Zozon Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 As I said earlier, Austrian pattern anvils are the most common in my country "JEB" anvils are among the best or maybe the best of them. They are cast steel with elegant shape, three step-base, church windows on the left side, round horn and a hill gathered in a piece of art well known as a Johann Elias Bleckmann anvil. On the left side they have a symbol of two two phoenixes and a JEB mark. On the first step of the base they have serial number, below the horn they have weight stamp in kg and a letter what, I personally believe, is a signature of the man who made that anvil. I don't know when they stopped to produce them but it is possible to find some of them in excellent shape even now. Here are photos of my first JEB anvil, 80 kg, 176 lbs, still in original condition, I didn't want to clean it because paint look very old. That's it, I hope you'll like photos and this short story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benona blacksmith Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 I'm 100% sure your anvils isnt cast steel. Based on the handling holes and the weld line just below the edge of the face it is a forged anvil for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammerHeart Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 He is right it's not 100% cast steel. Wrought is more like it : ) no reason not to put some steel on top of her. I'd love to have that anvil in my shop! A wire wheel, some hot iron, with alittle arm and hammer added. Aha! Beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zozon Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 On 2/7/2020 at 5:56 PM, Benona blacksmith said: I'm 100% sure your anvils isnt cast steel. Based on the handling holes and the weld line just below the edge of the face it is a forged anvil for sure. This should be a cast anvil with forge welded top plate. It would be almost impossible to forge all the details on anvil this shape, if you take a closer look whole anvil is very smooth, no signs of hammer hit. Take a look at this 36 kg JEB and a 140 kg forged Söding und Halbach, the difference is obvious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benona blacksmith Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Considering there is no casting mold line and I can pick out several weld lines at different parts of the anvil. How about a picture under the base. That's where you will really see the weld lines. They had a tendency to not dress the weld lines as neatly on the bottom of the anvil. I forgot to mention all the markings are punched in and not protruding like a casting would be. I know casting can make a recessed mark but these do not look like them. Maybe techniciousjoe can explain it better than I. Not sure how to direct his attention to the topic though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Did no one even read the OP? It is CAST! The smooth transitions on the stepped legs and church windows tell you that, the heavy support for the horn and heel, as well as the surface finish. Yes, you can use heavy punches under a power hammer or press to make impressions in cast steel while it is still hot from the mold, and they can't be ground away. No, it is not a cheap, shoddy mis-matched casting like an ASO from a bootleg foundry, it came from a state-of-the-art facility for it's day. The handling holes are there for grinding the surface plate, also common on Swedish cast anvils. I would still like to see the bottom of the anvil, to see if there are remnants of a sprue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 I did I did! I read it John! The random guesses from beginners just got ahead of me. That's a BEAUTIFUL cast STEEL anvil, Zozon, I'd LOVE an opportunity to try one out and compare to my Soderfors. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zozon Posted March 14, 2020 Author Share Posted March 14, 2020 Hi guys, sorry I am late with my answer. I took photos of of three anvils bottom, first is 140 kg/ 308 Lbs S&H forged anvil, second is 91.5 kg/ 202 lbs Skoda third is 80 kg/ 176 lbs JEB. You can see welding lines on S&H very smooth and flat surface on Skoda and some holes on JEB. On the final photo you can see them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benona blacksmith Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 On 3/11/2020 at 10:15 PM, Frosty said: The random guesses from beginners just got ahead of me. What make you think I'm a beginner frosty!?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benona blacksmith Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 On 3/9/2020 at 7:10 PM, Zozon said: It would be almost impossible to forge all the details on anvil this shape They were forging this shape way before casting them!!! I can find photos of forged ones If you would like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Must've been an impression got from something you said but I've been wrong before. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Well it looks cast to me.. I've seen in the olden days where they cast the faces or flat surfaces wider and then ground them back so there is a spot that looks like a faceplate.. I'm not a casting expert but always thought it was for some sort of chill block or for holding cores in place or simply so there would be more metal there for good corners (castings can sometimes be wonky in the corners).. I think it has a lot to do with the MFG methods. It looks cast to me even before seeing this latest photos.. There were a bunch of cutting edge factories and many shops really were setting pace compared to others but in for labor savings or the ability to produce more for a given time frame. So, I think it looks cast too. We today don't really comprehend what was truly done and what was truly capable by hand labor.. I'm envious of the European countries as they really have a larger selection of big anvils. Also the level of smithing was just so much more industrialized for such a long time. finding a 600 or 700 lb anvil here in the USA or a vise that weighs 400lbs is so rare.. Anvils over 500lbs are pretty rare. Just no call for them here. by the way this is super interesting.. Thanks Zozan for sharing the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zozon Posted March 24, 2020 Author Share Posted March 24, 2020 On 3/23/2020 at 3:43 AM, Benona blacksmith said: They were forging this shape way before casting them!!! I can find photos of forged ones If you would like? Sure, I would like to see them Benona blacksmith. On 3/23/2020 at 1:21 PM, jlpservicesinc said: by the way this is super interesting.. Thanks Zozan for sharing the info. You are welcome jlpservicesinc :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benona blacksmith Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 Here is one of them. I will add more as I find them again. 3 hours ago, Zozon said: Sure, I would like to see them Benona blacksmith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dororo Posted August 3, 2021 Share Posted August 3, 2021 Little One...43 Kg/94 Lb, no marking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zozon Posted November 9, 2021 Author Share Posted November 9, 2021 (edited) Looks very old, I'd like to know who made it ... Edited November 10, 2021 by Mod30 Remove excessive quote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zozon Posted June 6, 2022 Author Share Posted June 6, 2022 Today I was lucky enough to catch one more JEB anvil. 132 kg/290 lbs! Very good shape, great rebound and million chisel marks. This time it was in my neighborhood and I did not have to drive thousand miles :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now