#PETER WRIGHT ANVIL MARKING TIMELINE CRACK#

The wife wants the bathroom remodeling finished. He hauled from place to place and it was offered to me before I had any interest in the craft and I am really glad that I took it as it has become somewhat of a family heriloom. The other two need some repair but other things get in the way. All these imperfections are useful in the forging process. One side is straight, there is still a slight dip in the center and a selection of various radii along the sides. After alot of grinding and welding to repair the crack, side chips and sway back I have come to like the anvil.

#PETER WRIGHT ANVIL MARKING TIMELINE CRACK#

When I decided to repair it the started to Vee out the crack and found that the heal had actually been broken off and welded back on. The 126# had a crack from one corner of the hardy hole. If you find one in other than pristine condition they are quite repairable using preheat, the correct welding rod and lots of grinding. I have three of the Peter Wright anvils, 126,145 & 277#. For the last 15 years I have been studying the blacksmith craft. I think you are correct about the weight. Take cvare of your anvil and do not abuse it. Used to be a dollar a pound for older anvils was the going rate, but I hear tell it is up to closer to three bucks a pound for an anvil in usable condition.Īs for my own Peter wrights- I will not part with them.

At those events, you will see beat up anvils with swaybacked and chipped faces being sold off tailgates for some substantial prices. As for how sought after it might be, just go to any sort of blacksmith s event (look up ABANA or 'Art Blacksmiths' or check the 'Anvilfire' website). If you have one whose working face isn't worn like a swaybacked horse and whose edges aren't chipped too badly, you have a really good anvil. They simply are a good looking anvil, known as a 'London Pattern' anvil. IMO, one of theother attractions to a Peter wright anvil are the shape and proportions. Both are fine anvils with a reasonable ring to them. His dad had been a working smith who died in 1952 or so, and that Peter Wright anvil came from his dad's shop. The other Peter Wright came from a friend who got it from his dad. She sold me a mess of tools with the anvil for 25 bucks. I was a kid of 14, so the widow treated me right. The older of the two I got in 1964, from a quarry blacksmith's widow, and it was old then. I have two Peter Wright Anvils in my shop. The round hole is the 'pritchel' hole- used for punching nail holes thru on horsehoes for themost part. Other tools for forming such as 'swages' (for forming round work) or 'fullers' (for necking and grooving or reducing the size of stock), or flatters, bending forks and anything else the smith needed to shape or cut the work were made up to fit into that hardy hole. The 'triangular piece' you mention is likely a hardy or cutoff tool that fits in that hole. Anvil tools with square tapered shanks fit into that hole. The square hole you name on the anvil is the 'hardy hole'.

For this reason, a good quality old anvil in reasonable shape is sought after. In reality, there are few remaining anvilmakers and the prices charged for a new anvil are astronomical. They are, IMO, a sought-after anvil by today's blacksmiths. They were popular with blacksmiths of all types as well as farriers (horsehoers). Peter Wright anvils were made in England and imported into the USA in large numbers. This was a popular weight of anvil for horsehoers and light-to-medium smithing. So, the weight of your anvil then = 110 lbs + 11 lb + 1 lb, or 122 lbs. The next '1' is the weight in tenths of a hundredweight, or 11 lbs, and the last '1' = the todd pounds, or 1 lb. 1 hundredweight = 120 lbs (if I remember right). The first '1' = the weight in 'hundredweights'. The 1-1-1 on the anvil is the weight of the anvil in an old system of units. Peter Wright Anvils are some of the finest quality anvils.

Peter wright anvil marking timeline