Anvil - Types

Types

There are many designs for anvils, which are often tailored for a specific purpose or to meet the needs of a particular smith. Such designs have originated in diverse geographic locations.

The common blacksmith's anvil is made of either forged or cast steel, tool steel, or wrought iron (cast iron anvils are generally shunned, as they are too brittle for repeated use, and do not return the energy of a hammer blow like steel). Historically, some anvils have been made with a smooth top working face of hardened steel welded to a cast iron or wrought iron body, though this manufacturing method is no longer in use. It has at one end a projecting conical bick (beak, horn) used for hammering curved work pieces. The other end is typically called the heel. Occasionally the other end is also provided with a bick, partly rectangular in section. Most anvils made since the late 18th century also have a hardy hole and a pritchel hole where various tools, such as the anvil-cutter or hot chisel, can be inserted and held by the anvil. Some anvils have several hardy and pritchel holes, to accommodate a wider variety of hardy tools and pritchels. An anvil may also have a softer pad for chisel work.

An anvil for a power hammer is usually supported on a massive anvil block, sometimes weighing over 800 tons for a 12-ton hammer; this again rests on a strong foundation of timber and masonry or concrete.

An anvil may have a marking indicating its weight, manufacturer, or place of origin. American-made anvils were often marked in pounds. European anvils are sometimes marked in kilograms. English anvils were often marked in hundredweight, the marking consisting of three numbers, indicating hundredweight, quarter hundredweight and pounds. For example, a 3-1-5, if such an anvil existed, would be 3x112 lb + 1x28 lb + 5 lb = 369 lb ≈ 168 kg.

Cheap anvils made from inferior steel or cast iron, which are unsuitable for serious use, have been derisively referred to as "ASOs", or "Anvil Shaped Objects". Amateur smiths have used a piece of railroad rail as a makeshift anvil.

Top quality modern anvils are made of cast or forged tool steel and are heat treated for optimum hardness and toughness.

A metalworking vise may have a small anvil integrated in its design.