Pro tip: That discount anvil on Facebook Marketplace nearly cost me a hand

I saw this ad for a 150 pound anvil listed at $80 near Springfield. Looked solid in the photos, clean face, no chips. Drove an hour to pick it up and the guy had it sitting in his damp garage. Soon as I tapped it with a hammer I heard that dead ring, you know the one. Turns out it was cast iron with a welded on steel plate, probably made in the 60s or something. I walked away but I heard later from a buddy that another smith bought it and the face cracked on his third project. We got enough risks with hot steel and hammers without buying junk that can explode on us. Anyone else run into these fake anvils being passed around?

2 comments

2 Comments

davidwright23d ago

Yeah I used to be one of those guys who thought any hunk of metal that looked like an anvil was good enough. Picked up a cast iron Fisher off Craigslist a few years back for cheap, thought I was smart. First real project with it I was forging a scroll and the whole top table just crumbled into chunks. Shrapnel hit my leg and left a bruise for two weeks. That was the wake up call, now I bring a ball bearing and a magnet to every anvil deal and walk away if the ring is dead or the magnet sticks funny.

dixon.ryan23d ago

Well I'll be damned, that's an eye opener right there. I used to figure an anvil was an anvil, you know, heavy chunk of metal good enough to hammer on. But hearing about that face cracking and sending shrapnel flying, that changes things. I guess I never realized how dangerous a bad one could really be until you spelled it out like that.