Why does nobody talk about heating your anvil before a heavy forge session?

I used to just start hammering cold steel on a cold anvil first thing in the morning. Then an old guy at a demo in Ohio told me to throw a hot billet on there for 10 minutes first. Said the rebound and energy transfer is way better. Tried it and he was right. My shoulder hurts less and the steel moves faster. Has anyone else noticed a difference with a warm anvil or am I just imagining things?

2 comments

2 Comments

seth_nguyen4d ago

Yeah, "just imagining things" is exactly what I thought until I tried it myself. That old guy in Ohio saved you some shoulder pain, but now you gotta deal with the fact that heating your anvil makes you look like a weirdo. Pretty soon you'll be warming up your hammer too.

casey_campbell4d ago

Idk @seth_nguyen, maybe it's just me but warming up the tool isn't the same as the anvil itself.