Guy at the scrap yard tried to sell me a railroad anvil he found under a bridge

I was picking up some old leaf springs for knife making and this dude walks up with a 80 pound chunk of steel he pulled out of a creek. He kept saying it was "vintage railroad" but it was just a rusted piece of I-beam with a flat spot. Anyone else have people try to pass off junk as blacksmith gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

christophermurray3d ago

That "vintage railroad" claim actually might not be total BS. I've seen real anvils made from railroad track that hold up fine for basic forging work.

the_ray3d agoProlific Poster

My buddy Mike out in Ohio actually forged a few knives on an old piece of rail he found behind a barn. He said it worked fine for light stuff like that but you wouldn't want to try splitting a truck axle on it or anything crazy. The real trick is making sure the steel is solid and not full of hidden cracks or rust pitting. I mean for basic blacksmithing or hobby stuff I bet it's totally fine, just not something a pro would use all day.