PintoBlades Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 Good morning CGL, Yeah maybe it wasn't meant to be. I still haven't heard back from him, so I'm pressing on with my searching. I'll look at the Emerson anvils again since you like yours. As for NC anvils....a soft horn wouldn't matter to much to me since I'll be forging knives mostly on the face. What do you think about the horn on your Emerson? Does it seem to be hardened also? The Traditional would be my choice too. I definitely won't be shoeing any horses, but I might try making some things like yourself as gifts occasionally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 A lot of anvils have softer horns. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 All my old built up anvils have a soft WI horn on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PintoBlades Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 I see, so that's pretty normal then? Thomas do you think a 100 lb NC anvil would do okay for just knife forging? Their prices seem to be fair enough. Crazy Goat Lady also likes her Emerson. Maybe one of these two or a TFS might do well for me? Thanks also to PNUT. I guess I'll expect the horns to be fairly soft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 You want as large of a sweet spot as possible. I would not want to do a lot of large blade work on an anvil that small but it can be done---look at that video of the kukri maker that's using a sledge hammer head as his anvil. I'm just lazy I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PintoBlades Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 Thanks Thomas, yes I think I saw that video. If I'm not mistaken, after he forged the basic profile, he then used a hand grinder to grind in the bevels. Pretty impressive what he did with minimal tools. TFS has a 150 lb for $784, not sure what their shipping cost is, I'll have to call them to find out. The review I saw on this anvil was very positive with a nice ring down the length of the face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted October 31, 2019 Share Posted October 31, 2019 I do a lot of drawing and tapering on the horn as well as rounding and bending. Opening up bottle openers. The horn seems to be on par with the rest of the anvil. Probably because it's one solid piece of cast steel. Someone correct me if I'm wrong about that assumption. Keep in mind, I haven't worked on many types of anvils, but I like this one. It has some little dots on it in places, for lack of a better term. But no major blemishes anywhere. That TFS may be something to consider for you. 45 lbs heavier and with the shipping, probably about the same as my 105. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PintoBlades Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 HI CGL, Didn't here this message come in from you today. Here's my update: The guy with the Peter Wright anvil made contact with me this afternoon and said he still had the anvil. He liked the looks of my gun and wanted to research it some tonight. He said he would probably call tomorrow and let me know if we can deal. If not, I'm going to go with the TFS or a Kanca 110 lb. I spoke with the lady at Centaur today and she told me the Kanca's are drop forged with c45 steel and tempered to 54 to 62 HRC. She said they will last for ever. And the one I liked was the two horn blacksmith model. It has the cone horn and a tapered face horn with gives you lots of room on the face. Of course it has a 7/8 hardy hole and a pritcher hole. For knife making and a few gift items, I think it would work okay for me. So at this point, I have a forge coming from one of two places. A huge one, or a smaller one but one that will do some moderate work. Wish me luck! TFS Shipping on the 150# would be $100. Comes out close to the same if I got it from Centaur. I think Texas Farrier Supply would be slightly less at my door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 Hmm well if he doesn't come through, it sounds like you got it figured. I had an e mail from centaur and it said that the Kanca anvils were 10% off. I don't know if that is still good or if it applies to the particular anvil your looking at. Be sure to check though if you go with that one. There are reviews about Kancas here on the site. What kind of forge? Gas or solid fuel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PintoBlades Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 Yeah she said the Kancas are really nice. They do have one that I like. My forge.....I use a two burner propane forge. It's no huge but it's open on both sides and I can close the back of it with a fire brick if need be. I like it for knives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 49 minutes ago, PintoBlades said: So at this point, I have a forge coming from one of two places. A huge one, or a smaller one but one that will do some moderate work. Haha I guess you meant to say anvil instead of forge! That's why I asked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PintoBlades Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 LOL You're right, I meant to say anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 That's alright! I use a gas forge, but I'm wanting to go back to solid fuel. Gas is easier, but hard to control it when you only want to heat a small area. Plus, it limits you on the size of what you can put in it. I suppose blades don't have that problem except in length. If I can ever swing it, I'm building another JABOD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PintoBlades Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 Yeah it does have it's limits. I've used a small solid fuel forge before and I was pretty cool. And as you say, you have more control of what part of the metal your heating up. I saw that real quick when I watched a video of a guy making a steel riveted seat for a cemetery. He was able to control what part gets heated with much more control. He was using some large pieces of steel too! Interesting. I learn a lot from people on YouTube and this forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 I combat that with a water bottle with a spout on it if I need a more controlled area. I don't really like doing that, but if the need arises, I will. I don't like quenching if I don't have to. In a gas forge, it seems to leave more of that red oxide on it than if I don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PintoBlades Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 That's a good idea! I'll have to keep that tip in mind. Maybe for some of my larger knives. What kind of mount did you put your anvil on? Tree stump? DIY stand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 DIY. My husband and son built it. They used pallet strapping and some milled walnut and angle iron for legs for the outside shell and filled it with sand. Then welded on some pieces of flat angle they cut for some feet. Little extra stability. I'll try to remember a picture. Or you can look at My New Emerson 100# Traditional Arrived Today. I don't know how to send you to it. I'm technologically impaired.... I would have been fine with a stump, but he wanted something nice for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PintoBlades Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 That sounds like it really came out nice! Especially with walnut in it. Does it work well with the sand in it? I've seen some guys do that with the sand. Seems like it would work pretty good, and add some more weight to your anvil set up. If you would like to send a picture, you can send it to my email: pintoblades@yahoo.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 It does. And it isn't loud with sand under it. Cast steel anvils will knock your eardrums out. It's mounted on the base plate that fits around the legs. Caulking in between. I can send you one or you can look under Anvil Reviews By Brand. I remembered where it was. Sorry I'm not more savvy about those kind of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PintoBlades Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 Sure send me one or two, whatever you got. I know I'll be building some version soon too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 I was just looking over there...it ain't near as pretty as it was then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PintoBlades Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 Awww it just character now. Shows you're having fun with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnut Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 You know if a jabod is too small for what you usually do you can always make one larger with more than one tuyere like a Japanese forge. Pnut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyGoatLady Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 I still have to build another one. We had one when I first started. But it wasn't that great. I have a lot more knowledge than I did then so this one will be better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PintoBlades Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 I'm not sure if I know what a Jabod looks like. The solid forge was the first thing I built when I started with knives. It was made from a car drum with a pipe under it to pipe in a blow dryer. Three speeds, High, Med, and Low. My wife donated the blow dryer! lol I was using wood coal for fuel. It worked okay but it was definitely a back yard forge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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