Where
to buy them, what to buy, how to buy, quality and condition, and links to
distributors and manufacturers of anvils.[Home] [Back to Tools & Tips page]
Where
to buy them, what to buy, how to buy, quality and condition, and links to
distributors and manufacturers of anvils.Latest update 26 September 2012. Updates coming. Major re-write in progress. Looking for another U.S. anvil manufacturer or manufacturers to add to this page. I know that there is another manufacture making some very nice two-horn anvils, but I have lost their name and information. I am actually going to replace the white and yellow picture place holder with a real picture one of these days.
Purchasing used anvils. Used anvils can be found at farm auctions, draft horse auctions, machine shop and ornamental iron shop auctions, flea markets events and swap meets at antique engine and steam power shows and blacksmithing events.
New anvils. New anvils can be bought from horseshoeing and blacksmith suppliers and from importers. Scroll down this page to find links to distributors and manufacturers of new anvils.
Beware of 'blacksmithing experts'. Things have changed dramatically since I bought my first anvil 25 years ago. Back then good anvils were more plentiful and it was still possible to get a good deal on used anvils if a smith had enough money. But even 25 years ago it was still very common for the new smith to get ripped off by dishonest 'experts' that the newbie thought could be trusted. I remember buying my first anvil many years ago from a backwoods flea market hillbilly, that anvil turned out to be a worthless cast iron boat anchor. After spending more than a year trying to find a serviceable anvil at numerous farm sales and auctions, I concluded that it was faster and cheaper to just buy new and save the hassles and expensive travel and time attending distant sales events. With a simple telephone call and a letter to Centaur Forge, I had a new anvil for the same money I had already spent trying to find a used anvil.
Buy only steel anvils! Buy only steel anvils or anvils with wrought iron body and steel face - do NOT buy cast iron anvils. Forged steel anvils are the best followed by cast steel anvils and wrought iron anvils with steel faces fire-welded onto them.
Steel anvils are a solid homogenous block of steel which reflect nearly all of the force of the hammer blows back into the work being forged. Wrought iron anvils with steel faces work as well as steel anvils. Hammer bounce test is the easiest way determine if an anvil is cast iron or steel. Bouncing a hammer off the center of the face of the steel anvils, the hammer will bounce back up almost as high as it was dropped. Bouncing a hammer off the middle of a cast iron anvil, the hammer will bounce only about half as high. This test works best if the smith has seen it done before with a cast iron anvil and a steel anvil setting side-by-side. Steel anvils reflect hammer blows in a way that cast iron cannot.
Why not cast iron? Cast iron anvils inherently contain layers or platelets of graphite throughout their mass. The graphite layers in cast iron anvils absorb concussion (hammer blows in our case) and cushion the work. In cast iron anvil this results in a softer work surface that absorbs force of hammer blows- making us work much harder to produce less product over the same time period compared with using a steel or wrought iron and steel anvil. Avoid cast iron anvils. Buy steel anvils.
The hardie hole. Hardies are specialized blacksmith tools with square shanks that fit in the square hole of the anvil.
Standard hardie hole sizes only! Look for an anvil with a standard size hardie hole. Anvils are available with a huge variety of hardie hole sizes. But few hardies shank sizes are available. New hardies and hardie tools sold in the United States are most widely available in 25mm or 1 inch, and 1-1/4 inch sizes. Check with blacksmith suppliers to see what hardie sizes they have available before choosing an anvil. Professional smiths forge their own hardies, but the beginner will want to buy a cutting hardie when they begin blacksmithing.
Sizes of hardie holes. The size of the hardie refers to the square dimension of the tool shank that must fit in the square hole of the anvil. Measure your anvil's square hole before buying hardies. The beginner will need to buy his/her first cutting hardie so it is best to buy an anvil with a hardie hole that fits the shanks of store-bought hardies. Many cheap anvils have hardie holes too small for standard hardies. In many cases the manufacturer thought the square hole was some kind of decoration, Harbor Freight anvils are a good example of anvils that won't accept standard hardies, and another example is a seller on eBay that is currently selling cheap imported cast iron anvils (he claims they are steel) and the hardie hole is rotated diagonal.
American blacksmith suppliers stock hardies and tools for anvils with 1-inch and 1-1/4th-inch hardie holes. Some American suppliers (Centaur Forge and similar suppliers) also stock a wide variety of 25mm hardies for European anvils. Horseshoeing suppliers offer 3/4-inch and 7/8-inch cutting hardies for their smaller horseshoeing anvils- cutting hardies and horseshoeing related tooling only! Oddball hardie shank sizes like 5/8" are not available.
European anvils are available with a wide variety of hardie hole sizes including 25mm, 26mm, 28mm, 29mm, 31mm, 34mm. American blacksmith suppliers often stock a large variety of European hardie tooling for 25mm. Smiths must forge all of their own tooling for the larger hardie shank sizes.
Condition of the edges of the anvils is important. Look for good side-edges, no arc-welded surfaces on the anvil due to loss of hardness in those areas (arc welding destroys the hardness of the effected area of the face or edge). Look for a perfectly flat face (no warped or twisted surfaces). If the anvil has a warped or twisted surface then it is not possible to produce straight or flat surfaces on ironwork that may require straightening or flattening.
Surface
of anvil must be flat! The working surface or face of the anvil must be flat
or the smith will have continuous trouble straightening ironwork. A warped surface
causes the iron to assume the same shape with every blow of the hammer. A flat
work surface allows the smith to finish the work flat and allows the smith to
quickly straighten the ironwork when done forging. This is an important rule! A
warped or twisted anvil surface will lead to difficulty flattening or
straightening the iron. Ignore the hobby smiths that make claims to the contrary,
they don't do the work that they talk about. Listen to a smith that must rely on
accurate work for creating mechanical joints and fasteners for installing
ironwork. Listen to one that has forged horseshoes for actual use in shoeing
horses. A flat anvil is a requirement. Good work cannot be done on a warped or
dished anvil.
If the anvil is acquired with a warped or twisted work surface, then either discard it or take it to a machine shop for surface grinding. Don't attempt this your self with a hand grinder. A hand grinder will make the problem much worse. Machine shops use a special surface grinding machine that assures a perfectly smooth and flat finish. This is the same method used to finish the face of a new anvil before it leaves the manufacturer. At left is an example of an anvil that previously had a warped surface. After re-surfacing at a machine shop this anvil was as flat and smooth as the day its first owner took it home.
The bigger, the better. Buy the heaviest anvil you can find. Try to get a feel for how large an anvil you think you may need and then buy something much larger. Most smiths end up needing a larger anvil than they first thought.
Why the heaviest? Because a light anvil jumps and vibrates more under the blows of (forging with a 3-pound hammer) the hammer than a heavier anvil. Consider my 230 pound Kohlswa for an example. This anvil is a bit light for me as I can hit pretty hard. During recent filming of a forging demonstration in my shop the anvil can be seen shaking and vibrating violently under every hammer blow, and my anvil is strapped down to a heavy fabricated anvil bench. A heavier anvil will deflect less than a lighter anvil and offer more counter-force to each hammer blow. The more an anvil reflects the hammer blows back into the work, the more force that is imparted into the iron being forged. A 100-pound anvil might be good for a lightweight traveling shop used by a farrier, but even a farrier will have a heavier anvil in his home shop or shoeing shop. Smaller saddle-horse shoes don't need a lot of force to shape but draft shoes take a lot of force. Consequently draft horseshoers use heavier anvils. The same is true of ornamental ironwork. Light anvils may be easier to move to a about the shop but the lighter anvil offers less reflective counter-force and requires more effort by the smith to forge the iron.
No flat top horns. Top surface of the horn MUST be rounded (no flat horns like those sold by Harbor Freight).
Most antique anvils have some amount of damage on the edges. How much damage you are willing to accept is up to you. If a large amount of the edges of either side of the anvil are damaged, I strongly suggest you don't purchase that anvil. If an anvil is antique and has a perfectly smooth face and edges, it might have been arc-welded to fill in chips or damage and look for tell-tale color distortions. There is no repair for this damage because antique anvils have steel faces welded to the wrought iron bodies and re-hardening will likely cause the face to break away. Newer all-steel anvils may be re-hardened and tempered. To determine if arc-welder was used on the surface of the anvil, look for iron color distortions or a differing color makeup on the surface of the anvil.
Stay sharp. A good anvil can still be found from time to time at a sale or auction but only one bidder out of a hundred or more will get it. Lack of time and other pressures prevent a really good assessment of quality or condition of anvils at auctions. Did the buyer really know what he was bidding on? Do you have enough money to be that bidder? More often than not, the anvils at farm sales and other auctions are worn out, badly gouged, broken up, warped, or lost temper due to arc welders applied to them. And the auctioneer will be pressuring the bidders with ridiculous jabs that the anvil "is the last of the good ones for sale" (says who?), and " 'they' don't make good anvils like 'this one' anymore" (who says 'they' don't make good anvils anymore?).
While attending auctions, stay sharp, and always remember that the auctioneer's job is to create a bidding frenzy to drive up the price of items that might not even be serviceable. Often buyers will bid the price higher than a new anvils sells for at a blacksmith supplier. Would you want to be the fool that bought the used (and often worn out) anvil for more money than new one could be found? Know the price of new anvils before buying at auction. And demand only serviceable tools as the terms of your purchase. Don't get caught in a bidding frenzy. Judge the tools hard. If it isn't in good shape than don't buy it. Remember that a junk anvil reduces your productive use of the tool. And there are no returns if you find out after the sale that the anvil you bought in a panic, turns out to be junk.
I now recommend to all new smiths that they save their time and money and forget about searching for used anvils. New anvils are now cheaper than used anvils. This is a radical departure from advice most other people are currently giving. In early 2003 (January) I began recommending that new smiths abandon their pursuit of used anvils at auctions and simply buy new. Other smiths will soon be offering this advice. Here are my reasons:
New anvils are best value today! New anvils are now very cheap. Steel foundries in the Czech Republic are currently putting so much pricing pressure on the anvil market that we have seen prices of some of the top line anvils fall. A blacksmith can purchase a new anvil in perfect condition from the suppliers listed on this webpage for the same or less money than a used anvil typically sells for at auction. So think about this; why buy used when you can spend the same money get a new anvil that you really like, rather than the only used anvil at a sale that doesn't match your needs? Prices of the Czech anvils are low enough that a new smith can find a new anvil in his/her price range and it will be a heavier anvil than the worn-out used anvil at an auction. Time and travel cost money. How much money does a smith need to spend traveling to sales before he finally realizes that coming back empty handed 9 times out of 10 will cost him more than just writing a check to a supplier and buying a new anvil? Wasting time at sales is time NOT spent working in a blacksmith's shop.
New anvils are now cheaper than used anvils. Prices of used, broken, chipped, worn-out, poorly repaired(?) anvils at auctions in the U.S. have been bid up so high as to make buyers of those used anvils look like the proverbial village idiot. Prices at auctions are now higher than the prices of new anvils of the same or heavier weight. Know the prices of new anvils before buying a used anvil at auction. Check out the prices at the distributors linked lower on this page.
Prices
Update September 26th, 2012. The price of anvils is rocketing skyward. Steel prices are high and going higher. Import prices from Europe to the U.S. are going higher due to the changing monetary exchange rates. Coupled with high taxes imposed by the marxist governments in some countries, many of our previously bargain priced European anvils are going up in price too. A good anvil makes it much easier to do good work, so I am still recommending buying anvils from all of the manufacturers on this page.
$1.00 per pound? What are we talking about here, buying hamburger or an anvil? The only anvils priced by the pound are those that are being sent to the scrap recycler. All serviceable anvils have a unit price. Look in any catalog from any company - all new anvils have a single unit price. All anvils listed in blacksmith suppliers' catalogs are priced by the unit - price per anvil! Prices will vary according to style, weight, popularity, shipping costs, volume purchase, and a variety of other factors. In other words, it doesn't matter that we might be considering one particular style of anvil in different weights. No anvil is sold 'by the pound'. Yet hobby smiths are convinced that anvils are sold 'by the pound'. If we were to waste vast amounts of time trying to figure out how much money 'per pound' that we paid for an anvil, the only conclusion we would come to is that every anvil was sold by a different price 'per pound' and that there is no specific 'price per pound'. How many cars have you seen priced 'per pound'? Anvils are sold as a single unit- just like your car! Shipping charges may apply by weight, but purchase price is always per unit.
There will be lots of hobby smiths that disagree with me. So I suggest unbelievers try this to prove their point; the next time you see an anvil at a flea market that the nitwit is selling 'by the pound', ask him if you can have 20 or so pounds of it at that price. If he gives you a dull or stupefied look, you have your proof. If he lops off 20 or so pounds from the anvil for you, then you have proved me wrong.
London pattern & American pattern anvils. These are the two most common styles of anvils used in the United States. The Names 'London' pattern and 'American' pattern, are names we have been using in the United States for many years. They may be named differently in other countries. The difference between the London pattern and the American pattern anvils is the relative appearance or mass of the anvil. The American pattern anvil had the same basic shape as the London pattern anvil, but the American pattern anvil has a more blocky or massive waist - the London pattern anvils having a longer leaner look with a narrow waist. Both of these anvil patterns have a single swelled horn. The swelled horns are very effective for making horseshoes because the swelled horn helps maintain the inside shape of the toe of the shoe.
The single horn anvils were also available in a German pattern with a choice of swelled horn or a plain conical shaped horn (a horn with a straight taper - not swelled) horn is available on new imported anvils from Sweden, Germany, and the Czech Republic. The German pattern anvils have a hardie hole placed near the horn instead of near the tail of the anvil.
European
style two-horn anvils have two horns as the name suggests. A round (conical)
horn that contrasts with the typical swelled horn of an American or London pattern
anvil. The round horn presents a nearly perfect round cone in its cross section
and is much more useful for drawing iron than the swelled horn. The opposite horn
is square in its cross section and presents a tapered flat face surface that is
useful for working inside narrow or hard to reach places of ironwork such as
finials of ornamental ironwork. The Kohlswa B31 and Peddinghaus 18P2 are good
examples of two-horn anvils. Many two-horn anvils coming from Europe will have a
third horn mounted on the side of the face of the anvil called a clip-horn or
auxiliary-horn. This auxiliary horn is basically an extension of the face of the
anvil and serves to offer an extra surface to work with that has no base beneath
it to foul the work or tools when forging some awkward ornamental work or when
forging toe clips on draft shoes. The Kohlswa B34 and B36 are good examples of
two-horn anvils with a third auxiliary horn. The auxiliary horn is placed on the
anvil opposite the blacksmith. So be sure to note the placement and position of
the anvil in your shop before ordering an anvil with an auxiliary horn. See the
Kohlswa foundry website and follow the
links to find the anvils they manufacture.
German
style two-horn anvils often have very distinctive features. The hardie hole of
modern German style anvils is placed near the round horn of the anvil rather than
near the tail of the anvil, and the hardie hole is positioned inside the area of
the feet or base of the anvil. Placing the hardie hole inside this base area
offers more support and mass beneath the hardie and the anvil is subjected to far
less bouncing and shaking under the heaviest hammer blows.
The German anvils place the horn right up next to the workface of the anvil, omitting the cutting block that is normally associated with the typical London or American pattern anvils. German smiths are taught to either cut only partially through the metal and finishing the cut off the edge of the anvil, or to cut over a iron plate placed temporarily on the anvil. The cutting block would have taken up valuable workspace on the anvil and moved the useful drawing area of the horn farther away from the support of the main body of the anvil.
South
German Style (Sűddeutsche Form) anvils
have another very distinctive characteristic in addition to their other German
features- a feathered transition from the horn to the face of the anvil. Unlike
other patterns of anvils, the south German style anvil offers a single continuous
work surface from tip to tail. There is no abrupt cutoff between the horn and the
rest of the body of the anvil. Compare the anvils at left with the German style
shown above in the previous paragraph, and this difference is very clearly
visible. The feathered transition of the South German Style is considered by many
smiths (including myself) to be a great advantage and utility in the use of the
anvil. The feathered transition is applied to both the two-horn anvils and the
single horn anvils. Thumbnail photos at left show a Kohlswa B-34 two-horn anvil,
and a pair of Blacksmiths anvils distributed by Branco and sold under the name
'Workhorse' or 'Austrian' style by Old World Anvils. There are other styles of
anvils imported by Old World Anvils company that also fit the south-German style.
Two of the biggest are the 'Habermann' anvil and the 'Peddinghaus 200' anvil.
Styrian
style anvil. (Steirische Form) The Styrian anvil gets its name from the
location or region in Austria where this anvil was favored. Styria is one of the
states in Austria. This is the style of anvil used at Otto Schmirler's shop in
Vienna Austria. Old World Anvils sells this style of anvil under the name Austrian
Style Workhorse.
Italian style anvil. (Italienische Form) Italian style anvils are different from other two-horn anvils. The round hole is placed inside the large round horn, and the hardie hole is near the base of the square horn.
For easy reference when describing anvils on this page, I will use the same names as the manufacturer when describing their anvils. The naming conventions used by Branco seem to be common among all the anvils being imported from the Czech Republic so I will use the same anvil naming conventions when describing anvils on this page. Here's just a small sample of the names and styles of anvils one will encounter when looking new anvils. Keep in mind that all of these manufacturers make more styles of anvils than what I have described here.
Branco uses name recognition to help potential buyers remember the names of some of its most popular anvils. Alfred Habermann is a very famous artist blacksmith from the Czech Republic, and some of his input into anvil design has been used in the design of the Habermann anvil. Other popular anvils by Branco include the Peddinghaus 200, and the Workhorse which is similar in style and design with the popular single horn church window anvils that many of us have seen Otto Schmirlers old shop in Vienna Austria. Other companies such as Kohlswa uses letter and number designations such as A-1, A-4, B-31, B-36, C-51. Refflinghaus uses a numbering system to name its anvils, Nr. 57, Nr. 58, and Form C.
Hardie holes in German style anvils. Hardie holes placed near round horns on some European anvils. The hardie hole on a German style anvil is placed near the round horn so that tools placed in the hardie hole will be positioned towards the left of the hammer when the smith is working on the face of the anvil. This is in contrast to the London pattern or American pattern both of which place the hardie near the heal of the anvil. Placing the hardie hole near the round horn instead of the tail of the anvil, moves the hardie tooling away from the hand-grip of the hammer and allows the smith to continue to work the iron on the face of the anvil without having to waste time removing the hardie between tasks. The German and Swedish and Czech anvils place the hardie hole near the round horn but the English anvils such as Vauhn/Brooks do not.
Most blacksmiths set up the anvil with the horn pointing to the left while working. When a blacksmith swings the hammer, it falls in a way that the hammer head is moving to the middle or slightly to the left side of his body, while his hand grips the handle near the right. After working with a tool in the hardie hole the smith still does some work on the anvil face immediately after using the hardie. The smith moves the work to the center of the anvil to get the strongest blows while leaving the hardie in the anvil. It is too awkward and time consuming to remove the hardie during forge-work. The smith's fingers grip the hammer near the right side of the anvil and will repeatedly foul and strike the hardie causing injury to hammer handle and to his hand, while he works at the face of the anvil with a tool in the hardie hole of an anvil with a hardie hole to the right.
Hardie holes are placed far outside the base of the area formed by the feet of the anvil on both the London and American pattern anvils. This means that the London and American pattern anvils are subject to more bouncing and shaking under hammer blows when striking metal over the hardie hole. Pritchel holes in these style anvils are located far out to the extreme ends of the tails of these anvils. When using the pritchel holes on the London and American style anvils the smith must be more careful to prevent the work from falling off the anvil while pritcheling the work. It is usually easier to pritchel over the hardie hole instead of balancing the work precariously over the far corner of the tail end of the anvil.
The swelled horn is made for the purpose of turning horseshoes. The 19th and 20th century was a period in which mostly London and American pattern anvils were used in the United States. This was a period of horsepower and most smiths were as likely to shoe horses as they were to perform other shop work. The swell of the horn was designed to fit the inside shape of most horseshoes. London pattern anvils typically had very large swelled horns while the American pattern anvils had smaller horns.
Anvil horn types.
The anvil horn - swelled.
The anvil horn - conical.
Auxiliary horns and upsetting blocks.
Auxiliary horns
The auxiliary horn resembles a shelf extending from one side of the anvil near the round horn. The auxiliary horn always faces away from the blacksmith (mounted to the far side of the anvil). Keep in mind that the manufacturer assumes that the smith places the round horn of a double-horn anvil, to the left.
The auxiliary horn is useful for a variety of purposes. One example is pulling clips on draft horse shoes. The clip on a draft horse shoe requires the smith to bob-punch the toe and then draw the thin dimple of extruded metal against the side of the anvil. The auxiliary horn allows the toe of the shoe to be held tightly against the side edge of the auxiliary horn without the tongs fouling the side of the anvil. To use a London pattern anvil for this same task requires the smith to step around the front of the horn to work at an awkward angle against the heel of the anvil.
Upsetting
blocks
An upsetting block is often cast into a steel anvil at the feet or base of the anvil. The purpose of this block is to allow the smith to upset long bars at a lower height than that presented by the face of the anvil. This block is very useful and consequently this is why they are so commonly found on European anvils. The upsetting blocks are found on either the near side or far side of the anvils. This is a very important feature and many smiths have very strong preferences as to the placement of the upsetting block.
An upsetting block on the near side of the anvil (Kohlswa B-36, Branco Peddinghaus 200) places the upsetting block in a very practical position for upsetting without need for walking around to the opposite side of the anvil or reaching over the main body of the anvil to jump iron on the opposite far side of the anvil. The only drawback to this placement is that the upsetting block forces the blacksmith to position the anvil on its work stand or bench approximately 1 inch farther back (away from the smith). Many smith do not consider this to be a problem.
An upsetting block on the far side of the anvil (Kohlswa B-34 series, Peddinghaus brand two-horn anvils, Refflinghaus 1858-series, Branco Habermann) is still practical to use by walking around to the far side of the anvil or simply turning the anvil around so the round horn faces to the right and places the upsetting block to the near side. Many smiths do much of their upsetting on the face of the anvil or choose instead, to design their work to be drawn rather than upset. Positioning the upsetting block on the far side of the anvil allows the smith to mount the anvil approximately 1 inch closer to the nearest edge of the anvil bench.
Centaur Forge ltd. http://www.centaurforge.com Drop forged and cast steel anvils, Horseshoeing and blacksmith supply company in Burlington WI, U.S. Mankel anvils, Vaughans anvils and a large variety of horseshoeing anvils by JHM, NC, Cliff Carrol, etc.
Kayne & Son. http://www.blacksmithsdepot.com/ New URL! German drop-forged anvils. Prices of Peddinghaus anvils are falling due to competition. These anvils are the last drop forged anvils made. All Peddinghaus anvils are of the German style in which the horn cuts directly into the body of the anvil. Name brand Peddinghaus anvils. These are the real thing. These anvils supplied in a variety of weights and sizes. Two-horn anvils have upsetting block but not auxiliary horns.
Kentucky Horseshoeing School http://www.kyhorseshoeing.com Kohlswa anvil distributor for North America. Cast steel anvils. Kohlswa anvils are fully machined and clean. Note that there is nothing on the KHS website about selling anvils. A prospective buyer would need to contact the school and ask about purchasing an anvil. The school stocks a few of the more popular sizes and styles that sell the most, but any anvil found on the Kohlswa website can be ordered from the Kentucky Horseshoeing School. (NOTE- if you want a specific anvil that he does not stock, then you may have wait anywhere from 3 months to a year to get it because the anvils are shipped from Sweden). Buyers must ask for current pricing information. Prices are competitive with the Czech anvils. I use Kohlswa anvils and my next anvil will also be a Kohlswa. Unlike some of the faces of the Czech made anvils, the faces on the Kohlswa two-horn B34 and B36 are level all the way across from the tip of the round horn to the tip of the square horn (a very practical design for ornamental ironworkers!).
Nimba. http://www.nimbaanvils.com/ Made in the USA. Italian style two-horn anvils.
Old World Anvils http://oldworldanvils.com/ Cast Steel Anvils. Anvils made in Czech Republic. The horns on these anvils are not machined smooth. Selling many types including the south-German style two-horn anvils including the Habermann style similar to Kohlswa B34, the Branco Peddinghaus 200 featured as "The Ultimate" that is similar to Kohlswa B36 with the addition of 15 degree offset. Single horn anvil styles including the Bavarian or Austrian style blacksmiths' anvil featured as "The Workhorse" with church windows like those seen in pictures of Otto Schmirler's shop in Vienna Austria. Branco anvils are very economical. A quick word on anvils for new smiths, the "Workhorse" blacksmith style anvils come in a wide variety of sizes and prices that make a new anvil affordable to beginning blacksmiths with a small budget. Again buy the largest heaviest anvil you can afford when starting out. If you can afford a 200 kg or heavier anvil then consider the Habermann anvil or the 200 model "Ultimate" anvil as well as the Workhorse anvils. I recommend the 200 model 'Ultimate' because the horn is made horizontal and level with the face of the anvil.
Branco Anvils Anvils made in the Czech Republic - Branco is an exporter of anvils rather than a founder. Cast steel anvils. Horns are not machined smooth. Old World Anvils is the only distributor in the US selling Branco anvils. Nice website, gives a whole group of anvil styles to choose from all on one page. Styles to fit just about every taste here. http://www.branco.cz/anvils.htm
Kohlswa Cast Steel Anvils. A steel foundry in Sweden that makes the Kohlswa anvils used by many ornamental iron shops. Fully machined and clean. http://www.kohlswagjuteri.se/ These are the anvils I buy for my own shop. These anvils continue to be made in the traditional shapes that professional blacksmiths demand- unlike many of the anvils made for anvil suppliers in the U.S. Thanks to one of my readers I have learned that Kentucky Horseshoeing School is a dealer for these anvils in the U.S. (see links for North American anvil distributors above) with delivery time roughly 3-4 months and sometimes up to a year as told to me by one of my readers that has recently bought a new Kohlswa from the school.
Nimba. http://www.nimbaanvils.com/ Made in the USA. Italian style two-horn anvils.
Peddinghaus Anvils manufactured by Ridgid Tool Company in Gevelsberg Germany. Drop-forged steel anvils. Fully machined and clean. http://www.ridgid.com/ridgid-peddinghaus/
Refflinghaus Ernst Refflinghaus. Cast steel Anvils, blacksmith tools, and forges made in Ennepetal Germany. http://www.ernst-refflinghaus.de/index.html . This is a different Refflinghaus than the anvils sold by Centaur years ago. Previously Centaur Forge sold anvils by August Refflinghaus. The model numbering scheme of the anvils is similar and I think these companies are related by family or possibly a new owner continuing manufacture after a previous owner retired. A little more on the history of forging anvils can also be seen on the Ernst Refflinghaus website here: http://www.ernst-refflinghaus.de/pageID_4751474.html
Strassen Industriemuseum. http://hsfriedenshoehe.net/kse/page2.htm Original equipment and tooling of the Refflinghaus Anvil Smithy set up as an outdoor street museum display in Ennepetal, Germany. This website is a school project completed in 1998. Their new home page: http://www.hsfriedenshoehe.de/ . This link was updated 17 February 2005.
Vaughns Cast Steel Anvils. A horseshoe, blacksmith forge & tooling, and machinery manufacture in the U.K. Horns not machined smooth. Centaur Forge is a dealer in the US. http://www.bakerhousegroup.com
Page updated on 26 September, 2012.
This page under construction.
This page created on October 1, 2002.