Attached are pics of my Grandpa's anvil that I am hauling back to TN, it weighs 163 lbs on a bathroom scale, for what it is worth. I can't make out much for lettering. In the first line I can maybe make out an H and an I?

And down near the bottom I see an E? Looks like 4 lines of lettering.

Dad did the welding, it is my job to do the finishing.

looks like an Armitage Mouse Hole?

i was thinking mouse hole to

I opened up your pic in photoshop and did some CSI stuff. I agree too and comparing it to the other mousehole brands the "E" particularly fits. Below I marked in red what I thought I could see.

ref pics I was looking at

http://www.martinsmarket.com/images/anvil_clsup.jpg

Your pics





Hope it helps!

yes sir, identical to my main forging anvil. shes an armatage mousehole

I agree, definitely looks like a mousehole anvil. I have a smaller one. They are nice anvils.

When you refinish, try not to do further damage to the area of the name and weight.

Edited November 23, 200817 yr by UnicornForge

now thats some interesting csi stuff there

from what I could make out and referenced from AIA (not the updated new info postman has in the mousehole book) it looks to be from 1820-1875.

the middle number couldnt be a 4....so I think its a 1 with some extra marks. the 0 must be part of a twenty according to the weight on the scales (112+28+20=160)

I found a link on Mouse Hole Anvils markings by Date.

The ABANA Forums: Dating Your Mousehole Forge Anvil

According to the markings on this one, it is an early Mouse Hole, 1820-1835.

thanks for all the replies, I knew the people here would help!

Looks great jeff!!!! Glad you finally got it. Mine was also made from 1830-1835. ;)

any sign that that Pritchel may have been drilled in at a later date?

Didn't look at it that close, but that very well could be...

Does however look like the horn was added? Maybe at a later forging? Or it could just be casting marks?

Horns and heels and feet on this style of anvil were forge welded on in the factory and in old ones you can often see the welding seams.

Yeah , mine you can see where they forge weld the horn to the body, They mouse hole co. made their anvils in 12 or 14 pices anvils until PW come along with their 2(actually 3) piece anvils ,then mousehole started using their method. I have the Mousehole forge book from richard postman which tells ALOT about ho wthey where made and the hitsory , owners ETC.
Chris

I have a very similar anvil that I am trying to I.D. Where are the markings on a mouse hole anvil?

Thanks,

Tom

On the side of the anvil, on the flat about the top 2/3 of it.

Here is the "key" to the markings.

The ABANA Forums: Dating Your Mousehole Forge Anvil