Atlas Graham Anvil Good for General Anvil Use as Well as Knifemaking?

[The Mighty Ginsu]

I still do not have an anvil. I saw the Atlas Graham anvil online, and I wonder if someone here could tell me whether it's a good general anvil for a small shop or it's too much of a knife anvil. I'd like to have an anvil with a horn for bending stuff, and I'd like to have a little mass.

 

[Bühlmann]

I have a Graham. I got it specifically because of how the weight is distributed for efficiency as a blade anvil, but also because of the conical horn to use for general shaping and blacksmithing. I find it perfect for both, but it's the only anvil I've spent any real time on. That said, I don't find myself wishing for anything else either.

 

[dwaterfield]

I have a Graham also, and agree with what Buhlmann had to say. I've used larger anvils and I think it all depends on what you are trying to do. I make a number of items out of round stock and the Graham has been fine for that. There have been a few times when I wished I had a larger anvil, usually when working with something big like a cookset.

I don't do this often, but a bigger anvil would be better for trying to rework large hunks of metal into billets, just because of the mass. If there's anything you would imagine using a sledge on you'll want something bigger.

 

[The Mighty Ginsu]

Thanks for the replies. I don't really see myself using a sledge.

The other day I had to make a ring out of 1" by 1/8" flat bar, and it is surprisingly hard to do without an anvil. Also, I often bend steel flat bar, and of course, even with a press, the angles are not as sharp or perfect as I would like.

 

[The Mighty Ginsu]

The swage stuff on the bottom looks neat.

Too fast. It appears the underside no longer has the swaging cavities.