Belknap anvil- more information

[Evergreen_Forge_Works]

I recently purchased a Belknap anvil, 110lbs. I was hesitant to buy it because I couldn't find much info on their anvils. Fortunately it has turned out to be a pretty good anvil. I was wondering if anybody had any info on Belknap anvil, especially a date for the anvil's year of manufacturing. I did what research I could and found a 1917 catalog from Belknap but found the markings on my anvil to be different from the catalog and the company's logo in later years. Anyways, I appreciate any info.

[pnut]

Sorry I can't help, but there's members who can tell you exactly what you have. It may have been made by another company and liscensed by Belknap tools. Many tool companies did this. Making an anvil is somewhat specialized and a lot of companies didn't make the anvil themselves. 

You also will want to put your general location in your profile. Many questions are location dependent and you might be surprised to find some members close to you. I put northern Kentucky in my profile. You need not use an exact location. Just a general area. Welcome aboard and remember it's supposed to be fun.

Pnut

 

[Evergreen_Forge_Works]

Thank you for the advice! I'll put my location up. And thanks for the greeting

Edited October 3, 2019 by Mod34
Excessive quoting

[rustyanchor]

AIA says your Belknap was made by Columbus Anvil and Forgings Company (Arm and Hammer), their should be a S/N on the foot under the horn, with that you can get a manufacture date

Nice anvil from an excellent maker. 

[Black Frog]

Incorrect, Belknap was made by several anvil makers, A&H being the main one.  (several incorrect items in AIA...)

Yours is a Soderfors, made in Sweden.  You can see the casting line going up the center of the anvil below the horn and heel.

[Evergreen_Forge_Works]

When you say cast, do you mean cast iron or cast steel? The anvil has quite a loud, almost deafening ring so I assumed it was not cast iron.

Edited October 3, 2019 by Mod34
Excessive quoting

[JHCC]

Cast steel, which is notoriously loud. Dampen the ring (magnet under the tail, bedded on the stand with silicone caulk) and wear hearing protection.

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

[Evergreen_Forge_Works]

If there isn't an s/n on the front feet or under the horn, could it be somewhere else on the anvil?

[rustyanchor]

BF: I stand corrected, do you have the rough dates Soderfors made the anvils, and when A&H made them?

EFW- Some anvils don't have S/Ns, I cannot find a S/N on my Mousehole, but can get a rough date by the makers markings.

 

 

[Black Frog]

No serial # on Soderfors, all cast steel, top notch anvil and one of the best.

I don't know the dates for Soderfors making them for Belknap, but I'm guessing early 1900's.

There may be a year date on the Soderfors somwhere, many times they stamped it

[Evergreen_Forge_Works]

Thank you everyone for the responses. I'm very excited about the information that you all provided

[maple smith]

Did you weigh the anvil? Many older anvils used a weight code. 110 might be 1 hundredweight (112#) + 1/4 hundred weight (28#) +o pounds. Thus 110 might be 140#.

[Evergreen_Forge_Works]

MS- I haven't weighed it. Because its an American brand anvil, I assumed it's used pounds instead of hundredweight. But we are mounting it today, so I'll weigh it first 

BF - I haven't been able to find a date. I haven't found any markings other than the one I posted. I might need to clean it up some and see if I can find a date.

[ThomasPowers]

Yes it should be straight US pounds for that anvil. (+/- slight variation)

M.S.  Are the maples up to forging temps---a nice clear red?  Everything is still pretty green down here.