Anvils

Wiredude

Well-Known Member
First off, I'm just a hobby type person, so I know that I don't need great tools, etc.
I know that most knifemaking tasks can be accomplished by fairly primitive means with enough elbow grease and ingenuity.
I'm also dealing with a fairly limited budget, largely self-imposed, but none the less, limited, and, I'll admit it, I have a cheepskate streak too...
My question is this. In "typical" knifemaking tasks, how useful/necessary is a hardy hole?
I'm working on finding a proper anvil, but in the meantime, I have a legit source to get a decent piece of rr track, and a dragster sander with which to face it. Is it worth my time to try to make myself a hardy hole in this? I'm not really concerned with a horn, as I do have a tinsmith stake, I just need to build a fixture for it.
Thanks
 
Wiredude, you may not have as big of a problem as you think you do. Our Guild helps new students find anvil (shaped objects), and railroad track is one of several pieces of steel that works well for a beginner. If you can flatten the surface with a grinder, you are half way there. You can use a cutting torch or plasma torch to cut the horn in and finish is with an angle grinder. A hardie can be made by welding a square tube of appropriate size and thickness on to the tail end of it. Add weight for stability by beefing up the base. I have tubular steel 1/8" thick with a plate welded on the bottom and filled with sand. Add another top plate to set your anvil on and fasten it down. Done. You should be set up in no time. Hope this helps.
 
Jim, I have a quick question about anvil size. I heard somewhere that an excavator pin can make an excellent anvil for making knives. I can get a 4"dia x 37.5" len. pin that weighs approximately 138lbs or I can get one that is 5.75" dia x 13.75" len. which is about 100lbs. Is the larger diameter more important than the weight or is the heavier weight more important than the diameter when it comes to forging knives. Would adding a heavier base to the smaller pin make up for the reduced weight in the pin? I'm totally new at forging and had this opportunity to get one of these pins at a fraction of their used value because I told them I was getting into forging and they really liked that. They both cost the same amount so I would be getting a lot more weight with the thinner but longer pin for the same price which is $200. It seemed very reasonable to me compared to what I have seen anvils generally go for online. I'd appreciate any thoughts you have.
 
Hi Joathan, the excavator pins can and do make a good anvil. Personally, I'd opt for the 4" x 37.5" anvil just because of the length. The weight is very adequate for an anvil and I think the height may be okay, depending on how tall you are. You will need to make a stand for it, which shouldn't be too difficult if you have a welder or a friend with a welder. For some ideas just google "sea robin anvil" and you you'll get a good idea of how to mount it. I do like the idea of the adjustable height that the Sea Robin anvil offers. The larger pin would also be good but will require a different base to make up for how short it is (I think, but may be wrong). You can always fabricate a base to add weight to make it more stable. I have a 12" round tube with a base welded on and filled with sand under mine which adds about 75 lbs. in additional weight.
I was lucky this past spring. I picked up a pin similar to your 4" one but only about 30" tall for $20.00 and a blacksmithing conference. I almost ripped that $20 getting it out of my pocket fast.
 
Thanks Jim for the quick response! I am tall and will go with the longer one. I liked the wider surface of the shorter pin but liked the weight of the taller pin. I like the stand I can certainly make something like that. Thanks for the input!
 
One thing to take in consideration when choosing an anvil is how much mass is put under the work. A standard anvil might weigh lets say 150 lbs. Most of that mass could be in the heal or the horn, not where you work on a blade, depending on the overall design. So functionally the anvil is lighter. My main anvil is an 87 lb block of steel not even hardened and tempered and it will move metal far better then my 110 lb eccono model standard anvil. As for as a hardy hole or a horn goes, I seldom use them. If you need one you can work around it it with a leg vice which are not hard to find used at a decent price.

Doug
 
Slight update here, and further questions.
I got a nice piece of track finally. It's about 20" long, and around 80lbs. I've read advise elsewhere that I would be better served to stand it on end, but I figured asking here would give me input from people with more experience in what I intend to do, as opposed to general blacksmithing.
So what kind of advice would you all give?
 
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