Hello all, I am in the process of making my first knife and I have found my “anvil” to be way to brittle. Are there any materials that are easy to find at a scrap yard that work. I know train rail is good, but it is a bit challenging to source in my area. Or is there a reliable source online where I can source a small amount of rail? Any suggestions are valued.
An old rail road tie is a good and very cheap option . It'll also teach you very accurate hammer control
Hello George,
I can somewhat remember my railroad track anvil days, one thing I do clearly remember is how little of the force of my blows went into the work, rather than vibrating the little mass that was present in the railroad track section. There is nothing that is particularly special about the railroad track steel and just about any large block of steel will give you the same, if not better, effects. The problem with RR track is that is basically an "I" beam, with a thicker top making most of it rather thin stock with little mass.
I would go to the scrap yard and look for the largest solid block you could find. I have even used the heads of large sledge-hammers more effectively, since they are not too different from a stake anvil when set on end, but still have a solid body to rebound the hammer and concentrate the energy into your work.
That is excellent advice. I tried a large sledge head originally, but it is pretty cheap material and chipped apart almost like stone. I’ll look around for some older ones at the scrap yard with that in mind. Thanks.
If your able to, I would recommend an Atlas anvil. Currently, its priced for $330 on centaur forge. From what I've heard from other makers, its a nice anvil and well built. Just a thought.
