150 lb vulcan or 120 lb fisher?

[Tokum]

All things being the same, quality, condition, stand, placement, barometric pressure,  etc ,,,, should i go with 120 lb fisher or slightly bigger 150 lb vulcan? I apologize if this topic has been discussed but I cant find it if it's already been discussed. I did a rebound test with ball bearing and as expected,  the fisher has higher rebound. Im naturally a newbie and will be focusing on knives for a bit. Thank you 

[Frazer]

Would you happen to have any pictures of the two? You might receive more input if one can see what you're looking at. Or at the least, more informed input.

This is a bit like saying you have a Toyota Camry and a Honda Civic that appear to have about the same mileage, but one gets better miles per gallon. Which should I buy?

[swedefiddle]

Good Morning,

I would purchase the one that you can afford. If you can afford both, purchase both. When you figure which one you like more, you have a chattel ready to rebuild your bank account, when you sell which one you decide you don't kneed. Want and Need are different. They both will do almost the same job, almost.

Neil

[Tokum]

Thank you for the feedback.  They were both within my budget and virtually the same price.  I went ahead and picked up both figuring  ( or hoping) I could just sell the one I don't use. Here are some pics.  First 2 or 3 will be the vulcan,  then the fisher. The pic of them both misleading as the vulcan is on top of brick half wall & the fisher on the floor, i didn't take a good side by side pic yet. 

[Frazer]

Thanks for the pictures. The face and edges of the Fisher look to be in much better condition than the Vulcan. I'm guessing the edges on the Vulcan chipped so much due to them being so sharp. Not a deal breaker by any means, there is still plenty of good edge there to work with, but if you were to go with that one you may want to add a little bit more of a radius on there. Both to reduce the potential for chipping and because a radiused corner is useful for some knives. An integral bolster for example. 

Looks like both have been cleaned up with a flapper disc or something similar, not a huge deal, but I have read that Vulcans have a thinner top plate than anvils from other makers, but it doesn't look like they went too crazy with the grinding.

For my money I would probably go with the Fisher for  a couple reasons. One, the face is much smoother, those dings on the face of the Vulcan will be translate over to your knives and lead to extra grinding time to remove them.  Two, the edges are in better shape and won't need to be cleaned up. Three, it has better rebound which will make you work more efficiently.

The only thing the Vulcan has on the Fisher is weight. But for knives, I think 120 #s will be more than enough, especially with a nice heavy stand. If you planned on beating on the anvil with a 5# sledge all day, then maybe the Vulcan would be a better choice.

Just my 2 cents, I don't claim to be an anvil expert by any stretch of the imagination.

How about you, do you have a preference? Does one speak to you more than the other? I know when I saw mine I was immediately drawn to it. Anvils are, for many that use them, a long term purchase. Sure it's just a big block of steel. But it's YOUR big block of steel! It's best if you like it yourself.

-Brady

P.S. have you read the info in the "Read This First" tab at the top of every page? It's full of information to help you get the most out of the site. One such item is to add your general location to your profile. You may find there are other smiths near you that you can connect with. It will also play a part in what the "reasonable" prices might be for those anvils, as often price is relative to where you are in the world.

 

*Edit - Sorry, I missed the part where you said you picked up both. I think that was a good idea. Now you have one for your lighter work, and another for beating on! Good luck and looking forward to seeing what you make with them!

Edited August 14, 2020 by Frazer
Didn't read previous post fully....

[Tokum]

Thank you. That's kind of what what my gut was telling me, to lean towards the smaller but cleaner Fisher.  The Fisher sort of speaks to me only because its little thinner horn. But then again, I don't know if the horn of a bigger Fisher, equal in lbs to the Vulcan,  would have same girth or still be more streamlined 

I also thought of keeping both and giving them each a nice working test.  

I'm still assembling /accquiring my toys but I will definitely be posting my work for critique. I made a cpl kitchen knives out of bar stock in the meantime but that was just cutting/grinding/shaping. 

[JHCC]

Fisher is a higher-quality anvil than Vulcan. They're both made with a steel face and a cast iron body, but the face plate on a Fisher is substantially thicker. Sell the Vulcan and invest in the next thing you need to move your shop forward.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

As JHCC said, the Fisher is a far better quality anvil than a Vulcan ever hoped to be, Vulcans are serviceable , but there are better anvils out there. My Fisher is 260#, and it is my main anvil. It is a wonderful anvil to work on.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Where in the world did you find a Fisher for about the same price as the Vulcan? Around here Fisher's go for a lot more. I think you will find it a pleasure to work on the Fisher. From the pictures, it looks like someone has done some grinding to the hardened faces of both anvils. Hopefully they didn't remove too much material, which would be a bad thing.

[Tokum]

Thanks for all the feedback.  I'll hold on to the Fisher.  Someone within my circle just told me about another anvil! I had put out the word to any and all. This other one is 64 kg Brooks England anvil. But condition is unknown at this time