![]() ![]() “Most of those were imported, or brought by settlers. ![]() “You see a lot of Peter Wright anvils in the U.S., and a lot of them are still in use,” Chip says. Sometime in the 1700s or early 1800s, a worker at that facility, Peter Wright, left to form his own company. The Mousehole Forge in England is generally considered to be the first site of commercially manufactured anvils, reaching as far back as the 1600s. “Of course there’s eBay,” he says, “but that’s really expensive.” Word of mouth is also good, he says you might also try draft horse auctions, machine shop and ornamental iron shop auctions, flea markets, swap meets, antique farm shows and blacksmith events. “You can find anvils, but you really have to be looking.” Chip advises looking for them at farm and estate auctions, at antique stores and in classified ads. “And I’ve watched my dad work with an anvil all my life.”Ĭhip’s collection numbers about 30, with American-made pieces as well as some from England and Sweden. He’d hammer edges down, sharpen things and bend out bent metal,” Chip says. “My grandfather was a farmer, and he sharpened plow points on our anvil (which is dated 1917). On the farm, however, for decades the anvil remained a useful tool. “There was less dependence on horses,” Chip says, “and at the same time, trip hammers and steam hammers replaced anvils in industrial use.” Ultimately, as technology grew more sophisticated, the need for anvils diminished. Specific anvils were used by makers of plows, coaches, saws and chains. Those big anvils were just too heavy to haul out here.” With westward migration, people carried everything they owned with them on covered wagons, and they had to be more selective. “Farm anvils in the north and east may have been bigger. “The typical Texas farm anvil weighed 100-150 pounds,” he says. More typical was a piece at the other end of the scale, Chip says. Larger anvils were used in industrial shops – machine shops, shipyards and railroad yards.”Īlthough a special anvil created for the Centennial Exposition of 1876 weighed in at 1,400 pounds, the biggest anvil produced by most manufacturers 100 years ago was in the 800-pound range. “Anvils were used for all kinds of metal work and welding. “Blacksmiths and farriers used large anvils to shoe horses,” Chip says. The couple is also interested in related tools: tongs, chisels and hammers.Īnvils were once common on the farm and industry. “About two years ago,” he recalls, “I saw an anvil for sale, said ‘What the heck’ and bought it.” His wife, Michelle, joined forces with her husband: She collects small anvils, the type used by jewelers. Chip’s dad began the hobby with a small collection Chip has taken off from there. It’s also the start of a collection that now numbers more than 30 anvils from the U.S. “We have an old family anvil that was my grand-dad’s,” Chip says. For Chip Barkman of Texarkana, Texas, an anvil used by his father and grandfather is a very solid connection to the roots of agriculture in America. For others, sentimental ties are maintained by preserving a tractor that’s been in the family for decades. For some collectors, a stationary engine is a portal to the past. ![]()
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