Had a cheap anvil that let me down, finally dropped money on a proper one

I was using a harbor freight special for two years and it just rang like a bell and dented up. I picked up a used Peter Wright at an estate sale for $350 last month and my hammer work got way more consistent right away. Anyone else make a tool upgrade that felt like cheating?

4 comments

4 Comments

emmawood1mo ago

That "rang like a bell" part is the real kicker. Cheap anvils have that hollow ring that tells you half the force is going into vibration instead of the work. My old one would sing so loud I had to wear earplugs even for light work. The mass just isnt there to soak up the hit the way a real anvil does. Once you get something with proper mass and a dead face everything changes. Its like the hammer decides to behave all by itself.

jana_scott1mo ago

Those lighter anvils under 100 pounds are the worst offenders in my experience. Did you notice a specific weight where that dead face quality kicked in, or was it more about the brand and what the thing was actually cast from? Just trying to pin down what to look for if someone has to buy used without being able to test drive a bunch of them first.

angela6871mo ago

Have you ever tried just knocking on different parts of the anvil with a small hammer? That's what I ended up doing when I was in your shoes. For me, the dead face thing really showed up around the 75 to 90 pound range, especially with those cast iron imports that feel like they're just barely held together. I found that if you tap lightly from the heel to the horn, a good anvil has a dull thud near the face that stays consistent, while the cheap ones go from a ping to a dead spot real fast. It's not perfect but it saved me from buying a real clunker once, and it doesn't need you to be a blacksmith to get a feel for it.

jenkins.reese1mo ago

Gotta pushback on that a bit. A loud ring doesn't always mean a bad anvil, some of the old Hay-Buddens had a nice ring and still worked like a dream.

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