Well starting Wednesday morning I'm off on a quest to find me an anvil. :)
My wife and I are going to take a few days and just head out going north. Plan to hit some flea markets, antique shops and whatever else catches our intrest. We will probably spend most of the time in Kansas and Missouri and might even get as far north as Nebraska or Iowa.
Got me several large ball bearings (just in case I loose one) to check them with.
Hopefully I'll come home with something that makes me happy. Wish me luck!!!
Mike

Good luck, Mike. I know how challenging it can be to find a decent anvil at a decent price. So far, my anvil quest has only yielded a 70 lb. 'play' anvil. I have some friends and relatives who attend many auctions and/or know a lot of people on the lookout though. I am looking for something in the 180 lb. range.

Brett

If you can come to Friendship, IN. between Sept. 8 thru Sept 16 you can find an anvil. This is the week of the National Muzzleloading Rifle Championship Matches. There is two large Flea Markets there and a man that is there every year with blacksmithing tools. He always has two or three good anvils. His prices are about average but he will haggle a little. A friend got a 125 Trenton there last year for $225.00 and it was in mint condit.
Friendship is west of Cincinati about 40 miles on Hwy 50

Micky Wise

Too bad you aren't up here in New England... it is still fairly easy to come by a decent anvil... why I know a place just down the road...

Even so I spent the big bucks and bought a Titan from Nimba Forge. For a #120 lb with a huge face it came to around $750.00. Seems like a lot but I -love- the Italian design and the fact that it is made by a fellow Craftsman and not in a factory...

After over a year of hard damascus and bladework it has no dings...

Good Luck!

Mike,

If you don't find one on your trip, let me know and I will ask at the next meeting of the North Texas Blacksmiths Association. There is usually someone willing to sell stuff and anvils come up often. Most of these guys have two or three and would rather trade than get cash sometimes.

Thanks Bob,
Will do.
Mike

Mike, closer to home, you might be able to find an anvil at the first weekend in Canton, Texas. It takes 2 days to see everything. Good luck.

Deck H
I have been there several times over the last year and have yet to come up with anything, so i thought i would try going north.
Mike

Mike ,have you looked on e-bay? right after I bought mine from Ron,(little hen) I looked there and found a couple that didn't look too bad,one was even in Texarkana!!! Good Luck Mike S.

So Mike,
How is the Anvil hunt going? Any luck?

No luck Bob,
I drove over 1500 miles and only found three anvils in all of my stops. All three were too small and in vsry bad shape, so I'll keep looking. :)
Mike

Mike,
I know it is not what you are looking for, but a big hunk of solid steel will work too.
Many of the Neo-Tribal guys use a 4X6 block, plain.
The main thing is to make sure it is SOLID.(no voids)
The ball bearing test will work fine.
Happy hunting.

I hope all is going well with your search.

If you are like me, you kind of enjoy the looking. If not, you might calculate the time, gas, wear on car, etc. of driving 1500 miles. Gas alone probably covered the price of a good anvil off E-bay. I know E-bay can be expensive, but so can gas, time away from shop, work, etc. I just sold a 200# Peter Wright on E-bay for $480. That is about $2.40 a pound. But it will outlast whoever bought it, or he can sell it for that or more at any time. In short, when the anvil is one of the primary tools to make good forged blades, and good forged blades go for 100-1,000 dollars or much more, it seems unwise to be unwilling to shell out for a good anvil.

Off soapbox,

John

I have no problem shelling out for an anvil, I just hate to buy one sight unseen. I know most folks on ebay are honest in their descriptions and I have sold some stuff there myself, but I have also been stung there a few times and guess I am kind of reluctant to send someone that kind of money without being able to see and check the anvil for myself. And Like you said, looking is part of the fun and yes, gas in that part of the country wasn't cheap! :)
Mike