The Anvil
Here is a picture of an anvil with explanations of the various parts. There are a surprising number of unique characteristics about anvils. At first glance you might see that it is a flat surface that is hammered on. And while this is true there are actually quite a few other characteristics of the anvil that are very useful to the blacksmith. I will go over these features.
The markings and weight of the anvil
Typically an anvil will have markings on it that will display the company that made it and the weight of the anvil. As far as the weight goes there are several different ways that this is done. American made anvils will often be marked in pounds, european anvils often marked in kilograms and older anvils, particularly from great britain could have a peculiar marking system called "Hundred Weight" . It will be shown as three digits with a dot between each digit. Something like this:
2 - 2 - 6
The HundredWeight Anvil marking: the first digit is multiplied by 112 pounds, the second digit is multiplied by 28 and the last digit is the remaining pounds. And all three of these results are added together. So an anvil marked with 2-2-6 would actually weigh 286 pounds. Darn big anvil!
(A typical anvil)
- Horn - Used for forming curves in metal
- Cutting table - used for cutting metal. You don't want to cut metal on the face of the anvil. It could cause damage. The cutting table usually is of a softer metal than the face of the anvil.
- Face - Where you do most of your hammering
- Pritchel hole a hole used to punch holes through metal
- Hardy hole - Tools are placed in this so you can work use the tool. A good example would be a hot cut tool. it is placed in the hardy hole and it has a cutting edge on the top. So you place the metal to be cut on top of this tool then strike it. I will show more about this.
A Video showing you the parts and uses of the Anvil
Return to lesson 1 of the Blacksmithing Course
A note from Will: I own this book and it is a terrific beginning point for learning blacksmithing. I also own other blacksmithing and sword making books.
Virtually every task beginning and intermediate blacksmiths must master is presented in this excellent book. Over 400 detailed drawings help increase comprehension levels. This is a reference manual that will be found lying open on the workbench more often than found on the bookshelf and is highly recommended to anyone swinging a hammer to shape hot metal. This is an excellent introduction to this glorious craft and an excellent resource for advancing your knowledge, skills, and vision for blacksmithing.
Blacksmithing
- Blacksmithing Home Page
- Introduction to the Art and the home made forge
- Part 2 - some simple blacksmithing skills
- Making A Forge
- How to make a cheap and easy forge
- How to Make a Sword - an overview of the process
- Books, tools and more
- Blacksmithing Tips
- Safety Tips and Guidelines
- A look at the Anvil
- Blacksmithing Pics
- Blacksmithing Videos
- Words and definitions
- Blacksmith shops in castles
- Blacksmithing Equipment
- Youtube blacksmithing videos here on my website
- The Blacksmith Poem
- Knifemaking and Knifesmithing
Blacksmithing Course: Lessons
- Introduction to the Anvil
- The Forge
- A quick look at forging
- Drawing out metal
- Twisting metal
- Using a Hardie tool to bend
- The Eight Basic Hammering Technniques of a blacksmith
- A look at Hardie Tools
Projects
LINKS & MORE
Lots of Blacksmithing Videos on my youtube channel
My Other Websites
The Telescope Nerd
Castlefiction.com
Epic-Fantasy.com
The Fantasy Blog
The Fantasy Guide
Medieval Castles
Medieval Swords
Medieval Weapons
The Knight Medieval
willkalif.com
make-video-games.com HobbyNerd.com
All Materials, unless
otherwise stated are
Copyright©2000-2012
Kalif Publishing and
StormtheCastle.com
For more information or
for customer support
check out
copyright and info page
Hi, Thanks for visiting
my website.
My name is Will.
If you have any questions
or want to contribute
to this website:
---------
