That forge demo in Tennessee made me ditch my anvil setup

Went to a demo at the Coal Creek forge last month and the guy running it, old Sam, was using a modified RR track with a horn welded on. He did a full scroll and a basket twist in about the time it takes me to set my tools down. Made me realize my fancy 110 pound anvil with the raked edges was slowing me down, not helping. Anyone else go back to a simpler setup after seeing someone work fast on junk equipment?

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noahw531d ago

Man, that hits close to home. I spent a year on a fancy Wilkinson anvil and got so caught up in the perfect edges and rebound that I forgot how to just move steel. Then I watched my buddy crank out a pair of leaves on a beat-up piece of I-beam bolted to a stump, no horn, no hardy hole, just a ball peen hammer and good heat. I switched my work anvil to a flat faced farrier's anvil I got for dirt cheap, and honestly, my scrolls came out cleaner because I wasn't overthinking the tool. The speed comes from your hammer control and your eye, not the iron under it. Now I keep the big one for heavy drawing out, but for most of my hooks and leaf work, the simple thing gets it done.