KLOG Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 This anvil i bought from a friend came from Germany, near Wiesbaden. It had about seven diferent color coats of paint on it with the last being yellow. It looks like a date is stamped on it 1887. The second 8 looks to be a top heavy strike on the stamp. Ubove that is some stamping that i can't make out. Does anyone know anything about this anvil? Is the date correct? It mesures 33in long, 15in high and 6in wide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 Interesting looking anvil, but it's a little hard to read the stampings. Try this: instead of using a flash on your camera, put a light all the way off to the side, so that it shines sideways across the surface. This will cast shadows into the low spots and brighten the high spots, making the letting much more visible. Some people put a light dusting of flour or other white powder on the surface, to fill the low spots and make them stand out better. At a quick glance, it looks to me like the second "8" was stamped upside down, putting the larger half on top. Cute dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 Could be John but it looks like a 2 to me the top of the curve isn't closed in the upper picture. Oblique lighting (from a shallow angle from one side) and a dusting of chalk or other light colored powder lightly wiped off will show detail much better than a direct flash. Interesting pattern, it has a lot of desirable features, thick body making heavy work more effective and A thin heel making it easier to do parallel forging like fork tines and a round horn with a sharp point good for working small rings and such. Coming from Germany makes it hard to pin down to a maker seeing as folks have been smithing in that region of the world for more than a thousand years, maybe two. I like the looks of it and would like to give it a try sometime. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julianb Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 Hello, you have a nice north-german pattern anvil there. The year of 1887 seems a feasible interpretation, as 1827 would be a bit early for such an anvil. Although dated, if there's no other markings, it's not really possible to determine a maker. I compared it to the lettering styles of the more known ones and cannot find any resemblances that point into a certain direction. There are a lot of examples of anvils from the 19th century, that have a date stamp and nothing else, though. No way to tie that to any specific manufacturer. Cheers! Julian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 Thanks for speaking up Julian, it's good to have knowledgeable IDs rather than my speculation. Though it IS fun to let my inner Sherlock Holmes out now and then. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julianb Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 Well, I didn't do much and couldn't really help out anymore. I also might be totally wrong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLOG Posted September 11, 2023 Author Share Posted September 11, 2023 You guys are awesome, thanks for the feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 You were great Julian, we were guessing and you were able to ID a regional style at least. I suppose you could be totally wrong it could be a knitting needle but I'm pretty sure you were close enough to right the rest of the Iforge gang will agree you're an anvil guru. With the authority vested in my I so declare it! Oh Klog I almost forgot. Yes, YES WE ARE awesome! I'm so awesome I often do something because I should whether it's fun or . . . not! Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rojo Pedro Posted September 12, 2023 Share Posted September 12, 2023 Its a beauty. Needs an equally awesome stump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julianb Posted September 12, 2023 Share Posted September 12, 2023 14 hours ago, Frosty said: You were great Julian, we were guessing and you were able to ID a regional style at least. I suppose you could be totally wrong it could be a knitting needle but I'm pretty sure you were close enough to right the rest of the Iforge gang will agree you're an anvil guru. With the authority vested in my I so declare it! Oh Klog I almost forgot. Yes, YES WE ARE awesome! I'm so awesome I often do something because I should whether it's fun or . . . not! Frosty The Lucky. Well, thanks! Another thing on this patterns which can be confusing sometimes: even if this particular pattern is called "north-german", it doesn't necessarily have to be produced in northern Germany. For example the well known company of Söding & Halbach produced lots of regionally named patterns, while sitting in western Germany and there is no so called "west-german" pattern. They might have originally stemmed from the typical styles and attributes found in a particular region, but at that point those designations are made, they are available everywhere. Cheers! Julian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted September 12, 2023 Share Posted September 12, 2023 The same thing applies to "London-pattern anvils", of which a great number -- perhaps the majority -- of English examples were made in Sheffield! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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