I want to add metal working to my wood shop. With that in mind was thinking of buying a anvil for under 500 that will see periodic use to make small hooks, handles, knives ect…. So was thinking to buy a 70 lb no knife makers anvil or the blue acciao anvil that is like 135?. Any opinions?

Welcome to the forum!

Where are you located? over here you can find perfectly good second hand anvils for under 500 euros, or do you mean dollars? or yen?

Adding your location to your profile allows us to remember it better once leaving this post.

There is plenty of information on this site, looking around a bit might answer your question. using google with the tag site:iforgeiron.com allows you to quickly search through the threads on this site.

a quick search led me to this:

~Jobtiel

 

I’m from Illinois is us

Edited April 28, 20224 yr by Mod30
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I would go with the Acciao anvil.

Any particular reason?

Edited April 28, 20224 yr by Mod30
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Remove commercial links....

was thinking to buy one of these two brands for 500 u.s. dollars. Does a round horn make a difference from a oval one? And does the hardy hole being in horn differ from being in the heel? 
 

 

Edited April 28, 20224 yr by Mod30
Remove commercial link per TOS

I would go with the Acciao anvil because of the heavier weight. I noticed a moderator removed the commercial links, which are not allowed. You can type in the co name and item description and then anyone can look them up.

Have you read the "Improvised Anvils" thread?   I recently did a demo for the local ABANA Affiliate using an improvised anvil that cost less than US$20.

70 pounds is pretty light for an anvil,  I'd go closer to 100 pound or more for a starter.

3 hours ago, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said:

I would go with the Acciao anvil because of the heavier weight.

Thank you 

1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said:

Have you read the "Improvised Anvils" thread?   

No I haven’t don’t realy want to use some hurry riged anvil I want to use the real thing.

Edited April 28, 20224 yr by Mod30
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I want a anvil light enough to move and I’ll be making small projects mostly.  Knives key chain bottle openers hooks decorative pieces ect….this is in addition to my wood shop which is already full.  If I was a metal worker I would buy a huge 200lb anvil.  But I need something to put n corner of shop and move out when I need it. Plus I plan on puting it on stand filled with sand. Plus this is weekend work.  Tried buying used anvil but eather sells for more then new prices or in terrible shape.   Plus I’m in kinda dead zone for smithing.

When looking for a good used London pattern anvil, I suggest reading the TPAAAT thread https://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/268-tpaaat-applied-anvil-acquisition-technique/

The real thing in anvils has been around for over 3,000 years, loooong before the advent of London pattern anvils. Japanese master sword makers used a block of steel as well as the Vikings. This is an improvised 110 pound anvil I picked up for $30 U.S. and I can do anything on it that I can on my 3 other London pattern anvils. Think bulldozer they are made from anvils.

What he said, the London Pattern Anvil is only around 300 years old and was used in a relatively small area of the world.  The "block of steel anvil" is about 3000 years old and was used everywhere.  Which one is "real"? Note; if you don't like it, you are not out much money---and will get some back when you scrap it!)

Here is the one I used to demo even though I have close to a ton of London pattern anvils and have been smithing for 41 years now. (And Yes it looks a lot like what the Japanese swordsmiths use.)

 For the price, the 132lbs 60kg Acciaio isn't a bad option. I received one 2 months ago and have been using it about 4  times a week. It has a fairly hard face and good rebound. Definitely better than a piece of cast iron. But as mentioned  by Irondragon and Mr. Powers you might want to try an improvised anvil first. I'm glad I did. Being a wood worker your hammer control is probably better than most but only one way to find out.

Also as a wood worker you may want to ILL a copy of "The Complete Modern Blacksmith" as it has section(s) on forging of wood working tools. (Especial carving chisels as Weygers was an exceptional sculptor.)

On 4/29/2022 at 6:59 AM, lary said:

 For the price, the 132lbs 60kg Acciaio isn't a bad option. I received one 2 months ago and have been using it about 4  times a week. It has a fairly hard face and good rebound. Definitely better than a piece of cast iron. But as mentioned  by Irondragon and Mr. Powers you might want to try an improvised anvil first. I'm glad I did. Being a wood worker your hammer control is probably better than most but only one way to find out.

Thanks Larry do you see yourself upgrading soon or think that a professional name brand anvil would work better. Problem I have with acciaio is that there hit or miss sometimes there decent other times they take a lot of work.  Just thought for like 60 dollars more I could buy a cliff Carroll anvil.  Yes it’s 70lb but it looks like it would be a better anvil for transporting/ and for rebound so I can work easer fr longer times.   Does the weight make such a big deal that using a heavier cheap anvil is better then a more expensive name brand lighter anvil? 
 

I won’t be making massive projects, hooks, knives, carving tools, decorative handles ect….

 

If portability were important to me, a 70 lbs anvil would be the way to go. I have no experience with Cliff Carroll anvils, but I do have a 70 lbs aso and there is an improvement in my overall forging experience with the 132 anvil. I don't see myself upgrading anytime soon. If I knew for sure that I was going to be making a living off of blacksmithing some day then dropping $1400.00 on a Holland anvil may have been justified.  As far as quality well.. it probably is a gamble. I knew I would have to modify the anvil before I placed the order, at least to make it more usable for me.    

And I did lay blocks of ice on the face before welding to protect the temper. Hardness and rebound are still good.

Nice I wouldn’t even know where to start with welding on a anvil.  Ok probably end up buying one of these blue beast to learn on plus get a cheap block to practice my hammer blows.

Edited May 1, 20224 yr by Mod30
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