Blacksmith

Many things get better with age:  An anvil is one of them.

Given the choice between a new anvil made in China and an old anvil made someplace other than China, I'd take the old one 100 times out of 100.  I don't have anything against the Chinese, but from my limited research it appears they did not invent the anvil and are not known as anvil experts.  Reportedly, the best anvils in existence today were made from the mid 19th century up to present time. Europeans, Middle-Easterners and Americans are widely credited with making the best anvils.

Fast forward to present time and BOOM I recently discovered this anvil on the Bentonville square.  The fella using it didn't know it's exact history but guesstimated it was made in the U.S. in the 1920's or 30's.  That sounds good to me.  

I think I'll start keeping my ear to the ground for an anvil like this one.  It would make a nice addition to my barn operation.  Once I have an anvil I'll of course need a forge and a blower.  It's difficult to become a county-class blacksmith without all the right equipment.

Apparently I have quite a bit of research to do.  Then again, sometimes a person can spend all their time researching without ever actually doing anything.  Kind of like a Phd who mostly knows only what they've read.  I'm not suggesting that all Phd's or even most of them know only what they've read.  It's no doubt, however, true some of the time.  And for the record, I have nothing against Phd's.  Some of my family members are Phd's and they're fine folks.  But as the saying goes, "I'm just sayin'".

I'll try to keep you posted regarding my blacksmith operation as it moves forward...