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Posted

I've found this 73kg anvil on Facebook's Marketplace. The seller says it's French, and shows a picture of these markings


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Anyone recognize a name? It seems to say something like ''A DESCOURS'' and below that it says ''BUENOS AYRES'' which is an old spelling of Buenos Aires, the province I live in and Argentina's largest city.

I'm probably going to buy the anvil that sits right below it though; that one's much easier to identify; It's a forged, 420lb / 191kg John Brooks anvil.

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Is there a way to tell which year it was made on? It says ''John Brooks'' above, and below I believe it says ''Stourbridge'' which google says it's a town in England.

Posted

Good evening, couldn't tell you on the allegedly French anvil. But I have yet to have a bad day on a Brooks. The more modern ones are cast steel and fantastic. Maybe consider both? It's nice to have one you can move or take with you when you need.

Posted

Thanks for the reply, in the end I purchased the Brooks. $233 for a 420lb/191kg anvil is not bad at all. 
It's a very old Brooks, as it is forged rather than cast, made obvious by the handling holes under the heel and horn. I spent around an hour wire brushing the rust out of it and now I'm slightly concerned with the state of the face and edges.
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I've read in this forum that it's probably in my best interest to grind and give those chipped edges a new radius, but there's a few deep pits in the face that I'm worried about. 
I don't know where the steel face ends and where the wrought iron body begins, which is why I don't want to try and grind the face down, unless maybe I check with a flap disc first by checking the sparks on the waist and face?

Posted

Those edges aren't in terrible shape, apart from the really egregious divots. I would suggest leaving it alone for now and just avoiding those spots as best you can.  

Posted

Ya, edge notches get to be one of those things you eventually learn to love and use as holds and swages. The shallower divots sort of smooth out under use. The deeper ones...better to fill than to grind, although that type of repair is a righteous pain. Easy to remove metal, a bloody labor of love to put it back.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Handling holes are not an indication of cast vs. forged anvils. All anvils need to be ground and that's the other need for the handling holes.

Frosty The Lucky.

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