First anvil feedback request

[TheDane]

Hi Ifi 

First time poster here. 

Today i bought my first anvil ever and I am looking to get some feedback on the purchase. 

I have never forged before, but wanna Pick it up as a hobby of mine.  

My current end game is to be able to forge my own kitchen knifes which I know will require allot of practice and skill. I only mention this so you know what stuff I am aiming at doing on the anvil down the line.

My questions is as follows: 

1) for cleaning up the anvil would you guys recommend me to use an angel grinder with a wire brush attached ? 

2) what is you take on the overall condition (is it useable) ? I have not been able to do a rebound test with a ballbearing. But the face definitely rings when hit with a hammer.

3) I know what a Hardy Hole is, which I guess is the one at the sole of the face but what is the function of the Hole in the middel (sweet spot) ? 

 

[ThomasPowers]

Another hardy hole for tooling that saw a lot of heavy hammering; hence the sway.  (Note that the sway seems about centered on the hole.)  

As long as it has not lost it's hardness in a fire that anvil should work fine; looks to be plenty of sweet spot left to work over.

The crossed sausages makes me think it's Wilkinson, Queens Dudley, made in the UK over 100 years ago.

A wire brush on an angle grinder will work fine to remove surface rust.  Pounding hot steel on it will polish it the rest of the way and if you work up to doing blades, it will happen as you go!

What's the going rate for anvils in Denmark?

[George N. M.]

Welcome aboard from 7500 feet in SE Wyoming.  Glad to have you.

You have an anvil that still has lots of use in it.  Someone in your grandchildren's generation will probably be using it a couple generations from now.  The 2d hardy hole is unusual but was probably intended for someone who was doing a lot of work using a hardy of some sort and it made more sense to have it on the sweet spot of the anvil rather than the heel.

How heavy is it?

Once you wire brush it you can protect it from rust by applying boiled linseed oil (I ususally use it in a 50-50 mix with turpentine so that it dries for quickly).  Some folk add melted beeswax to the mixture which is a good general iron finish/coating to protect from rust.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Frosty]

I don't see anything about your new anvil that jumps out at me as a problem, she has a couple generations of good work in her. A right angle grinder and wire brush is fine and as mentioned hot steel and a hammer will put smooth her face up faster than you'd believe. 

I don't have anything new to add to the thoughts about the centered hardy hole. In the day blacksmithing was THE manufacturing method for iron and steel there were special tools and equipment beyond our imaginations. This anvil may have been one work station in a line of blacksmiths making . . . Things. It may have never had but the one bottom tool with a smith holding the part and two men swinging sledge hammers on it. 

If you need a flat clean face to work on you can make a bottom tool from a piece of steel, ground and polished to your liking with a hardy hole shank welded to it. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Welcome from the Ozark mountains. I agree with Thomas, it looks like a Wilkinson Queens Dudley. They were very good anvils and if the ring and rebound are good it still is. Hope you have read about not grinding, milling or welding on the hardened steel face which does more harm than good.

[FlatLiner]

I recall that some wrought Iron anvil makers had a handling hole in that spot under the faceplate. Does it still have the hardened face plate?

[ThomasPowers]

Handling holes only go an inch or two in and you can see the face in the picture of the corner, (second to the last picture.)

[TheDane]

22 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

What's the going rate for anvils in Denmark?

Hi Thomas Thanks for the feedback.
I will try to clean it up and post some pictures of it when it is done.
I think i got lucky found this on what can be best be described as the danish version of Craigslist for 139 US dollars. 

19 hours ago, George N. M. said:

How heavy is it?

 

Hi George
Thanks for the warm welcome I just weighted it today and it's around 101 kg

I will definitely oil it up after I have cleaned it and one can only hope that my grandchildren one day will be hammering on it.  

13 hours ago, FlatLiner said:

Does it still have the hardened face plate?

I seems like it but it is difficult for me to say while it is covered  in so much rust. I has a nice ring to it when it is hit with a little hammer.
After I clean it up I will try to do some sort of a rebound test.

19 hours ago, George N. M. said:

 

14 hours ago, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said:

Welcome from the Ozark mountains. I agree with Thomas, it looks like a Wilkinson Queens Dudley. They were very good anvils and if the ring and rebound are good it still is. Hope you have read about not grinding, milling or welding on the hardened steel face which does more harm than good.

 

My first thought was actually to try and "fix" it and flatten it. Luckily I went on this forum and started reading before i reached for the angel grinder.

 

[ThomasPowers]

Wow that was a great deal!  I hope you enjoy using it for many many years!   (My first anvil was stolen around 1982, I hope you have better luck.)