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Main Boards => Hunting Knives and Crafters => Topic started by: NittanyRider on September 28, 2015, 12:35:00 PM
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I made it to the SOFA (Southern Ohio Forge and Anvil) Quadstate Blacksmiths Roundup this past weekend. The primary goal was to find an anvil… something north of 150lbs and south of $500 was what I had planned. Well, some things don't always go according to plan, which is why it's good to be flexible so you can adapt the situation you're presented with! Unfortunately, being flexible and adaptable are definitely not strengths of mine!
Anyway, according to the SOFA website, the event would officially run from Friday at noon till noon on Sunday. I arrived at the Miami County Farigrounds promptly at 12:10pm on Friday and assumed that by showing up "early", I would have a number of anvils to choose from…. not so fast! Apparently, I didn't get the memo about the market area being open to vendors and private sellers starting on Tuesday! And guess what day most of the people selling and buying stuff arrived?? You got it, Tuesday!
So, after I got registered, I set out looking for an anvil. I managed to find some anvils, but they weren't at all what I had envisioned buying. They were either really really big (and expensive) , really small (and still kind of expensive!), kind of beat up or from an unknown maker. I started talking to people about what I was looking for, and after about the 5th person told me: "you should have been here on Wednesday…", I started to panic, because I realized that I was a day late, and a dollar short!
I walked down the last row private sellers with a number of "plan B" scenarios swirling around in my head. I was just about to the end of the line when I saw a clean looking anvil that was perched on a Anvil Stump stand. I had heard of the brand and knew that they were cast steel and made in Michigan, but that's about all the info I had. I checked rebound with my pinball. It had good bounce and a nice ring and the more I stared at it the more I wanted to buy it! I wasn't the only person hovering over it and trying to negotiate a deal, so I knew I needed to act fast if this was going to come together. I used a life line, and called Lin Rhea (thanks a bunch, Lin!). I also texted him a photo and he confirmed that: 1) it was a good anvil; 2) it was in really good shape and 3) the price was fair… not a killer bargain, but I wasn't getting ripped off either. I hustled back over to the seller, laid down the money and breathed a huge sigh of relief! It's a bit smaller than what I had planned on buying, but it feels extremely solid in the Anvil Stump stand and I think it will serve me well. Here she is…
130# Mankel:
(http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s522/NittanyRider/55B2ED72-2249-4122-A8EF-652CFA5D55F3_zpss7k98ee1.jpg)
pic of the face:
(http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s522/NittanyRider/7B473920-63C7-40C6-A2DE-98F7693EE810_zpsctkmhcrs.jpg)
I also picked up a post vise and a couple hammers:
(http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s522/NittanyRider/4D3D21AE-70CD-44D5-A874-71EF92C871A3_zpsidzusfwp.jpg)
Last pic… One of the SOFA guys I met last month at the mid-America hammer in came by my camp Saturday night with two tiny commemorative SOFA anvils to give to my daughters:
(http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s522/NittanyRider/590A504E-D458-4071-9F4A-1D7893D06002_zpsfild4smv.jpg)
Thanks, Shane! The SOFA guys and gals are good bunch!
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David, may I ask what the post vise went for? I have one I'm not using and was thinking of posting it on a local MIchigan blacksmith's site.
Please PM or e-mail me if you're not comfortable discussing the price on here.
p.s. I live about 20 minutes north of Ted Mankel's shop and have one of his little forges.
Ron
[email protected]
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Ron - the post vise is 4 1/2" and I paid $100. The jaw faces are flat and line up nicely. The treads on the shaft are all nice and square, too. Prices at the quad state ranged from 75 to over 250, depending on size and condition.
Do you know anything about the Mankel anvils?
David
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Thanks David. I know little about the Mankel anvils. I know he does restoral work on old anvils - weding up corners, re-hardening (huge quench tank) as well as making new ones. I've thought about taking mine (not a Mankel) over and see if he could restore at least one edge to square.
They seem to have a good rep with the few smiths I know here. He had a weekly hammer-in that I intended to go to frequently, but other activities at our club got in the way and I've only been over twice over the years.
I have one of his gas forges I bought from a retiring farrier. It has a side opening with two burners, which leaves two hot spots and a cold middle. I've been intending to close up the side opening with some fire brick and "wool" and cut an opening in the end if I ever get around to it.
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Nice work :) . Glad it ended up working out for you. You'll love those new tools.
Jeremy
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Good job David, that anvil looks great! I made a little bracket for my post vice and mounted it in my garage and never thought I would use it as much as I do... great score!
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Nice find. I like that stand also.
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Nice score, congratulations.
Chris
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Great job getting some nice stuff. Good tip about showing up early to quad state, I did not know people set up that early in the week.
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Thanks for the comments! I don't have a forge yet, but hope to get one in the next week or two. I've been considering an Atlas mini forge... anyone have any experience with them?
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Ken built a real fine anvil.
http://www.anvilmag.com/launch/mankel.htm
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David, looks like some great scores! You must be anxious to put it all to use!
Steve
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Potomac Forge
Member, W.F. Moran Jr. Museum & Foundation
ABS AP
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Yeah - I'm really looking forward to getting a forge so I can put the anvil to use! At the Quadstate round up, I bought 10, 1.25 x .25 x 12" pieces of 5160 to experiment with. I figure that should be enough steel to forge 20+ blades, and with all that practice, hopefully I'll wind up with one or two keepers.