of a step between the horn and the face. If this were a later model, I would say that this makes it a “Birmingham pattern” anvil rather than a “London pattern”. However, since this does appear to be from a slightly earlier period, that distinction may not yet have crystallized when this anvil was made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paragon Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 That block is awesome. Dovetails for sure. The precision to get them closely packed and all interlocking.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kj.S Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Hi all, not sure if the photo worked but trying to identify my anvil. Any help would be appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 Nope the picture did not work. 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.