How Big of An Anvil Do You Need?

[@paulorchard7960]

You did answer the question in the video, the best anvil you could have is the biggest you can get!

[@phodge14]

Me sitting here with my piece of railroad track like... 😐 gotta start some where.

[@BrianDaleNeeley]

I've heard 10, 20, and even 50 times hammer weight as recommended anvil weights. One thing I think many people overlook when considering anvils is how it's mounted. The anvil mass gives it inertia, which is the resistance to change in motion. Since it's easiest to hit something that isn't moving around, the anvil should be stationary. But what's important is *TOTAL* mass; that includes the base. I'd rather have a 50# anvil firmly secured to a 200 base than a 100# anvil just sitting on an old stump end.

[@tomalealso]

My personal anvil is 110 pounds, typically that is enough for almost anything I do. I use to work in a living History program as one of the smiths, they had two anvils a 150# and a 250# I could work on either one easily but the 250 was a joy. both anvils were sitting on a stump that was 3 and a half feet below the floor level. it was so much easier to use because the energy was not being wasted each time i struck my work. The hearth was a two stage bellows, that was amazing how well that worked. a couple of quick pumps and that is all i needed to heat up my steel. it provided a smooth air flow that was consistent no matter what i was doing. if i needed a faster air flow I simply changed the weights on the top of the billow. It worked well during demonstrations because it was almost silent. Hang cranks are loud by comparison. I really miss working that forge, work took me out of the area and I have yet to see anything to compare.

[@shadowcastre]

I agree.. makes sense! One thing I'll add... you can add weight to a lighter anvil by having a heavy, solid stand. The anvil must be securely fastened otherwise the anvil will move around, and then what's the point? Best to go as big as you can. Thanks for the video...

[@paulwharton3488]

I was very blessed to find a Peter Wright 250 lb anvil at a reasonable price when I was first starting a couple of years ago. Now it had seen some heavy use but still has a good work surface with quite rounded edges. So I also have acquired a couple of ASOs in the 30 lb range that I can use for those times I need a truly straight edge. Thanks for this video that explains the hammer weight that will work well with both. Keep up the great work and may God continue to bless you.

[@jakeeasterday1663]

For camping trips, I tend to do some smithing around the fire. I have a 5lb stump anvil which I use with a 1lb hammer, and with bellows to the fire, I've managed to forge everything from silver rings to a small set of tongs from rebar I found on the way to the campsite. I think that as long as your striking face is firmly mounted on a solid surface, one can get away with a 5:1 ratio easily. Good video though, God Bless!

[@paulorchard7960]

Jake Easterday You do some interesting camping trips! I assume you are not hiking in humping the blacksmithing kit.

[@dirtywojta]

I have no connection to smithing in any way but this was interesting to me! God bless you and your work!

[@brettsayers7768]

Great explanation on anvils and sizes, it really helped a lot and gave me some food for thought. I'm still "stashing pennies" as they say to buy a decent anvil.

[@JustinTopp]

That’s a dream anvil Roy! I’ve got a 150l. Henry wright that’s a good anvil but I love German pattern.

[@sarahmikeg6523]

Good info Roy. I have an old world anvils 20kg/50lb steel anvil and it is great.

[@seanwalton6208]

Excellent advice. I rent space from a shop here in SLC. They have many anvils. I will use your advice to guide my selection for my work.

[@bigoldgrizzly]

Just got really lucky with a 450 lb cast steel English pattern anvil with a flat 24 x 6 " face, good edges and great rebound. Way overkill for me, but at $ 280, I wasn't going to turn it down. Quite some upgrade from a 22lb sledge set into a log !

[@mytech6779]

Dang. I'm in a region that wasn't heavily settled until well into the 20th century so finding anyone second hand anvil is super rare.

[@bigoldgrizzly]

I am close to a town famed for iron and steel working so I had a huge head start. Anvils were commonly used everywhere throughout the first half of 20th century and I'm sure you will eventually get lucky Hoping you will get lucky soon.

[@stevenjohnson2273]

I started on a 60#. Now I'm using a 200# Vulcan. The extra mass makes a big difference.

[@BullShitMatador]

The issue of anvils is resolved by simple physics. More mass is always better. Always. Period. The larger an anvil the less work it takes to do a given task. Every time you strike a piece of steel on an anvil it is not being struck once but twice. That is because every action has an equal and opposite reaction. When you strike an object, the force you exert in the strike rebounds toward the source of the strike. The more mass you have proximate to the source of the strike in the impacted material, the more efficiently that force is redirected back in the secondary impact. I can forge something out with my 800 pound black prince three times faster and with a quarter of the heats as I can with my 70 pounder. The best anvil for blacksmithing is always going to be the best one you can afford and price is always a function of mass. As you progress in skill, you will gradually come to appreciate the limits of lighter anvils and want a better, larger one. It's like any other hobby in that eventually you'll get better and better tools to suite your increase in skill and want to be more precise and more efficient. It may seem extremely expensive but what really adds up the most in the end is the expense of propane, coke, and charcoal; not to mention time. Blacksmithing with cheap tools in the long term is ultimately more expensive than it is with very expensive ones. I've spent many thousands of dollars on wasted fuel because of cheap tools. The only real exception to this is a striking anvil. I would never ever ever hold a piece of hot metal while someone pounded on my 800 pound anvil with a 16 pound sledge hammer. Not only could this destroy what is to me a priceless tool but it is stupendously dangerous. Should he miss and strike the face or edge of the anvil, shrapnel can fly off of it as fast as a bullet and kill you if it hits your head, neck, or a major artery. For that kind of work you can go with a much lighter and softer anvil that will bend and dent rather than fragment.

[@Hadlor]

From my novice experience, it seems the best option is around 80 to get by with about anything. My home made Anvil like object is a chunk of plate they mounted machinery to the ground with from a local block company. 3ft long about 5inches wide and an inch and a half thick. It by itself weighed 80lbs, but then I also welded it up to an angle iron frame, which weighed it up another 25lbs, and lag bolted it to a stack of 6x6 posts. The whole thing weighs about 250lbs and is more than enough mass under the hammer. You could do the same with the forks off a fork lift or another big hunk of scrap. Sadly, the block company I got the piece of plate from, scrapped their anvil and no one took it a few years back. Made in early 1900s, it was a Fisher 500lb Anvil. They just hauled it off to scrap cause no one wanted it.

[@grandadz_forge]

Anything to hammer with or on gets you started. I like that 10:1 formula. Very handy

[@silasstrathmann2066]

I have nearly the same peddinghaus anvil in my shop it’s an absolute dream

[@simpleforging3339]

that's interesting, I just went through contemplating 'Grampies anvil - keep or replace?' It's broke in two with the top welded onto an i beam and it does not limit my amateur ambitions in the least. Good content, thanks for this and keep it coming!

[@baxteroliver3319]

My anvil is a 114 pound anvil and I really like it because of the way I forge, I take a lot inspiration from Brian Breazeal and using I rounding hammer but that is my preference

[@strongsadventures]

Very good information thanks Roy

[@ChristCenteredIronworks]

Very welcome Thanks for watching

[@wiestwisk4423]

You can actually calculate your loss of energie quite easily. MxV=MxV If you have an anvil of 50kg, a hammer of 2kg and you swing this hammer with 15m/s this gives you; 2x15=50xV in which v is the velocity of the anvil. So 30=50xV gives v=30/50=0.6m/s Then the energy of the moving anvill can be calculeted with F=0.5xMxV^2 Gives F=0,5x50x0,6^2=25x0,36=9Newton The force put in to the hammerswing =0,5x2x15^2=225newton This means that 225-9=216 newton gets transferred into you're work. 216/225 gives an effeciency of 0,96 or 96%

[@simpleforging3339]

that is a solid breakdown showing the math that results in efficiency %

[@gordonfamilyforge134]

Need vs. Want is a very Prime distinction to be made. I could probably get by with a brick but I'd like to have a 6000 pound anvil just to say I have it. It's great to have goals though.

[@slipknot-codmyt5237]

Ive heard 40x your hammer weight but i just recently got an actual anvil. For the last 10 years ive been using a 2ft piece of railroad track mounted on 1/4 thick 2inch square tubing bolted to the floor. People dont realize how much an anvil cost till they start looking. A good 200lb anvil can cost over $1k. Its about $2 for every pound. If your just starting out here are some tips. You can forge on a large stump( if you have good ventilation). Some Master bladesmiths still use a stump to forge. Also you can get railroad track for anywhere from $10-$60 a foot depending on condition and it works beautifully.

[@JasonBolte]

Great video! I’m looking to buy an anvil and appreciate the info. Thanks!

[@hiddenworldforge374]

Imo the hammer to anvil ratio is 1:40. It seems to work well for me, maybe not everyone

[@Paulsinke]

Good information as always, thankyou for your work

[@MrBluesluver]

Good info. I'm thinking about trying some smaller hunting type knives and this was very helpful. BTW, I'm retired, so 5 lb hammers would probably be about my limit. Besides, I don't have a lot of room.

[@521cjb]

Roy, I have a 1915 Soderfors 79 pound Paragon that looks almost brand new, and I'd like to keep it that way. Could you make a video on the proper care and feeding of a good anvil, you know, what to do and what to avoid ? (I also have a 200 lb. flat scrap metal plate that would deafen Quasimodo, but with a good pair of earmuffs, can take a real beating.) Thanks.

[@garretttanner9788]

"The bigger the better" isn't always true. A larger anvil is a larger thermal mass and will suck heat out of the work more quickly. This isn't s big deal if you're making hammers or othr large items but for things like small to medium sized blades and leaves it can make a lot of extra work for you.

[@BullShitMatador]

That's not true at all. A larger anvil and better hammer handling produces more friction and compression heat in the struck material. The larger the anvil, the more efficiently the energy of the impact is rebounded into the material from the opposite direction of the impact. The better your anvil and the more skilled you are with the hammer, the fewer strikes and heats you need to achieve the same amount of work. Notice how some of the better blacksmiths on KZbin seem to be able to beat the metal which remains glowing hot for significantly longer periods than when less skilled smiths work the metal. It's not an illusion. Their metal does in fact stay hot longer and most of them use very large anvils.

[@Zogg1281]

Thank you. I've been trying to star blacksmithing and I could only afford a 20kg anvil and I've been worried that I'm going to be pushing the anvil way to far. The hammers I'm starting with started off at around 0.9kg and I've ground a fare amount of weight as well as I want the size of the striking surface but I have a seriously messed up back so I can't swing to much weight...... I'll let you know how it goes after forging my first object. Again, thank you

[@dahooligan12]

so... how'd it go? lol

[@barkspawn]

@@dahooligan12 he ded

[@b.ohugin610]

One of my good friend's grandfather was a career blacksmith. He had a 160-170 lb anvil and his son (my friend's dad) bought him a pristine 500 lb Peter Wright anvil for $500.00 25 years ago at an auction. Yes the price was $500. Anyway his grandfather never used it. He was just accustomed to his original anvil.

[@ethanshenk2058]

What size anvil should i get for knives and trinkets

[@MrJamesjustin]

Great info indeed Roy. Thank you mate.

[@Scott.Elliott]

I use an old tractor disk weight. Around 200 pounds.About 24" long, 6" wide for striking. Use my beat up old Crescent 70 pounder for the horn. Works out good for me.

[@BaconIover69]

There are technical two German anvil types. There is the southern form with the little plate coming out of the side. The northern form is the one you have. There is theoretically a third form its called the bohemian (bömisch) form. Bohemia is not a part of Germany anymore, but it was a long time ago.

[@Volundur9567]

And that little "shelf" on top of some is called Voramboss. Loosely translated as fore-anvil.

[@ffcrick9144]

Thank you Roy great job as always hope all is well with you and your family God Bless and have a great day guys. ⛪📖

[@jason9035]

Old timers said you should have at least 25-30 lbs of anvil for every one pound of hammer that is used.

[@rifleman7313]

I'm new to blacksmithing/knife making. I generally use scrap metals files, rasps, lawn mower blades, leaf springs, etc. Would it be better for me to use an expensive 25lb, 50lb anvil or should I look for something heavier I use 1lb, and 2lb hammers. This is a hobby and my funds are limited. Thanks for any thoughts or advice.

[@philipdunn7538]

To my knowledge it is 1kg hammer to 40kg anvil. This will yield maximun efficiency. The bigger the anvil, the bigger the hammer it can take and obviuosly any hammer below that. Many thanks for all the great videos.

[@BlacksmithTWD]

It's somewhere between 1:10 and 1:100, don't spend money on going lighter than 1:10 or you won't get much done and don't go over 1:100 since the benefit from that is neglectable. I work with hammers from 0.5 kg up to 5 kg, the one I use most is 1.25 kg. I got a 65 kg anvil for dragging around to events, a 125 kg anvil and a 250 kg anvil, I do most of my forging on the 250 kg, in my shop I mainly use the 65 kg anvil for the square horn and the pritchel hole which my other anvils don't have. I use the 125 kg for upsetting and have it about half a meter lower for that purpose. Going 1:40 to 1:60 is a pretty ideal weight anvil for your most used hammer. So if your main hammer is 1.25 kg like mine, and you go 1:50 you get 62.5 kg. So the 65 kg is a great starter anvil. Preferably I wouldn't go below 50 kg, but I have no problem lifting my 65 kg anvil or even my 125 kg anvil.

[@garethbaus5471]

Pretty sure that the largest anvil you can afford is generally the answer(assuming a stationary setup)

[@winterknightwarden8543]

I don't know what my anvil weight is. I just know that I got it from my dad and it's is heavy but not incumbersome .

[@captainz9]

If you're buying a 450lb anvil, plan on doing it after you've moved someplace you plan on staying for the next 30 years. 😂. Trust me, I've helped too many friends move big heavy stuff around even just in their workshop/garage much less trying to load that stuff into a truck and move it even just across town, to want to be doing it very often.

[@paulellis-wpmabb6482]

great info as always still on my little harbor freight 19lb strapped to a stump still bounces a little bit :-) not doing any fine finish work hope to up grade soon with forge

[@markweiss9858]

Does the weight of the anvil block help with the overall mass of the anvil. Like a 100lb anvil+100lb stump is equivalent to a 200lb anvil?

[@masonmp1889]

yes it does quite a bit if you saw this comment back (you probably wont see it though)

[@andymumford8523]

mine is a 75 pound columbian made in cleveland, OH i think some time in the 1950s

[@dr.lexwinter8604]

Columbia isn't exactly known for it's steelworks, let alone it's craftsmanship. How bad is it compared to something Germanic, like US or English?

[@joetheblacksmith8071]

@@dr.lexwinter8604 Columbian anvils are a super high quality all cast steel anvil the fuck are you talking about?

[@jurpo6]

@@dr.lexwinter8604 columbian is a brand in the US, not the country moron

[@bentoombs]

mine is 100 lb Trenton Made In 1902 by Charles zulty and I think it's more than I will Ever Need ,but I can always upgrade in the future. Heck I only out weigh it by about 10 lb lol

[@winterknightwarden8543]

Pardon my ignorance, what is the small hole just off the hardy hole on the anvil?

[@bentoombs]

Winterknight Warden it is called a pritchel hole

[@winterknightwarden8543]

Ben Toombs, thanks. I just looked it up and now I know its purpose.

[@cm8sunset797]

Thanks great and useful video

[@christopherpatrick2343]

Great

[@NascarJaydenGaming]

I'm number 19 like I love the intro Roy keep it up

[@itzbeef5691]

I made a 5lb rounding hammer on a harbor freight anvil

[@demastust.2277]

The biggest one. The most heavy anvil. I need the 1400 lb Fisher-Norris anvil.

[@jason9035]

Well it's sitting in a museum in New Jersey. I would like to see it in person. It's huge .

[@andymumford8523]

can you make videos on projects made of horse shoes please

[@daemonxblaze]

I gave up using an anvil. Now I have a wooden block with a steel plate fitted snugly over. (I work with aluminum)

[@grayem76]

im not happy i wasnt the first to like it for once sorry roy slipped on that just know im the second like lol

[@chrxunleashed7654]

That's what she said

[@ddayinvader6487]

My anvil is the 18 lb harbour freight anvil. Being in college, I can't afford to buy a bigger or better one. The thing jumps like a bullfrog.

[@micahadams2500]

Mine is about 50 to 75 lbs but I try to keep it mobile

[@fernandonogueira3290]

🎥 Nice vídeo 🎬 ! _ Congratulations! 👍 🇧🇷

[@wolfpackforge8474]

Hay I am in the middle of my personal anvil build and I would like to share my designs how can I get ahold of you via email preferably

[@chrxunleashed7654]

But what about the hobbyist

[@ffolted]

I beat on a 80lb anvil with a 3lb hammer...sure wish I had a bit smaller hammer somedays.My only complaint on my lil anvil is when I put in a spring hardy holddown tool in it I dont have much striking surface left to put material being held...

[@dr.lexwinter8604]

Remember when he thought that Chinese anvil with 'Steel' in Italian written on it was Italian? Yeah, bought one of those. Shouldn't have. I almost always expressly avoid non-Germanic countries (i.e. if it's not western Europe and the diaspora, USA, Canada, Australia, etc. I won't buy it) and will rather pay a higher amount for quality. But I took a chance. This thing was defective as heck. It came with industrial waste packed with it (why pay for waste removal when you can just mail it to your customers, right?) as packing material. Face is mashed. There's automotive bog behind paint on it. It's a wreck. Be very careful with anything from China or India, avoid it at all costs.

[@backfirebaldich5906]

Japanese is highest quality.

[@priestleyharker4046]

I'm good with my 250

[@nathandunning7150]

I know my 10kg isn't cutting it but it's my very first and eventually I'll have enough money for a real one.

[@franktimmerman5391]

mine is a soding und halbach 314 kg // 692 lbs from 1908 bigger is better

[@starhawke380]

If you dont need a crane to deliver it, you didnt go big enough!

[@martincorbitt1979]

I have 3 Antique Anvils for sell

[@martincorbitt1979]

76lbs. 109 lbs & 109 lbs for sell

[@martincorbitt1979]

76lbs ,109 lbs & 150lbs,

[@castledomeknives9395]

Dig ur ANVIL

[@frzburn]

mass != weight