Tratjr Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 I came across this anvil and picked it up for 50$. I am just getting into knife making and a little uneducated on anvils. I appreciate any feedback that's how we learn ask those that know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobtiel1 Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 It's looking decent, have you done a ring and rebound test to determine the quality? ~Jobtiel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 Welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming. Glad to have you. If you put your genral location in your profile we will be able to give better answers to your questions. A surprising number of answers are geography dependant. From what I can tell from the photos that looks like a good usable anvil. How much does it weigh? To tell how good it is you need to do a bounce test. Drop a ball bearing of about 1/2" to 1" diameter from 10" above the anvil and see how high it bounces using a ruler. Anything around 80-90% is very good, 60-70% is OK and 50% or less is pretty poor. I wouldn't buy anything that had a rebund of less than about 60%. Also, do NOT do any grinding or polishing on the face of the anvil. Use will polish it up. Anvils have a plate of tool steel on the face and sometimes it is pretty thin. Anything that removes any portion of the face is a BAD thing. Could you take and post a better photo of the logo on the side and any other marking aon the anvil, please? "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tratjr Posted July 11, 2022 Author Share Posted July 11, 2022 Looking for a ball bearing now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 It’s a Columbian they are cast steel, very good anvils, You did pretty good for $50! I’d say, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 Welcome aboard, glad to have you. SWEET SCORE!! That'd put a big smile on my mug. What's she weigh? A bathroom scale is EZ PZ. A wire brush on a disk grinder is as aggressive as you want to be cleaning your anvil up. As already said forging hot steel will put a shine on her face and smooth her out nicely. The little bit of edge chipping I can see in the pics isn't bad and you have plenty of good edge so stay away from the chipped edge until you've developed hammer control. We can talk about rounding the chipped section a little later, there are definite when, why and hows to it so hold off before you do ANY grinding. Okay? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tratjr Posted July 11, 2022 Author Share Posted July 11, 2022 Ok ty very much and I wasn't going to do anything to it until I talked to someone who knows. I will find out how heavy it is when I get home. Still trying to find a ball bearing to test it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 Welcome from the Ozark mountains. If it passes the ring & rebound test and it weighs any over 50 pounds, I would say you got a very good deal. More like a steal in my book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 Judging the size setting by your foot I’d guess it’s at least 50 pounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tratjr Posted July 12, 2022 Author Share Posted July 12, 2022 Ok ty very much and I wasn't going to do anything to it until I talked to someone who knows. I will find out how heavy it is when I get home. Still trying to find a ball bearing to test it. Weighs 56.2 pounds still trying to find a ½ to 1 inch bearing so I can test it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 It's hard to beat $.89 per pound U.S. for an anvil as good as the Columbian. I'll bet it passes the test. If you can't find a ball bearing, a light weight hammer will tell you about the ring sound. If it rings, I wouldn't worry about rebound at all. Just lightly tap the face all over with the hammer and listen to the sound. It should be bright and clear all over the top. If it goes thud it may have gone through a fire and lost it's temper. Even though it will still be usable for light work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 Yes a 56 pound anvil is considered a quite small one for blacksmithing work; but very handy as a "travel anvil" for when you take your forge on the road. (Or if you have to carry all your equipment outside to where you can forge in your yard. I used to have to carry my 91# Arm and Hammer anvil up a flight of shuddering stairs from the basement, across the kitchen and out the back door to forge. 56 pounds would have been nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tratjr Posted July 12, 2022 Author Share Posted July 12, 2022 Now that's a lot of work to get to where you can start working. What is a good all around size anvil to use? Small hammer got it. I am going to try that now ty all so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoGoodWithUsernames Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 My anvil is 200lb (it's what was available locally for a not-too-unreasonable price) and honestly I would not mind having a smaller one for a lot of stuff I do. If you're not doing anything with large stock but mainly working from smaller stock you shouldn't have any issues. If you do need to work larger stock stay away from the heel and horn if you are striking heavy blows. My main complaint is the bigger anvil is just a heat sink at first and it quickly pulls heat from smaller stock until it warms up. Working anything small it takes ages for my anvil to heat up enough that it's not immediately pulling the heat from my work. I usually start off slapping a piece of 3/4" plate in the forge and laying it on top of the anvil for a few minutes to help jump start it. Roll with what you've got! Looks like a great score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted July 12, 2022 Share Posted July 12, 2022 100# is generally considered a decent size, but honestly unless your forging gate railings or other heavy work on a daily basis a 50# anvil with a 1-1/2 to 2# hammer will make a lot of “S” hooks, chisels, knives, roses and such. Don’t under estimate the little anvil. My daily driver is a 75# terriers pattern and she has handled 1” spring stock and turns draft shoes out of 1x3/8” and 1-1/2x1/2” stock. The shop anvil is 120# but I have a 1’ rail anvil, and an old cast iron with 1/4” steel plate that had a broken heel. I cut off the rest of the heel and the poorly cast horn. It’s fun to turn shoes on to prove you don’t need a horn. A bolster plate is needed to finish the nail holes but those have been around a lot longer than horns I am sure. Order heating the anvil helps, especially in the winter but you learn to hold the stock off the anvil and use the hammer to drive it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 56lbs. is a bit light but as your skills build you'll be able to do good work on it. There are professional blacksmiths making livings on old sledge hammer head anvils, your anvil is probably 10x as heavy as the majority of those. My go to anvil is 125lbs. and I can do anything I want to on her. I rarely use my 200lb. Trenton except to hold bottom tools so I don't have to change the one in my Soderfors. The longer face comes in handy for some operations too. It's just not my go to. If you build a fire and start making things your skills will build, you can sell your learning projects and what you make after coal/propane/?, steel, etc. can go into the cookie jar till it's enough to buy an anvil you think you'll like better. I say "think you'll like" not to mock you but as an observation of reality. I can't count how many times I've finally saved up, found, etc. the IDEAL thing only to discover there's something I like better just over . . . there! As much as I love my 125lb. Soderfors and have used her for I don't know, 35 years or so, I've used better though not enough to replace her. If I came across the deal you did that little 56lb. Columbian would have her spot in my shop. She's a sweet size for a bench anvil and a SWEET deal. You done good, real good. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tratjr Posted July 13, 2022 Author Share Posted July 13, 2022 Now that's a lot of work to get to where you can start working. What is a good all around size anvil to use? I took a 16oz smooth faced finishing hammer and just let it fall to the top of anvil. The hammer has a bounce and it does let out a nice ring. I went all around the work area and it's all the same except for 1 spot. It dull behind the peg holes and barely any bounce. Also I am looking for a gas forge if anyone has 1 they are trying to get rid of. I am going nuts waiting. I want to get some glowing steel on it and pound some life back into her. Again I thank you all for the help and knowledge. I cant wait to post pictures of my projects you all made possible. Still so much to learn I know but at least I can learn from behind the hammer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoGoodWithUsernames Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 (edited) To start I recommend the "JABOD" (see the thread in solid fuel forge section, stands for just a box of dirt) that is easily put together and can be very inexpensive. It will at least get you some hot metal to beat while you save up for/research a gas forge. That is the way I did it starting out a few years back and I was able to get forging in an afternoon after a trip to Walmart for an air mattress pump. Edited July 13, 2022 by NoGoodWithUsernames added details on JABOD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 As I said, 100-150# is usually considered a good working size. If you are doing big ornamental gates 200-250# is good, if you are working on old steam engines or anchors 500# + (and 4 of your buddies with double handled sledges). That said, a Nordic smith, a Roman smith, or any other Iron Age smith would be proud of such a large, high quality and high tech anvil (horns were expediently rare and the “London pattern” is only about 200 years as the “standard”, tho some places prefer the double horn and then the Far East they usually don’t use horns.) like you have. The JABOD forge is a good, low cost start, I have burnt up steel (and hard fire brick) in one, so it gets plenty hot. otherwise read the “forges 101” and “ burners 101” threads. Mike and Frosty can show you how to build a gasser for less than $200 that will out perform all but the most expensive commercial forges. Not to mention safer to operate, as most cheep forges use ceramic wool without rigidizer and unless you want risk lung cancer for you and your closest it would be a required upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 19 hours ago, Tratjr said: What is a good all around size anvil to use Don’t listen to em! Their tryin to talk you outta that sweet little anvil with all this talk about 100 pounders! Lol No I’m gonna join in! Lol seriously though if you were closer and if you just had to have a bigger one id probably swap you a 100+ pounder for that little Columbian! my lightest anvil is 84 and I wouldn’t mind shaving a few more pounds off for a travel setup! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatLiner Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 I have a little 45lb cast steel trunkated anvil that I suspect is a Columbian. The maker marks are missing, I believe they were taken off and it was sold as a lower tier anvil because of casting flaws but the dimensions and shape add up to Columbian. I have forge on it with a striker using a 16 lb sledge just to see how it held up. I can say that the little anvil held its own. It's a great little travel anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 One of the largest Viking era anvils was found in Novgrod, and weighs about 30#. Let that sink in. Some of the most fearsome raiders in history were armed Weapons forged on anvils smaller than yours. Go forth and forge beautiful things the “perfect” sized anvil for you will find you when it’s time. until then build a JABOD forge and mount your anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 13, 2022 Share Posted July 13, 2022 Well the norse also used rocks for anvils for coarse large forgings. (Of course they were using real wrought iron which is warm butter soft at proper forging temps!) An 150# Anvil was considered a good size for a commercial shop, (late 19th, early 20th centuries); Francis Whitaker---a big name smith, had a long professional career using a 165# anvil. However modern smiths suffer terribly from "Anvil Envy" and will want to do their hobby forging on anvils sized for large industrial shops that used teams of strikers. Unfortunately once you have AE about the only cure is a bad back; in chronic form; getting ever larger anvils will help the cravings for a while...I have two anvils over 400# but my 91# has more hours of use with my 165# shop anvil catching up...I did manage to recently sell off a 248# PW as I decided I didn't need a "middling sized anvil" I've done a bunch of work at Y1K demos with this 25# anvil: (on it's side) And you can make your own stake anvils: (These from RR spike sledges). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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