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NC-Tool Knifemaker Anvil


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I have a much harder time handing over my hard won cash versus trading for something. I don't think I could give two thousand dollars for it but something worth two thousand dollars I'd have no problem trading off. I've always been that way though. It seems like money is harder to come by than stuff. I've had about two thousand dollars for a car for about three or four months and I've been walking to work and back because I can't find anything I think is worth what they're asking. What I'm trying to say is cash has the potential to be anything but a thing is just a thing. I definitely prefer horse trading.

Good luck with the anvil and remember it's supposed to be fun. If you start to get frustrated put down the hammer and do something else for a while. It'd be terrible to get stressed by the things that are supposed to bring you happiness.

Pnut

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PW anvils are good, but certainly not a rarity. Probably the most common old anvil around. They are great to work on. I have a 275# and a 450#, both veterans of many hand to hand encounters. 

As for your barter ...from your story i can sense some eagerness from the anvil owner's side. Can you offer the 'other' gun instead of the nice one?  

Does not harm to try. What sort of gun is it that costs that much? 

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I certainly will CrazyGoatLady, very nice talking and meeting you and Pnut.  Have a great evening/sleep, and I will be dreaming of that anvil!  Talk to you both soon!

Yes Pnut, I'm the same way, I always have stuff but never enough cash!  I hope he likes the gun and I can get that big heavy anvil to my backyard patio!  I'll keep you guys informed on how it goes.  I did see a cheeper one about the same size but I could tell the face was no longer straight.  Someone must have had a big hammer on that sucker!   

2 hours ago, Marc1 said:

As for your barter ...from your story i can sense some eagerness from the anvil owner's side. Can you offer the 'other' gun instead of the nice one?  Does not harm to try. What sort of gun is it that costs that much? 

Hi Marc.  The gun is an Russian made Kalashnikov SGL-21 7.62 x39 with a lighted scope and picatinny rail that can be removed and then replaced while the scope remains zeroed in.  It is completely Russian made with matching serial numbers from the Russian factory.  They sent it to KVAR in Las vegas to have the barrel chrome lined and then sent to me.  Obama banned the import of all Russian made AK-47s so this particular model is no longer available because of the ban, the value has gone up tremendously since the ban.   I've only shot it once and put the scope on it so its basically brand new.  Still needs to be sighted in.  I love the gun but it sits in the safe.  Arsenal was also working with KVAR on these Russian made Kalashnikov.  Very hard to find one now.   Who knows how high the value will go.  They are superior to any other European AK-47.  I purchased mine just before the ban by Obama.  I don't think he will like the older one compared to this new one.  It's pristine shape.  But I could try!

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Nice gun, but not very practical for civilian life. Get a 6.5 Swedish Mauser if you like historical guns and try your hand a long distance shooting. 

For resale and collector value, I wouldn't know, but it seems your gun is worth more than the PW. It certainly is more rare. 

Your decision I suppose. I still would offer the other Ak. May be throw in something else you have kicking around, like an old hammer and a bag of coal :)

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I'll see what I can do when he comes down Marc.  I would definitely prefer he take the older one and maybe something else I might have.  I'll do my best at bartering.  I'll let you know how it goes :)    If you know anyone else selling a decent anvil, you might mention I'm in the market.   Thanks for the suggestions too my friend!  Hope to have some pictures for you all to see tomorrow if he comes down like he said he would.  

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There's still some NOS surplus Springfields and M-1's available  if you are interested in long distance shooting. The 1903's are better than the M-1'S without any modifications but I've seen some great long distance M-1 mods. I love long distance shooting. Nothing beats waiting to hear if you scored. You can dump a lot of time and money into L.D.S. with reloading equipment and everything else involved. It can take over if you let it.

Pnut

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Oh Yes, I totally agree with you pnut.  I have a friend up in Vermont, he was a sniper in Afghanistan before he took a bullet in the shoulder.  He's is so hooked on so many guns he had to build a reinforced room onto his house to store his huge collection of guns.  The M-1 is one of his favorites!   Maybe I can get one in the future, it would be nice to have in my collection!  He highly recommended it too.   He reloads like crazy as well.  I would be interested to know just how much money he has tied up in his gun collection.  I think he could arm a small army with what he has.  He was a competition shooter before the army and was the main reason they sent him to sniper school.   Interesting fella too.   His day job is mining white marble in the mountains of Vermont and a side job of cutting trees down for firewood for the locals.   

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 You can get em through the NRA civilian marksmanship program. They're running out though. I wouldn't wait too long. I think they were about 600$ last time I checked. No small amount of money but not a fortune either. The quality is variable though. Some are new some have seen active duty and were refurbished. I got lucky I guess and got a tack driver.

Pnut

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It all comes down to what the anvil is worth to *you*.   Unless you are a beast you will not be easily moving a 350 lb. anvil around much.  If you need a mobile anvil that's a negative for the anvil.  If you have a spot in the shop where it will park for the foreseeable future then it goes in the other column.  I've done most of my (hobby) forging on anvils around 125 lbs plus or minus a little and only on rare occasions have I wished for a larger anvil.

At $5.70+ per pound that's on the upper end of reasonable prices for used anvils.  Much more and you'd want to start looking at a brand new cast steel anvil instead - but I'm guessing they won't trade for firearms.

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Two thousand for a 300 lb. anvil is pretty steep if you don't live in Alaska. While 77lbs. is kind of light for a shop anvil and you'll probably want heavier as your skills grow, 300 lbs. is more than you'll likely ever need. Something in the 120 - 200 range is a good working weight. I have a pair, a 125lb. Soderfors and a 206 Trenton and the Soderfors is my main go to anvil. It's also light enough I can load it in the pickup or SUV without the engine hoist. A 300lb. would live in one spot on the shop floor and I like moving my anvil as I work. That's just me though.

You can buy a new cast steel anvil in a more practical working weight for under 2k with shipping. 

Anvil price is what they sell for, NOT what's asked. I'm not familiar with NM prices but Thomas should be showing up soon, he's moving so he's in and out.

Frosty The Lucky.

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Pinto blades, something else to consider, "value" on imported assault style firearm is a crap shoot in the long run, you're relying on political whim.  It might be valuable right now because of the ban, but what happens when that ban expires (if it does) or gets overturned?  I've been down that road in years past, even so far as losing a Russian made AK because the ATF forced a recall on a certain batch claiming they were "too easy to make fully auto."  I've forgotten the exact details and the letter from the ATF is packed away somewhere.  The importer promised over a period of several years that I'd get a refund or a new rifle...I never got either, but the point is, even the Clinton "assault rifle ban" expired and all of those pricey pre-ban parts suddenly got cheap again. 

I guess what I'm saying is, keeping the firearms is gambling the value will hold on them, the anvil isn't a gamble (although as Buzzkill mentions, the asking price is on the upper end)...but, it'll be in your shop for as long as you ever want it.

Personal opinion, I'd try to negotiate the deal for the other rifle and not think twice about it.

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That's a pretty stout investment for something you are new to. I'd definitely not even mention the good gun unless there is no chance whatever of trading off the other.  Like most haggling it's not a good idea to let the other side know your "top dollar" at the start. I have a friend who used to go to the fleamarket with a US$20 in one pocket a $50 in another and a $100 in a third so he could drag out the appropriate bill and say "this is all I got..."

You definitely need to do the ring test and the ball bearing test.  Peter Wright is a good brand; but even a good brand anvil could have been in a fire; or have a manufacturing issue---I have a base to a PW that had the waist forge weld fail!

As to it moving; I had to put in a handful of fence staples to "corral" my 469# Fisher as it would creep under heavy sledging.  I also had a 199# anvil stolen once.

Now for clean up: a wire brush on an angle grinder will do all you need before pounding hot steel on it. Remember PPE!  Rust and flung wires are NOT fun to have removed from you especially your eyes and lungs! If you want to after a wire brushing; you can wipe over it with BLO, boiled linseed oil, or even paint it if you must. The face shouldn't need it if you use it often.

I personally don't think the current used anvil prices are going to last. I think we are in a bubble blown by FinF and there will be a bunch of anvils found in the backs of peoples garages in a decade or two. However in the mean time...anything you make using that anvil is paying down it's "starting cost" and you will love working on a large anvil over a small (under 100#) one.

OTOH 150# anvil was considered a proper commercial smithy sized anvil and the larger ones were mainly to shops doing heavy "industrial" work.  Nowadays we suffer terribly from anvil envy; I have a friend in Las Cruces with a 750#? West that puts a twist in my bib overalls straps every time I see it...

"Go not to the Elves for counsel for they will answer both no and yes."

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Thank you to all who chimed in on this possible trade, everyone had some great points for me to consider.  I just woke up and caught up on the comments.  LOL my wife had to finally drag me to bed last night before I was up to see the sunrise!   Anyhow, all good points about both the anvil and the gun.  I definitely have some thinking to do today about this big heavy anvil.  I know if I get it, It will pretty much have a permanent home.  I'll keep everyone updated as to what happens with the trade....or doesn't happen.  Hah.  I live in a rural area of New Mexico.  I've been here since 1984 and the only anvil I've seen anyone own was a farrier's anvill, and I think he made it himself to be mobile.  I did contact him to see if still had one but he said it was in his barn and wold have to find it.  I just got a feeling it's the same one he used years ago.  I don't know what the weight of it is, but I know he was always mobile with it.  I can't even remember what it looked like.  Maybe he will call soon when he finds it, but I doubt it's very heavy or even looks like an anvil.  I'm about to make contact with the gentlemen with the PW again shortly.   He wanted me to send some pictures of the gun I planned to trade.  And yes, it's very possible the value could drop on those guns depending on the political atmosphere we are dealing with.   Ho Hum, decisions, decisions.   I'll keep you all informed!  Thomas, do you ever do classes in Las Cruces?  

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I used to teach some in La Union NM, AKA El Paso Lite, when I lived there;  but It's a long way to haul stuff now and need a place to set up.  Especially as there are a number of  smiths in Las Cruces already. I'd ask Pep if he knows anyone teaching locally. I'm teaching a class Sunday; but it's an adjunct to a Fine Arts Metals class at NMT.

As to what an anvil looks like: a basic cube-ish chunk of metal has been used for an anvil around 10 times longer than the london pattern anvil has and over a much larger portion of the world to boot; so which "looks like an anvil" ?

Fred Moore in Mountainair had over 600 anvils last time I checked, he would sell but at a pretty penny back then. I don't know about now.

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Hi CGL, well I sent the pictures of my gun that he asked for, but now he's not responding at all.  I'm thinking maybe someone bought it from him and he doesn't want to disappoint me.   I'm looking at some new anvils now and have no ideal about the quality of some of these new USA made anvils.  I'll go for a 100 to 125 pounds if I can find one with a good reputation.  Someone reviewed the NC brand Calvary anvil and they liked the face, but they said the horn was junk as it gouged and marked up way to easy with hot steel shaped on it.  One guy on YouTube said he really liked his 108 lb TFS brand anvil.    I'm open to suggestions on these new ones.   People want way to much for used anvils that are all beat up with lousy edges and warped faces.  

Correction, the TFS brand anvil reviewed on YouTube was 150 lbs.  

I could get the 100 lb TFS brand for $569 plus $11.00 for shipping.  

Anvil brand has 120 lb one they seem to be proud of and state it's used in forging competitions and farrier schools.  I wonder if their horn is hardened as well.  Pirice - $683.

 

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Hmm maybe something came up that he can't get back to you yet. Maybe it's just not meant to be. But there are plenty of other anvils in the sea...

I bought my anvil new because I decided I wasn't handing over that much for something just because it's an anvil, or old, or vintage or however they wanted to talk it up. I researched a lot. Including the ones you mentioned above. I don't remember which ones exactly they are, but some are ductile iron ( or maybe all of those). Don't remember details about that now either. But we scraped up enough cash and after much research I decided on the Emerson traditional 100 # because I felt like it was the best cast steel anvil I could afford. There are new cast steel anvils that are better quality, but not in my price range. And it actually weighed 105lbs. so a little bonus weight. Of the ones you mentioned above, I gravitated towards the NC cavalry because it has a nice big face on it. Too bad the horn worked out like that. Maybe that guy is just delayed in getting back to you

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