Jbone11 Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Hello everyone, I’ve been practicing blacksmithing for about five years as a hobby in my free time. Early on I remembered we had an anvil on the farm so I located it,cleaned it up, and started using it. It has markings but all the research I’ve done on it hasn’t yielding any results as to brand, origins, etc. the only details I know are that my grandfather and great uncle may have bought it after WW2 for the farm, but from whom or where they bought it is unknown. The other day I was looking g at the markings again and I noticed something so I tried to wipe them with chalk to show contrast, which didn’t work. I finally just sprayed it with WD-40 and took a brass coated wire wheel to it. The large “6” is clear, and is the “106” followed what may be the letters “lbs”. There are smal letters as well that look like it may spell “Sweden”. I’ve added some photos, any additional information would be appreciated. Thanks! P.S please don’t judge me on the mess you see in the background of the photos. I know I need to tidy up but the little time I get to go forge I don’t want to spend cleaning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Welcome aboard from 7500' in SE Wyoming. Glad to have you. I can't help you on the anvil ID but I will say that your shop looks more organized and cleaned up than MANY I have seen. You have your hammers and chisels in racks instead of a bucket or a pile. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatLiner Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Nice anvil, Swedish anvils are among the best made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 Welcome aboard Jbone, glad to have you. NICE anvil! Cast Swedish steel anvils are about as good as anvil's get, the little bit of chipping on the corners of the shelf is pretty standard, the faces are much harder than most and tend to get chipped up from missed blows on the edges. What does it say on the far side? Most I've encountered have one side with logo, model name, etc. cast proud, like the 6 or is it a G in your pics. The side you show would have mostly stamped info. Mine says, Soderfors, Sorceress #5, Soderfors, Sweden cast proud on one side with weight, date and Soderfors Sweden stamped in the other. I haven't looked in so many years I don't recall what is stamped on the foot under the "heel" IIRC. Specific date cast and maybe mold or model #. I really should take a wire brush and chalk to it to get some pics so I don't have to rely on my dented memory. What I can say for sure and positive is it out performs my 206 Trenton significantly and my Trenton is an excellent anvil but the only time it's better than the Soderfors is when bending with a fork and wrench, the additional 80lbs makes it resist skating on the floor. So, tell us how do you like her? Have you used other folk's anvils for comparison? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jbone11 Posted January 20, 2023 Author Share Posted January 20, 2023 Thank you all for the feedback on the anvil. I've been very, VERY fortunate to be able to use such a nice anvil from the start of my blacksmithing journey, and to be honest, I probably have not done the anvil justice. Frosty, I looked on the opposite side of the anvil last night and could not find any additional markings but I will look again just to make sure I didn't miss anything. I hadn't even considered the thought that the "6" may be a "G", although with my lack of knowledge it wouldn't matter. To me personally it resembles a "6". My experience in using other anvils for comparison is unfortunately lacking. I took some blacksmithing classes up in Richmond 5 or 6 years ago but I couldn't tell you what anvil I used. At that point in time, I just knew I was using something that definitely looked like an anvil. I have not tested the rebound of my anvil with a bearing or anything similar other than a hammer (I have missed hot iron hitting the anvil face before and the hammer comes back FAST). It's edges do have chips but there are good spots as well; the edges have a good large radius to them as well. Whoever used it in the past used it as it should be used, as a tool. I wish I knew more of it's history. Thank you again everyone for taking your time to look at my post and reply, I really appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 Please note that for 3000 years an anvil has looked like a cube or rectangular solid. This was/is also pretty much all over the world. The London pattern anvil is closer to 300 years old and geographically more limited. So 3000 or 300; what does an anvil look like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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