Grizzly IndustrialG8147-55 lb. Anvil

Look, a lot of pro (or pretentious amateur) blacksmiths will (and have) ragged on this thing for its faults, and there are definitely faults to be pointed out, but it's a pretty good starter I'd say. I got it back in September and have been smithing when time allows since then and have gotten a pretty good feel for the craft and, while this thing /is/ limited, it's not a bad purchase for someone just starting out on the craft.The Bad:Let's get this out of the way first: yes, it is mild steel. It's pretty soft, but it is cheap (which is one of the reasons I bought it). To put it simply: if your hammer hits the face of it, it'll dent the anvil; if you hit metal which is too cold, it'll dent the face of the anvil; if you just use it too hard for too long, it'll dent the face of the anvil. Do this long enough and bad enough, it'll pretty surely destroy the damn thing. It's not like this is a surprise; if you're buying this, you obviously saw that this was $55 while blacksmith and farrier supply stores were selling similar poundage anvils for hundreds of dollars. You get what you pay for. Another downside to it is the horn. Or, more accurately, that there isn't really a horn at all. Sure, it has a thing that might /look/ like a horn, but it isn't one. Maybe if you're good/crazy enough you can get an angle grinder or slack belt grinder and round it up into a proper horn, I might eventually do that myself, but for the time being it isn't a horn. Also, due to the soft material, the hammer doesn't bounce that well when you hit things, kinda tires you out having all that momentum lost.The Good:It's cheap. For its weight, it's almost impossible to find something cheaper (or heavier for the price). Sometimes, cheapness itself is a virtue. Also, as a learning tool, it's actually surprisingly good once you think about it. The soft face means that you'll be incentivised to be careful to make the most of it, working to avoid hitting the face itself with your hammer, and that's kinda something you want to mostly avoid doing anyway. As well, the tiring from the softer face will make things take longer in the end, but it'll help you build up endurance as you're starting out (and, the modern world being what it is, I think most people could use more endurance in general) which will certainly help when you move on to a real full-size anvil. Really, the only unmitigated bad thing from the above category is the lack of proper horn, something that an angle grinder might be able to fix. Meanwhile, if you want to refit this for more serious use, a harder steel plate and some welding is really all you need, and (if you're cheap/crazy enough) you can probably get away with mechanical connections instead of a weld.All-in-all, a nice starter for someone who doesn't want to drop half a grand on a craft they might not be good at. It isn't perfect, but it has a purpose and it does its job just fine in that context. I'm using it, and I'm making stuff, and that's good enough for me for the time being.

This anvil is made of cast iron. anvils are not supposed to be made out of cast iron. the face dents incredibly easily. also the horn is not shaped like a horn. if you own a large angle grinder to reshape the horn and have a welder and some spare hammer steel laying around then maybe you could make it not suck. but with how long that would take what is the point of even spending the money on this thing in the first place? if you are serious about blacksmithing or even just want to make a few knives per year I absolutely recommend getting a better anvil made out of some good quality hammer steel. if you want an anvil just to mess around on and won't be trying to shape hardened steel often then this may be a good choice for you.

This was for my son he would have liked a larger one but he said for making knives it was just fine he has no problems with it at all and he uses it a lot . He did say it may be prone to rust something about the material it is made of I don't know about these thing sorry . I hope this was helpful .

This is not for the heavy user or professional as an everyday tool. They would want a forged steel Anvil. But that is not what I needed it for. I need it for occasional use as a hobby tool. At the price of $50 something bucks, it is perfect for my use. I have no need to weld a hard plate on top as some have suggested, because I want the working surface to dent and become course.

Great anvil, gets the job done. Did chip alot the first time using it though but worth it for the price.

This is a good starter anvil if you're not sure if blacksmithing is for you yet, but it is a bit soft since its cast.

Great quality product at a great price!QUALITY: Solid, heavy, and can take a pounding.FUN COMMENT: lol, this heavy beast of an anvil was mailed to me in a standard cardboard shipping box. So when it arrived and left on my door step the packaging was mostly scraps, but there beneath the scraps was the Majestic Anvil Beast I call the Grizzzzzzly!!!!

At this size there doesn't seem to be many anvils to choose from that are under $100. So with that it's not bad. This is the same as the one from harbor freight. This anvil is a bit soft and easy to round edges while working. All in all for the price this is the best your gonna find without spending a lot more money.

Came fast, even taking advantage of the free shipping option. A few days for them to ship, then it was 1-day shipping.Surfaces are not true at all. Even the hardy hole will need some finishing if I need to place a tool in there. And the steel is definitely a medium hardness; I'm not happy at all about that. I accidentally put some easy dings in the top while testing it out, I wasn't even trying. Unsure of the alloy, if I can case-harden it or not after refinishing, but I will try. A hard top is key to shaping metal, else you're also shaping the anvil :/ and wasting energy.

Works like a Anvil, Its cast Iron so it does dent in but great for people getting into blacksmiths!

a bit disappointed - it is not hardened and the surface is easily damagedHarry

Heavy piece of metal, very soft, but if you solder a nice plate of steel on top of it (that's what i did) you'll get yourself a great tool to enjoy beating the hell out of radiant red steel !!!

I live in a very remote area, and the ability to get such a fine quality anvil by mail is priceless. This is a good one, especially when the straining postal clerk gasps, "What is this? An anvil?"