Benjamindshoemaker Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 I was wondering if anyone could identify this one. It looks like it has a fern leaf stamped on it. The 126 Im assuming is the weight in Kilos. Not sure what the other number is at the foot. It appears to be HERK, HELL, HEKL, or HELK. It looks like it had more to that stamp but I can’t make it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 Welcome aboard Bengamin, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might discover how many members live within visiting distance. Also many things have a strong location factor, the answer to a question where I live may be so different than your location as to be meaningless. Make sense? Nice anvil, I can't help with: ID, pattern, age, much of anything about it. Looks to be in very good condition though. Have you done a rebound test? Please don't find a great big bearing, 12mm is plenty large enough. If you're not familiar, a rebound test determines if there has been damage to the anvil face such as a fire running the hardness out or the face plate becoming delaminated from the body. Drop a bearing ball on the clean face and estimate how far it bounces back as a %. If a person isn't good at that sort of estimation doing it in front of a measuring stick is easy and more accurate. Here we'd use a 12" ruler dropping from the 10" mark and recording the rebound. 9" rebound = 90%. Make sense? If you get silly and drop a 25mm bearing ball from 1 meter expect it to damage your anvil without you being able to accurately gauge the rebound. Yes? Do the rebound test over the whole face, rebound WILL decrease as you test out the heel Testing the horn is impractical with a bearing ball. Listen to the sound of each test. Drastic changes in sound indicate a problem. A dead spot, "thud or thunk" where it was saying TING elsewhere indicates a soft area. If it makes a buzz sound it's indicating a delamination of the face plate and body. The weld is failing. Have you put it on a scale? It might be too heavy for a bathroom scale but maybe not. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobtiel1 Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 Hi, great looking anvil! looks like it has stood the test of time quite well. I'm no expert, but I believe these types are quite old, and maybe the maker will be lost to time forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamindshoemaker Posted May 23, 2021 Author Share Posted May 23, 2021 I did a rebound test with a 3 pound hammer from about an inch or two. Rebounds great. Nice clear ring. No bathroom scale yet. I was more curious if it was forged or cast steel? I believe it’s cast steel but I know little to nothing when it comes to anvils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 It looks cast to me, the 180 on the foot is cast proud. The rough raised bit on the waste appears to be a bit of the sand mold broke loose before or during the pour. These little casting flaws aren't uncommon when sand casting and one that minor wouldn't be grounds for a discount let alone rejecting the anvil. I use a 3oz. ball pein hammer to rebound test with, I've used heavier but they didn't tell me as much. Did you buy it? If the price were reasonable I'd be building the stand and clearing room for it in the shop. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamindshoemaker Posted May 23, 2021 Author Share Posted May 23, 2021 I did buy it. Going to get a cedar stump to put under it. It also came with a rivet forge and small blower. I asked a guy on eBay that had one similar in Italy and he said that it was a Gebr. Böhler & Co Mark: two fir trees printed diagonally on both sides of the front facade of the anvil body so I reckon that’s who made it. Anyone know anything about that company as to when they started making them and when they stopped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 I did a quick Google search for Gebr. Böhler & Co and got 268,000 results. This is the first in the list. Very interesting history of the company. https://www.us.bohler.com/en/history/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamindshoemaker Posted May 23, 2021 Author Share Posted May 23, 2021 Thank you. Sorry I should have researched that but I was excited to hear a company name. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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