If you could redesign the shape/features of the typical anvil, what would you do? What does the anvil lack?

[Kevin.exe]

Another way to ask this question would be, "what do find most problematic/annoying while smithing on the anvil, and what would you change to solve that problem?" What does the anvil lack?

I sometimes wonder if the shape on the common anvil is unchanged because it is either so effective that it covers most scenarios, or if no one has challenged the current shape to be better than it could be. I'm starting off with an improvised anvil and also wonder if unique designs have been lost to time.

However... since I'm still learning so I'm mostly just interrogating people with questions and its hard to challenge when I lack the experience... I'm curious what you folks think!

[ThomasPowers]

Which of the several hundred "common" shapes for anvils used all over the world are you referring to?  You do know that the London Pattern is NOT the most common pattern in the world right?

[Kevin.exe]

Well I guess I know now it's not the most common in the world lol. But most of the time when I see an anvil on the web it's typically the london pattern or something that looks very similar to it. I'm sure variations have their own characteristics, but so far I've just seen the "stereotypical anvil shape" or a "junkyard hunk of steel"

Forgive my ignorance, but I'm just curious if people wished their anvil had other unique features/properties/shapes.

[ThomasPowers]

Actually I prefer the double horned anvils to the london pattern; have you looked at the NIMBA anvils?  Massive sweet spot!  Of course what you are doing makes a huge difference in what features your anvil needs.  Ornamental iron work vs sharpening jackhammer bits for example.

I guess you need to do a bit more research, French anvils, Italian anvils, German---both north and south, eastern European, Chinese, Japanese, Norse, Roman, Medieval anvils of a lot of different styles....  Anvils have been used for about 3000 years now by blacksmiths and the London Pattern is about 300 years at most.

Hanging on my wall I have a page from an old, (probably 150 years old), catalog that shows 6 different types of anvils being sold by an English company. (And 4 different post vises.)  You may notice that the anvil shown in "Mechanick Exercises", (published 1703) is not a London pattern; nor the many anvils shown in Diderot's Encyclopedia, (late 18th century); for a number of medieval anvils may I commend "Cathedral Forge and Waterwheel" to your attention.  Of course these are books; the internet is NOT a great source for researching stuff you know.  (You do know about ILL right?)

And if you really want something different you can buy an amazing range of anvils both old and new, (seen the rat hole anvil AKA Fontanini ?)  Or just make your own!  Here are a couple of stake anvils we've made  and a modern made early medieval anvil:

Made using RR spike driving sledge heads (1 cylindrical, 1 sq cross-section.) 

  On it's side to show the stake that goes into the stump.

Simple rectangular solid anvil I have started demo'ing with; as so many people seem to think you have to have a London pattern anvil to do smithing

[Charles R. Stevens]

I dream of a double horn Spanish stake anvil

[Shainarue]

Thomas, Interlibrary Loans are my JAM and I've used it frequently especially for blacksmithing books - but every time you use the abbreviation ILL, I'm like - what the heck is that? I have no idea. It takes me forever to remember, lol

 

[Charles R. Stevens]

TP’s short hand comes from herding bits for to many years…

radiation from the old school CRT’s may have had an effect!

[anvil]

Lol, my answer to your question is nope. And like Thomas said, find one that fits your needs. 

I'm a London pattern kind of a guy. I've used double horn'd anvils in other shops and am comfortable with them as well as a few make do types over the years. For my needs, I prefer the parallel sides of the heel. 

Notice in the pic above of Thomas,,, thats a Thomas style stick welder because hes just so charged as a blacksmith,,,   I'm sure he found this design somewhere in his library.

[ThomasPowers]

CRS could be right; I was online about blacksmithing back when it was all text; old unix programmer, I could have a pretty bad table saw accident and not slow my typing down...

Not finding other than London Pattern:  have you looked through the gallery on link removed.

[Kevin.exe]

Thomas, thanks for providing more direction to search for anvil history. I will peruse the history more. I guess using the internet won't be as powerful for research on blacksmithing compared to woodwork or software dev.

And thanks for the anvilfire link (which now disappeared). I really like the idea of that cutler's anvil. A solid foundation which can be re-adapted and modified for one's needs. An anvil that can change as the user also changes. (as long as there's no major performance loss)

For right now I'd like to make my chisels for woodwork, build some armor, knives, some simple tools, and experiment with ideas I have. But once I learn more about the skill, it'll open a lot of doors that I can't predict yet.

[ThomasPowers]

Sorry about the link, Jock didn't like hot links but that shouldn't have been a hot link.  Also as he is dead now I doubt he will make a fuss.  Anyway folks anvilfire has a gallery of different anvils on it if you dig.

The problem using the internet for research is that if you are new to a field; how do you tell if a website is providing good information or utter trash? We must get a dozen+ folks a year here trying to make a forge from plaster of paris because there is an webpage extolling it.  Even though plaster of paris starts to degrade around 1000degF below good forging temps...

(BTW how many of your woodworking sites mention that woodworking tools used to be wrought iron except for a very thin layer of steel welded on for an edge---even as late as the ACW steel could be six times the cost of wrought iron; so it was used sparingly. You could take your axe or chisel back to a smith and have it re-steeled as necessary.  Also; they did cover that "cast steel" tools were not cast to shape; the steel was cast into an ingot that was forged into final shape?  Huntsman Process from the 1700's up until about the 1920's.)

[Frosty]

You can forge chisels on a flat face easily. Gouges will want a fuller but those are easy to make. Do you have access to an arc welder? I made one when I was a kid by hack sawing a piece of pipe and welding it between to pieces of angle iron welded to a piece of plate angle down. It was a mess but worked, I was maybe 11-12. Once I hit metal shop class I had access to a different metal shop than Dads and it really opened things up for me. 

You can do almost anything on the face of the anvil. Different radius on different parts of the edge does a lot of the most useful work of a horn. The more experience I gain the less I use the horn. 

Do NOT let finding the "right" shape stop you from making a fire and hammering steel! 

Thomas just posted, "ACW" stands for the American Civil War. Civil wars are common world wide and have taken place as far back as recorded history. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[natkova]

I think definitly some anvils need to have narower heel.

Like this.