Instagram instagram.com/oldhickoryforge/ Support the channel here www.patreon.com/user?u=16387344 Purchase some of my work here www.etsy.com/shop/OldHickoryForge?ref=shop_sugg Videography by Dan Bailey Dan.bailey84@yahoo.com

You may be the best product reviewer that I've ever seen. I could write several pages on how and why that is. You're knowledgeable. You're thorough. You're insightful. You explain to the layman. You do this all without youtube filler or fluff. You're a damn masterpiece and what other YT people should strive to be. This 15 minute video is nothing but perfection of education. Just wow man. Well damn done.

$140 is pretty low-cost versus things like a grinder, power-hammer, press and so forth. If you are going to forge, you need a forge and something for an anvil. Vevor has a sub $100 forge (and many options under $200). For $250, you can be forging. Thanks for doing these low-cost reviews. A lot of us are new to the hobby, and don't have hope of sales to offset some of the cost.

Memories coming back. I bought the "Russian Cast Steel" anvil from Harbor Freight almost 20 years ago. I remember it being about 80 lbs. It was just fine for a hobby knifemaker.

I had a 419lb fwds German double horn made in 1909 5 piece forge welded. I moved to North Carolina and I gave it to a buddy and the rest of my stuff forges tire hammer press hand tools etc was stolen when I was bringing my first trailer to the new place. I recently started building up my tools again and I got the Doyle anvil and I will say I’m very impressed with it. Normally I always went for name brand stuff in everything. Makita or Milwaukee. Since losing everything I stuck with harbor freight for now until I can get back what I had and I’m very impressed. Aside from my welder. All my tools are harbor freight at the moment and from what I can tell they pack more of a punch then Milwaukee. And I use the shit out of them. So as I am surprised about the anvil, I’m not because they definitely stepped there game up.

I remember this from Jr high. We made chisels and hay hooks. Good ol days. Lots of fun.

This guy hits harder than most power hammers

Great review John keep up the great work

Good review. Thanks for not being an anvil snob and realizing who will consider purchasing these. I like your attitude

*Learned more in this15 minutes then in all of last week! KUDOS and THANKS!*

I have to say, I have been quite happy with the vast majority of the tools and other items i have purchased from Harbor Freight.

I love seeing somebody who knows what he is talking about and is good at his craft. It is a joy to see you pound out that steel. Thanks for sharing...

Really appreciate everything you do to help us folks trying to get into knifemaking!

Great video man, really love that you review entry level stuff, and give us sound advice on these tools. Thank ya.

Clicked on to see the anvil review but totally got into your black smithing skill. My first ever video of this type. Great job, I’ll be back!😊

First time I came across your channel; I like your testing, clear pros and cons, and a physical test on the anvil. Can’t wait to see what the rest of your channel has.

Thank you for the honest review on this anvil. I do believe you just helped me make up my mind, gonna go grab one Friday.

Thanks for reviewing this kind of stuff! As someone that is compiling resources for once I get some space it's really helpful.

Thanks for a great video! It is great to see some of the things you should do when buying a new out of the box anvil. I did like the rebound on the one you got.

Very informative and complete review of the anvil. There is no doubt you are a professional at what you do. I look forward to seeing more of your videos, thank you !!!

Thank you for sharing this content. Those of us who have no access to a direct mentor/teacher, who must more or less figure it all out on our own, & are trying to self educate on a reasonable budget really struggle sometimes, & this type of content is invaluable to us to help us avoid most of the most costly of errors. You are greatly appreciated.

Very interesting video. I particularly liked the Rockwell test. The rest was a learning experience. Great video ! And I might add. Excellent very informative delivery.

Awesome job on the review. I'm not a blacksmith, but you made that look easy. I weld, machine fabricate, etc.. so this popped up my feed. I enjoyed it and now I want to try it.

Honest, articulate review. Thank you!

This was really great to see. I hadn’t even realized HF upped their anvil game. I think I’ll go out and get one of these thanks to your review!

The best review I've seen. Your summation , pro's and con's REALLY WELL DONE.

I want to get started in the smithing as a hobby and to add to my art practice, so this is a great video to learn from. If all goes as planned I'm buying a forge and starting this fall. Definitely followed for sure.

Thanks for the work on the video. Was happily surprised about the new anvil offering from Harbor Freight. Have been looking, unsuccessfully I might add, for a vintage one. After watching your demonstration, and with your recommendation, I'll be heading there in the morning to buy one. And yes, I'll open the box and take a good look at it before I crank my car. You just got yourself a new subscriber.

Just bought this anvil yesterday then saw your review today, thank you nice quality review!

Thanks for checking this out for us!

I'm not a metal worker and appreciate the entry-level coverage! Thanks!

Great information. Thank you for honest review.

Man you have impressed me just subbed. Your one of the better blacksmiths ive watched work and im an amateur at it.

Thanks for the review. Very informative.

Thanks, John. I might grab one of these anvils.

I appreciate the vid! Im DOD so I move around every 2-4 years and have training and other things that keep me from home so I haven't gotten into the hobby yet because of the space required. I def would be like you described, putting everything in the corner of the garage or on a shelf until I'm ready to use it. This thing would let me dip my feet in without investing thousands of dollars on grinders, sanders, welders, etc that go along with forging. Thanks again!

Thanks for the review. Great information.

Thanks for doing this. I can see the value in a good anvil.

Great video! I see they have in stock near me. Super tempted to grab one but really want one in size of the Vevor 132lb anvil (already have their 66lb) Still if I keep having friends over this looks like a no brainer addition to the shop. 👍 Thanks again for posting this

thanks for the excellent review i bought and OLD anvil and rebuilt it but like the reviews these are getting

You really did a "quick" demo. Well written too.

Your presentation was excellent young man! I’m glad I happened to see your channel! Thank you!

Thats pretty dang good for a weekend warrior user like myself! Really appreciate your time for reviewing this for us! New Subscriber!

Hey, thanks for the work and information putting this together, well done.

If you can find one used, Harbor Freight at one time sold a ~110 lb "Central Forge" brand steel anvil made in Russia and the one I have rings LOUDLY when you hit it with a hammer and although I've not done a ball bearing test, the hammer rebound is very good. The odd thing that makes it easy to ID is that the 1" hardy hole is diagonal to the axis of the anvil and the horn is completely unfinished.

Centaur Forge. Great selection for mid to high price range anvils. After hammering away for over a year on a piece of railroad track, i made enough to secure a 70# North Carolina Tool steel ferriers anvil. Just over $500, with shipping, arrived in Ohio 5 days after i ordered it, in pristine shape. Has been an amazing mid range anvil. As an artist, it's met my needs and then some. But for $175, can't go wrong here, for a first anvil. Yes, i still have, and use, my railroad track "anvil".

I learned a lot from your video, thank you for sharing your knowledge, time and effort!

I was thinking just that. I got my old Kohlswa back in around 2006. I was looking at this anvil and thinking about the railroad tie and stuff like that. My Kohlswa has these massive chunks taken out the side. This anvil looks like it can give a good return. To set up in the next hit. This one video probably showed me more on blade smithing than any of my books or videos that I watched. This is a cool channel.

Thanks for another great review John

You should consider using a respirator when using aerosols and grinding even if you have good ventilation.

Excellent review, thank you!

Very informative. I’m going to pick one up now.

I'm glad you do these videos, I have the older version cast iron I don't know how a steel one feels ,so I might go get one of these , thank you

I don't do black smithing, I'm not going to start black smithing. I did really enjoy your video though. It was interesting and l, as far as I can tell, very professional. Thanks for posting.

Good review, John! Thanks!

Good, down to earth review! Very much like his high tech note-taking spiral bound notebook! 😅😅😅 Great job!

Excellent review. Thanks much.

Very nice video this week. Very informative and very helpful video review. Can’t wait to see more videos soon. Keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work my friend. Forge On. Fab On. Weld On. Keep Forge lit. Keep Making. God Bless.

I'm buying the Doyle at HF for my son who finished a comprehensive welding school last year and I think the Doyle looks great for his purposes based on your review. I'm also impressed by the tank forge fab you did and am excited about making one of those for my shop. Thanks for the great reviews!

WOW....40 years, I thought all anvils were the same except for size. Thanks for posting my new friend, you have a new subscriber, great job.

I don't forge at all or even in the market for anything related to this but I watched the whole video. Great job!

Not knowing forging that sounds like a through and honest review. Enjoyed the video (my first) and looking forward to some more.

Great video love to start blacksmithing when I retire

For what I want an anvil for, this is perfect! I'm not doing dedicated forge work, just basic metal fab. For me, I just need a good solid surface if I need to bend some 3/8" round stock to do a zig zag, or some flat stock to make mounting brackets, flatten a bent blade etc. Sure beats using my vice!

Great video brother. Very informative and educational.

I’ve been happy with everything I’ve bought. Shopped there since the ‘90’s.

I purchase a Doyle anvil last night. I am new to knife making and look forward to learn knife making skills. Thanks for the video.

Thanks for the reveiw. I used to have an old anvil that a farmer lent me but he sold it off now. My dad loves going to harbor freight and i went with him and saw this new anvil there. I already knew from looking that the old blue ones they had were pretty crap, but its good to know this new kind might be of use for a novice like me (most i ever made was knives and a half decent set of tongs).

This was very informative. Thank you!

I saw another video where the reviewer pointed out a number of plug welds in the top surface, and that they were notably softer. Now that's a sample size of one, which he was very up front about, but wondering if you noticed anything like that. Got the Vevor mostly because of your review a while back, and thank you for keeping us informed.

Checked out the store, really nice products! Thank you for the video, sometimes I just need an anvil for shaping a piece of metal or making a bracket.....etc. Cheers!

Railroad track section rocks!

Thank You sir…excellent review!!

I have two of the old cast harbor freight anvils gifted to me when I was beginning the craft. I can confirm that they leave much to be desired. They got the job done, but once I purchased a farriers anvil at an auction, they were only pulled out for rainy day projects

When I wanted to "try my hand" at blacksmithing, I bought a section of RxR track and after shipping, it came out near this price, so there's no free lunch, and since the world turned over, there's not even 'cheap lunch' either. This seems to be the 'next to the best', best option. Thanks for reviewing it.

I've noticed a lot of people are using a German style double horn instead of the usual London pattern these days. It's nice to see. I went German style double horn decades ago and never looked back.

Yea I have been a machinist for 47 years/ never seen any thing like this - really cool thanks

Buyer beware….. I bought a Doyle anvil earlier this year and tried to return it due to a casting defect in the horn that had been filled with weld and crudely ground down with a coarse disc. Since the nearest store seems to have only one in stock at a time, I tried to return it to another store. That store was gracious enough to let me open up and examine the one they had…. but I found an odd defect beneath the tail that was poorly hidden with filler and I didn’t swap. I did eventually exchange it at the original store for the only one they had in stock. Unfortunately, it - too - had a filled defect in the horn and a golfball-sized void along the middle of the Pritchel hole. This one also seemed very soft with poor rebound and little - to no - ring. It dented nearly as easily as the cast iron anvil I have. I suspect it was not properly tempered. So, 3 out of 3 were not acceptable to me. It is interesting that the half dozen display models I have seen are nearly PERFECT… but, of course, it is corporate policy that displays can’t be sold or purchased. In my opinion, it is quite possible that the displays were from early production when HF was trying to generate interest in them. I also suspect that as demand increased, quality control decreased to meet demand. I eventually returned mine for a refund and ended up buying a Vevor 66# London-style from Amazon. The casting was noticeably better than the Doyle - as were the rebound and ring. I would definitely not recommend the Doyle anvil at this time…..

That looks like a lot of work. I have one from my grandfather that’s made out of a railroad track. Don’t really use it for anything, but it’s sentimental.

I recently bought one of these. Nice rebound, but I did ding the face pretty good with a bad stike with a cross peen

Great presentation and education skills. I'm in!

I got mine just before I saw your review and would agree 👍

I was rummaging through an old scrap yard looking for things to resell online and saw the base of what looked like an anvil in the dirt. I dug it out and got the owner to help me lift it. It was an anvil, but the tip of the horn had been broken off. He quoted me a price of $25, but after thinking of how much the freight would be and I was skeptical that I could even sell it, so I passed. I didn't know much about anvils, so when I got home I did some research and that brand was selling used and in poor shape for around $300, not including shipping. I decided to buy it, but when I called the scrap yard the owner said someone saw the anvil and bought it already. I missed out on that sale, just like I missed out on an old Browning splitting axe that I didn't buy. I thought it was a fake, because I didn't know Browning made axes. Turned out it wasn't related to the gun manufacturer, but it was a popular brand in the old days. By the time I got back to buy it, it was already gone as well. Oh well, you win some, you lose some! You can't know everything about everything.

I don't even forge and I have an anvil in my workshop and it's a handy item that I use for cold working things fairly often. Sometimes ya just gotta bash stuff around some. When you do an anvil is the best place to do it on.

Thank you, very useful information

Very thorough. Thanks.

I agree…something going into your leg kinda sucks. Great review!

I use my 551 pound Swedish antique anvil for blacksmithing. The harbor freight anvil works great for the jewerly making and smaller stuff

I remember the old harbor freight anvils used to be 10% filler so definitely an improvement

Sir, thank you for providing this marvelous review. I concur with your opinion about Harbor Freight's reputation for inferior quality but I have found that some of their products are excellent for the price. I am not into blacksmithing but I am a machinist and do occasionally do need to beat on some flat bar with a hammer to make something. Based on your review, I think I may very well purchase one of these HF anvils in the near future. Keep up the excellent videos. Your metalworking talent is amazing!

Excellent video and detailed review..kudos

My advice also is just go buy it or order the vevor ,get started,in the meantime keep searching, going to garage or estate sales or offer up eBay, market place ,whatever but just start with it and move up when you can or you never will . I bought two vevors for $40 and surprisingly, they do just fine . Thanks brother.

Thank you sir for your time making this post!

Thank you for the review. Articulate, intelligent and well-presented. There's a prejudice against new anvils here in Australia, and the price of (flooged-out, rattling) antiques is obscene. It's really useful to know where to put my money as a noob.

No nonsense video! Good work Sir

I'm not a real forger type guy, although I do it some as part of my jobs when I do in welding & such, I have a smaller peace of a RR Rail & a nice larger one, that I use, but hoping to get an anvil someday. Thanks for the video.

Good honest review as always my friend 👍

I GOT ONE OF THESE 30+ YRS AGO ! & HAVE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH IT !!

Hey John!! GREAT video!! I had seen both of your YT videos of the 85 pounder. And I actually signed up for a one day basic beginner’s blacksmithing class just last night [4-2-2023]!! I enrolled in it twice because of my high interest & low cost for it. I think it’s only for EIGHT participants. I was lucky and snagged the last opening for the first class this coming Saturday AM!! Thanks for your time & Good Luck to you and in your labors!! ps-sent from Casey ILLINOIS, home of The World’s Largest Golf Tee & MANY, MANY other things! PSA-a mere seven miles to the east is 1.) The World’s Largest Horseshoe + 2.) The World’s Largest Anvil!! See ya!!

Great, honest review. I don't even need an anvil, but now I want one. lol