ChiefLittleBair Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Hello all, another anvil question. This belonged to my great grandpa who was with us from 1919-2001. My dad currently owns it an I convinced him to let me clean it up and see what info I can get from you guys on it. I didn't realise until I took it from his shop and brought it into the daylight that it appears to be a Trenton. You can make out the diamond and the "ENTO" of TRENTON. On the side under the horn there is a very positive "162" followed with some space and what appears to be, but is very faint, a "179598". I assume the 162 is the weight in pounds as that feels right, and the 179598 is the serial number. I've cleaned it up some with a wire wheel and when that's done, I'm wiping it with degreaser and putting a coat of BLO on her. So as I'm sure many of you will be glad to hear, no abrasives are going to touch her lol. If I inherit this beauty, then I may blend the edges a touch I they cause me problems. Anyway, I was wondering if any of you gents could verify my assumptions that it is a Trenton, verify that the 162 stands for the weight in pounds, and that the 179598 is in fact the serial number. If that is the serial number, what would be the year of manufacture? And one more thing... it looks odd with the horn being wider than the face, and the chisel plate being slanted the way it is. Is this common and just a model of Trenton? Thanks in advance guys, Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Yep it's a Trenton and the 162 is the weight as made but might be a little off due to wear and accuracy of scales. I think it is a Farriers style with the side clip being worn down. Someone with a copy of AIA will probably give you a date range of the serial number. It looks to be in excellent shape. BTW: You might want to edit the post and resize the pictures so a moderator doesn't have to do that, only have 30 min. to edit though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefLittleBair Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 Thanks for the info and ya I assumed it was a farriers anvil with a worn clip. My great grandpa did farm with horses and I don't know of a blacksmith shop close by where he lived, so he might have shod his own horses. How do I resize my pics and what should they be resized to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Direwolf Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Hi Keith, you do indeed have a Trenton swelled horn farriers anvil with a modified clip. Date of manufacture 1921. They made several different farriers models with different horns and clips. The swelled horn helped with making different sizes of shoes I am not a farrier but if you want to know more about making shoes there are a number of farriers on the site.I have 4 or 5 like yours and a few other styles I just use them for blacksmithing they are some of the best. Hope you get to put it to use some day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 To resize pictures after you upload them and click on the + to insert them in the post, double click on them and a box pops up showing the size. I usually use 500 on the left width and check the keep the original aspect check box then hit tab for the height and click update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefLittleBair Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 Well guys, a very happy moment in my life just happened. I texted my dad all the info on that anvil and he said with it being so heavy, he would hate for me to have to move it twice so I could keep it. I am beyond stoked to have great grandpa's anvil.... 7 minutes ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said: To resize pictures after you upload them and click on the + to insert them in the post, double click on them and a box pops up showing the size. I usually use 500 on the left width and check the keep the original aspect check box then hit tab for the height and click update. Thanks. I'm too late to edit my post now, but i will keep that in mind the next time I post something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CtG Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Very nice! Looks like you still have useable edge too! Congrats, very nice acquisition! That model looks a bit funny in profile.. the long Trenton horn, but fat too. Still, very very nice! Treat it with the love and respect you would have your Pops and I bet it'll treat you well back and even teach you a few lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 A lot of people don't realize how HUGE draft horse hooves can be; a swell horn would definitely be called for! (Now go make something with it for your Dad!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefLittleBair Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 Thanks guys. Yeah it looks funny, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. Funny how this forging addiction gets to the heart with sentimental stuff like this. I've been bugging my dad about this anvil for the past 5 years or so, and I've been in tears for the past 30 minutes since he told me to keep it. The edges past the hardy are sharp, and various radii throughout the rest, so plenty of edges to work off of. My wife and I just built a house and the plan for this year is to build a timber frame off grid blacksmith shop maybe 10x15 foot or so. Enough room for a forge, anvil, bench with post vise, treadle hammer and not much more. Keeping it small and simple. 10 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said: A lot of people don't realize how HUGE draft horse hooves can be; a swell horn would definitely be called for! (Now go make something with it for your Dad!) My dad bought the old farm off my great grandpa in the 1990s, and we've found quite a few draft horse shoes in the garden with a metal detector. Must have been where great grandpa threw the old shoes out. A sheet of printer paper would probably cover the shoes but not with much to spare... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Great find on the draft horse shoes. I would have to go over the whole place with a metal detector. My place was logged off in the early 1900s for the railroad which runs about a quarter mile of my north property line and an old logging road runs through it part of which is my driveway. Every time I graded the drive in the early years, I turned up all sorts of things like axe heads, horse shoes, wagon parts a lot of it is wrought iron. I may try metal detecting now that I'm retired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefLittleBair Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 You better believe we detect he shot out of that place lol. Dad found some early aerial photos of the homestead and it looks like the front yard used to be all gravel with hitching posts, later unfilled with dirt. A project we want to do is rip the unfilled dirt back down to the gravel and see what we can find about a foot down. I've found shoes, axes, felling/splitting wedges, and all sorts of farm equipment. Most of which was wrought. My brother found an old worn out double bit ax that was wrought with welded hc bits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefLittleBair Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 Also, does anyone know anything about the extreme angle of the chisel plate? Is thus a normal thing in Trenton farriers anvils? I've done some Google searching and found Trenton with sloped chisel plates but nothing as extreme as what this anvil has... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benona blacksmith Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 14 hours ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said: You might want to edit the post and resize the pictures so a moderator doesn't have to do that, only have 30 min. to edit though. There is a setting within the forum that will automatically store the pictures a certain size!!! Maybe one of the mods can find it and set it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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