Hey all, 

I found this anvil for sale and I want to hear thoughts from more experienced smiths before I make any moves on it. It's 105 pounds and has no markings on it to identity it and the face has been milled and polished (kind of taboo it seems on something this old, right?). The seller advertises it as a late 1700s colonial style anvil and is asking $350. Is this description accurate and price good? I've never owned an actual anvil before, I've been using RR track. That said, how will the flat horn impact or limit what I can work/make, if at all? I pretty new but I do more blacksmithing then bladesmithing if that matters much. Also is there anything else I should look at if I decide to go after this one? Besides the standard damage survey, check rebound, sound and face sway of course. 

Thanks and reagrds!

 

(If the owner is on here and sees this, please take no offense to this post, none is intended. I mean zero disrecpect or doubt in what you have listed. I wish to become better educated on the subject so I can better make choices.)

 

I would personally pass at $350 I believe you can find something better. I believe I have seen photos of that anvil and it’s been available for a while. 

Any particular reason you would pass on it at that price? What do you think it's worth? I think I should note there's an anvil hoarder in my part of the world who controls the market completely. Stuff competely mutliated is at $4-5/lbs anything serviceable is pushing is in the $7-8 lbs range for him. 

It looks nice enough, bigger than any rail. A ball bearing or ball pein hammer test will help in testing the face. Assuming it has decent rebound,  only you can say if $3.50 per pound is acceptable. 

Anvil hoarder ... we have one in Western Australia.

Where is home for you? 

I don't like that anvil. You can do the same on a similar size  cube or prism block of steel. Check you local steel merchant.

Unless it is truly 1700 and you place value on that, minus the milling. 

I would not be at all surprised if the steel face has been completely milled from the anvil, the flat top of the bic makes me think a lot has been removed.

 

I agree with basher. I imagine you are looking at a wrought iron base and nothing more. You would be money ahead with mild steel. If you would like the features of a anvil and not just a heavier work surface there are several modern options that would suite you well. Locally there is Holland Anvils in Michigan. They are a member here. They make a nice product out of H13 steel for a good price. There all also several companies that have been making good anvils out of ductile iron and various steels for years that are affordable. Some names to look up would be TFS and Emerson. With prices for used up anvils what they are today I would not hesitate to buy a new one if I planned on using it. If you are set on colonial Jymm Hoffman sells a 100 pounder similar to above for about $8 a pound.

Lots of replies overnight, thanks everyone! 

Sounds like a pretty strong consensus that the milling may have done more harm then good to its usefulness and it's value. 

Question still stands tho, is it worth going and taking a look at? It's about an hours drive. If it's from the 1700s that would be kind of cool since I've never owned anything aside from coins that old but I'm not hung up on that. It's weight, having a hardy hole, a horn and it's price is what I like but if there's no good working steel left then none of that matters much. 

Agree with Basher and marcusb: there’s no way an anvil that old would have a face that clean without milling.

As for making the trip, if you have the hour to spare, why not? At very least, you get the experience of seeing and being better able to identify an unacceptable anvil. 

Just know that it probably doesn't have any of it's hardened steel face left on it. Here's a photo of approximately what it would look like if it hadn't been milled:

*Not my image, I just found it on google* Looking at this photo, and then the one being sold, I think a lot of material has been milled away.

Still might be fun to go look at it if you want, maybe the guy selling it will have something else you are interested in.

If it's been milled it's a pass at any price higher than scrap. It's now just another example of someone ruining a tool by "restoring or repairing" something they know nothing about. It doesn't even have much value as a collector item and zero as an antique. 

I'd maybe offer $20 if I was feeling generous, after giving the fool who ruined it a solid chewing out.

Make an anvil, there are lots of how tos on Iforge and keep looking if you really want a London pattern.

Frosty The Lucky.

Well I went to pull up a photo of the other side of it and discovered it was marked sold within the last few hours. Id say that's unlucky but from the feedback I feel like I didn't miss out on much. I hope that it's not dead weight and that whoever bought it has a working anvil that will be around another 200+ years but from this thread I find that doubtful. 

 

Thanks for all the input, I'll keep my eyes peeled for another. If anyone has a lead on something 100 pounds or more in South Michigan or neighboring states please pass it along. I'm trying to stay at or under $4/lbs. 

There are lots of options for low-cost anvils that will give you great functionality without breaking the bank. Take a look at the Improvised Anvils thread:

Also, welcome to IFI! If you haven't yet, please READ THIS FIRST!!!

You missed out on buying an expensive door stopper.

If you were willing to pay $350 for a 100 lb anvil, buy a new farrier anvil and you have a usable tool without having to scavenge. You will have it delivered to your door. 

15 hours ago, cdubb79w said:

my part of the world

Where would that be? Hence the suggestion to edit your profile to show location. I agree with everyone else that anvil is not worth much.

BTW... welcome to IFI, this thread will help you get the best out of the forum. https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/53873-read-this-first/

 

-Well; last September there were over 100 anvils for sale at the Quad-State Blacksmiths Round-Up in Troy OH, Just north of Dayton OH.

The IBA conference will be next June just north of Indianapolis IN IIRC.  What did the local blacksmithing group suggest?

The internet is generally one of the more expensive places to look for an anvil as you are trying to buy from people trying to MAKE MONEY selling them.  You might look into using the TPAAAT to find anvils not being used as a profit center.

Milling an anvil face is like taking a Old Masters Painting and scraping off all the paint till you get to nice clean canvas and then wanting to sell at a premium as you have cleaned off all that old paint and varnish.

When I run into such gratuitous destruction I try to pound the lesson home by *never* accusing the current owner of having ruined the item; instead I commiserate with them about how it had been worth hundreds of dollars more till the owner before them had ruined it by milling/grinding/welding the original face.  If you call them an idiot you just set their back up.  If you explain how what was done hit them in the wallet by hundreds of dollars the lesson sinks deeper!