what is a good size anvil

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Wildhorse Joe

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Jun 11, 2009
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This is my first post and I'm a newbe. I'm also new at knife making. I'm starting to to get items for my shop. The first thing is a anvil. I have a chance to buy a true Arm And Hammer anvil. It is a 134# anvil It has a 241/2" overall length the face is 3 3/4" wide and 15 3/4" long It has a 1" hardy hole and a 5/8" pritchel hole. It is stamped 134 pounds serial #24597 It has a 1" divot on the front side but in overall good condition. The asking price $325
Is this big enough for knife making ? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Happy Trails Joe
 
Sounds great. I see anvil prices have just about doubled in the last 15 years, but what hasn't. I found one at auction in a similar size.

The hardest part has been finding the time and money to actually do something with it besides crack walnuts . . .
 
I hope this is a good place to ask this question. I'm new to this forum and knife making. I have a chance to buy a Arm and Hammer anvil for my shop that I'm setting up for making knifes. It is a 134 pound anvil and has the serial 24597 on it. It has a slight divot on the front side but looks pretty good. The seller is asking $325
I was going to try and find a bigger one. Is this an OK size for knife making? How about the price ? I feel the anvil is one of the most important tools in the shop so I want to start things off on the right track.
Thanks for any help.
Happy Trails Joe
 
It's generally better to go for a heavier anvil for bladesmithing, especially
if you'll be using it for ALL of your forging.

Lots of us though, started with anvils that size or smaller, and they will
do the job. They just tend to move around a bit more, and return less
energy.

At less than $ 2.50 per lb, that's not a bad price, if it has a flat face
and good rebound.
 
Whatever you get, the ACME anvils Wylie E. Coyote got by mail were never enough for The Roadrunner. Sorry - senior moment.

I'm floored by the current price of US made anvils. Once your's for the asking from an old farmer's collapsing barn, thirty years back they became avant garde for country-theme antique collections - there are a few in 'country' dens still, I bet, in the middle of some urban areas. Then - the 'craft' of blacksmithing resurfaced... and coke and coal sources evaporated. Still, that was 'cheap' for a good user a few years back. I'd say, less cracks/chips, that's a good price today.

Stainz
 
All of us will say "bigger is better" but if your just starting out and don't necessarily have a permanent forging area a 100-150lb anvil you can still move yourself which is helpful. When you know this is something you want to do forever then find a MONSTER!

Matt
 
You could also check out the scrap yards for square or round drops 4" or 5" x 30" long. Measure your 'closed fist' knuckle height as your anvil should be roughly around that height.
 
Smaller anvils are handy for all sorts of things. Quench plates? The one on top is a 147lb Brooks that will bounce a ball bearing back into your hand. The one on the bottom is a Peddinghaus 165 lb anvil that is even better. Both are easy to haul to hammer-ins and heavy enough for me. I usually wrap about 20 ft of logging chain around the base of the anvil to help deaden the ring and add a few pounds of weight. I think that most times with anvils you go with what you can find and then upgrade when you can or need to. I looked for a used anvil for a long time and had friends looking too. Charlie and I ended up ordering these and we don't regret it at all. If one of them was of the same quality and weighed 350 lbs that would be great but then I likely wouldn't have it either. The only huge (to me) old anvil I have ever hit was dead as lead. I rather have a good smaller one.

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If you have time try the ball bearing test. I have a 20mm diamiter ball bearing.
I have a number of anvils. The cheap modern ones the ball only bounces about 20% of the hight dropped from. The better harder anvils the ball bearing bounces up about 80% or more.
I personally have been looking for a 100lb anvil for years they are very managable if you are moving it around. A bigger one is better for the professional using it all the time but I have two, 60lb(30kg) cheap cast anvils that I use to train new smiths on. They are not as good as hard steel anvils but some fine knives have been made on them. I paid $100 australian for the 30kg new. If I had the money yes I would prefere 134 hard steel anvil.
The cheap anvils I bought are very dead but workable.
 
I started with a 100# anvil and have 2 of them now as well as a 260# monster. I like the bigger one because the steel moves better on it. If I need one else where I can load up one of the small ones.
 
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