Question about anvil prices...and a once-in-a-lifetime (probably) chance!

Kalindras

Kalindras

Joined
Aug 24, 1999
Messages
933
...And, from up, up and out of the mists of antiquity, I ARISE ANEW!!

Okay, so, all drama aside, It's been almost ten years since I had time or facilities to really do anything, knife-wise. In that time, though, I've been slowly (Oh my Gods, but how slowly! :eek:) improving my collection of tools and skills (learned to weld, etc.), and looking (always looking) for an anvil. I've tried forging on railroad track, but I've not had much luck with it. So, to make a long story even longer, I put out feelers to a bunch of my friends/coworkers/interested strangers/etc. to give me a holler if they found an anvil lying around in anyone's barn, field, estate sale, antique shop, or what-not.

Nothing.

Not a sausage.




Until last night. A buddy of mine calls me up at work and says, "Hey, you remember a few years back when you told me you were looking for an anvil?"

"Sure," I say, still off balance (I hadn't heard from him in quite a while, this was bit 'out of the blue,' lol... :p)

"Well, I just pulled a five hundred pound anvil out of a field. You interested?"

After a brief moment of scrabbling around on the floor to find the eyes that'd just popped out of my head, I asked him, "Did you say FIVE HUNDRED?!?"

"Yep. I remember you telling me that you'd give some amount, based on the weight, heh..." he chuckled.

"Well, once upon a time I was told that a buck a pound was a fair offer, but there's no way I can go $500 right now." I managed to stammer.

"Yeah, I didn't figure I'd get that lucky. Anyway, I'm gonna bring it up, it's in the truck, I'll let you take a look at it. Then figure out what you could give me for it. I got a pretty good deal on it from the guy whose field I pulled it out of."

"Okay, Brother. Thanks for looking out for me." I hung up and got very perplexed.


So, what's a fair price to offer for anvils, nowadays? I know they're getting rare as hens' teeth, but I also know that a 500# monstrosity isn't going to be something that's easy to get much for, beyond scrap value. I don't want to lowball a buddy who's obviously been looking out for me for years, but I also can't afford to cough up $500 for an anvil right now (thus the prolonged search! :o).

I'm almost back to where I can get going on making some more knives, so I hate to pass it up, especially for such a one-time shot, so I'd like to try and make a fair offer to him. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance for any suggestions or input. :):confused::)
 
Well if you can't pay $500 and he knows that and he is still coming by for you to check it out means he probably doesn't want much more than he paid for. Just ask him straight up what he paid and offer him $50 buck and a case of beers and a pack of butts if he smokes and I'm sure he will be fine with that.

Great score if it's in good shape
 
What does scrap steel go for these days? It is probably worth $100 being pulled out of a farmers field. Post a picture if you get the chance, I am really interested in how well the anvil held up. I am also interested in how the anvil got into the field.
 
Scrap is around $200 per ton, ,that's ten cents per pound.

$50 per five hundred pounds


Keep in mind that people are horrible judges of weight and it may be half that.

If it's been rusting in the field, it may be in sad shape.
I'd still take it as you can always put a good anvil on top of that one.
 
There are some anvils that are worth far more then their weight in scrap. I got my anvil from the basement of a local school, it is a 50Lb one.

You may want to go ahead and just other $50 or what ever you can get him to. If it was in the ground then it will need some work. You may have to regrind the top, and on a 500Lb one that could take you a while, considering you are going to want to get it as smooth and shiny as possible so it will not leave marks on the metal you are working on. You do not need to clean the whole top off, depending on what you use it for, a few inches to a foot should be fine.

When you get it try to find any names on it. Look it up because it is, unlikely, but possible that you could have really expensive one and you may just want to try and sell it (creglist or something) and buy a new one.
 
Well I am willing to bet it is at least 200 if the guy says 500. I have a 50 and it is plenty big, I have only ever seen a 400 in person. since it is so large, the rust has less worry to it. It is time consuming but not hard to resurface an anvil. The rust is most likely no more then an 1/8 inch deep, and even that would be a overestimation.
 
It all depends what shape it is in, of course. If it's in good shape and has a hard top, it will be worth over $3/lb., good usable anvils tend to appreciate some at that size.

I'll bet it's in bad shape. Check especially whether it will bounce a hammer well. Weigh it. Do this while he's there, so that he can see it's only worth is usefulness as a tool to you- and so you don't end up paying for a #250 as if it was a #500.

I like that $50, some beer, and whatever idea- if he's that kinda dude.
 
I like the idea of cleaning the top and welding a plate to it. But you might be welding steel to iron.
 
those guys blasting anvils, I don't think they are doing what you think they are.

I have wondered if blast welding would work for anvils. it seems to be about the last method left where the EPA isn't married to your operation intimately.
 
I did the same thing as op and put feelers out everywhere with anyone that I thought would be helpful or anyone who would listen. It only took a week but I got a call last night about a 120 lb anvil. I went to check it out and it was marked 1.2.0 which is 168 lbs. it's a mousehole forge that I think is pre 1900. And in pretty decent shape. There are still treasures out there to be found, so maybe your 500lber might turn out the same way. The guy I got mine from wanted 100 bucks with the hardy hot cut tools so I forked over the cash. If the anvil you are looking at rings good and has good rebound, ask the guy what he wants and then offer what you feel you can afford. Take a hammer to test rebound, or better yet a big ball bearing around one inch or so. When dropped from a height of 12-18 inches, good anvils should pretty much put the ball back in your hand.
 
There is no telling how it got into a field, could of been a old workshop that isnt there anymore, could have been a spot someone worked on things or could have been dropped off during some travels due to its weight. Or maybe it was in a barn that burned down many years ago which would be bad. Who knows.

I would still check it out. If you do get it go to iforgeiron.com and get some opinions before you start trying to weld it up or fix anything. 500lbrs are pretty rare for most of us to find. Still if its not it working order it can also be a waste of time,effort, and money. I would still be all over checking it out if it was me.


Oh and as far as price sounds like he is willing to work with ya so look at the shape of it, and offer what ya can. Seems like he is understanding on your financial situation so this will be up to you.
 
BIG anvils can be worth BIG money!! All depends on maker and condition. If it is 500lbs., it was probably a good anvil. I don't think there are many crap ASO's that big.

I would'nt do any welding on it without doing some homework. You can fix chipped edges, but edge-welding a new plate on top is not a good fix!

$3/lb. is not unreasonable for a good anvil that size, all depends on the condition.

I hope you score!! Big anvils are a thing of beauty to work on!! Post pics if ya get it.
 
I keep an eye on Craigslist. I may have to start acting as a conduit if I keep seeing them like I have been and if my life keeps improving in parallel of course :D I was lucky and was basically gifted a beautiful Trenton anvil. I habe since seen Arm and Hammer anvils for $500 and what i thought was #400+ french anvil near 300 years old on craigslist for near $2000.

It seems people in los angeles only see it as scrap with some rare owners that know what they have.
 
Storm Crow said:
See if you can pay him in installments. Trade him a knife for part of it.
Click to expand...

This is a great idea really. If you know him well me may very well take instalments, or you could do a partial trade for a knife. I traded a knife for all the steel and cutting to build my grinder.
 
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Okay, so...more details. Got a look at the anvil in question, and I feel absolutely SURE, as many of you have observed, that it is NOT a 500 lb. anvil. Without putting it on a scale, I'd guess it's around 200? The photos (if they work) show the condition. It's rusted, sure, but that's no biggie. My concern is that the face looks like...well...it's sat in a field for however long. It also looks like somebody may have tried to chop on this thing (my guess would be that the local kiddies were playing King Arthur and Merlin, trying to bury whatever 'sword' they could find in the stone!). Still, my friend says that he'd be willing to put the thing on a mill and smooth the top (I know, I know...I told him it might not be that easy, depending on how it's been hardened).

Now, for the kicker. He throws out that he'd be willing to go $300 for it. I'm a little 'if-y' at that price. Sure, it looks like a decent anvil, and I could probably put it back into service fairly easily, but what do y'all think? Having seen photos of it, is that a fair price? I call this fella a friend, but he's not the type of friend that's gonna go for the $50/case of beer route, unfortunately, lol...the trade for money and a knife might fly, but it's hard to tell. I'm supposed to give him a call and let him know what I think. I'd appreciate y'all's thoughts, before I do, though. Is this worth it, or should I let it go (if we can't work out a price between us)? What kind of a counter-offer should I start with? Thanks for the help, so far, guys...keep it coming! ;-)
 
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