Vevor anvil; good or bad?

[atch]

Anyone familiar with this anvil?

My daughter is considering getting her husband one. Is it good? Bad? In the middle? Would you buy one for yourself?

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[finn]

There was a YouTube video on anvils last spring. Possibly on one of the blacksmithing channels. The Velvor actually scored higher than many, especially considering the price.

It’s no English anvil from the Industrial Revolution, but it beat out the likes of the HF, for whatever that’s worth.

 

[mike93lx]

Vevor, broadly, is imported junk, sharing a common name.

It may suffice as an anvil shaped object, though


They sponsor the heck out of you tubers. I wouldn't believe anything about them

 

[Fixr]

Vevor, broadly, is imported junk, sharing a common name.

It may suffice as an anvil shaped object, though


They sponsor the heck out of you tubers. I wouldn't believe anything about them

That's pretty much what my dad used to say about Toyota.

 

[mike93lx]

That's pretty much what my dad used to say about Toyota.

Ok.

Maybe someday it won't be true. But it is today

This isn't a statement of ignorance just because it's Chinese made. Lots of good stuff comes from China. Vevor isn't in the business of selling that stuff but I imagine plenty of it is good enough for what they charge

 

[LopezBart]

My daughter is considering getting her husband one. Is it good? Bad? In the middle? Would you buy one for yourself?

These are apparently much more usable than the old cast iron ones. The price is certainly reasonable enough. Antique anvils are expensive, and new blacksmithing forged anvils are cough cough. If he's starting blacksmithing, this is a reasonable place to begin. I have a $150 lbs anvil I paid $2/lb for 20 years ago. A friend has a 300 lb Hay Budden.

 

[PugetDude]

It's steel not cast ron. Priced right. Chinese. Decent reviews.
I'd take a chance on it; he can use it while waiting for that mythical 300# vintage anvil that is just sitting in a deceased farmers shed somewhere, waiting to be discovered for $20 at the estate sale.

 

[atch]

Thanx folks.

I sent a message with a link to this thread for her to peruse.


EDIT:
Justin (the son-in-law) recently inherited his great grandfather's forge, hammers, tongs, etc., etc., but no anvil. Meredith has already ordered some amount of coal for him and now, based on the responses herein, is going to order the anvil. He will never be a dedicated blacksmith, but I believe that this anvil will be good enough for him to get started with. If he progresses and wants it he can always buy a hundred-year-old 200# anvil at that later date.

 

[Aaron_W]

The new Harbor Freight Doyle anvil has also been compared to Vevor, and they compare well but each has different areas where they do well and less well. As I recall the Doyle rated better in the placement and shape of the accessory hole. Vevor offers more variety in sizes, Doyle only has a 65lb, Vevor has up to 132lbs.

I'm just going off the youtube reviews because I'd like a small decent (and not too expensive) anvil to fiddle with. I lack any practical anvil knowledge.

Doyle

Vevor 66lb

Different style (London pattern) of Vevor 66lb

 

[WildBill]

I don't have this anvil, but I have bought 5-6 garage/yard items from Vevor and they have all been good for the price.

 

[ZRX61]

It's steel not cast ron. Priced right. Chinese. Decent reviews.
I'd take a chance on it; he can use it while waiting for that mythical 300# vintage anvil that is just sitting in a deceased farmers shed somewhere, waiting to be discovered for $20 at the estate sale.

or 1700lb....

 

[ZRX61]

It may suffice as an anvil shaped object, though

I have an anvil shaped object from Horrible Fright (not Doyle), I put a dent in it with a piece of aluminum...

 

[Uncle murph]

I have an anvil shaped object from Horrible Fright (not Doyle), I put a dent in it with a piece of aluminum...

The old expression around here is “so and so could break a anvil with a corncob”. I work with lots of so and sos and have seen broken anvils.

 

[Metal-Marc]

I'd stick with the original.

 

[finn]

I have an anvil shaped object from Horrible Fright (not Doyle), I put a dent in it with a piece of aluminum...

That’s probably one of the old cast iron anvils. I could never bring myself to buy one of them.

The newer HF cast steel anvils get better reviews, although the Vevor in question here is superior, per the internet.

I’ve been looking for an elusive auction anvil that’s affordable, but haven’t seen one in fifteen years of searching. Seen some totally worn out and beat up, but still not affordable. Might spring for a Vevor next spring.

 

[Fixr]

That’s probably one of the old cast iron anvils. I could never bring myself to buy one of them.

The newer HF cast steel anvils get better reviews, although the Vevor in question here is superior, per the internet.

I’ve been looking for an elusive auction anvil that’s affordable, but haven’t seen one in fifteen years of searching. Seen some totally worn out and beat up, but still not affordable. Might spring for a Vevor next spring.

Cast iron vs cast steel is kinda like balsa vs. Lignum Vita. Just the different materials makes a huge difference in the quality of the product. A low-end cast steel anvil is way better than the best cast iron ASO. And it's not like a decent cast steel anvil is high-tech, since like 1810 or so. I think Chinese mass-production industry can probably handle the 19th century technology to produce a decent farmer's/hobbyist's anvil. It won't be a Hay-Budden, a Peddington, or Wayland's own personal anvil, but so what? It's a tiny fraction of the cost and can actually be used to shape hot metal. Good enough.

 

[finn]

Cast iron vs cast steel is kinda like balsa vs. Lignum Vita. Just the different materials makes a huge difference in the quality of the product. A low-end cast steel anvil is way better than the best cast iron ASO. And it's not like a decent cast steel anvil is high-tech, since like 1810 or so. I think Chinese mass-production industry can probably handle the 19th century technology to produce a decent farmer's/hobbyist's anvil. It won't be a Hay-Budden, a Peddington, or Wayland's own personal anvil, but so what? It's a tiny fraction of the cost and can actually be used to shape hot metal. Good enough.

Pretty well sums it up.

Well, except for the usual go big or stay home crowd.

 

[Firebrick43]

Cast iron vs cast steel is kinda like balsa vs. Lignum Vita. Just the different materials makes a huge difference in the quality of the product. A low-end cast steel anvil is way better than the best cast iron ASO. And it's not like a decent cast steel anvil is high-tech, since like 1810 or so. I think Chinese mass-production industry can probably handle the 19th century technology to produce a decent farmer's/hobbyist's anvil. It won't be a Hay-Budden, a Peddington, or Wayland's own personal anvil, but so what? It's a tiny fraction of the cost and can actually be used to shape hot metal. Good enough.

Old anvils from "1810" are not cast steel. They are forged and forge welded layers of wrought iron with a hardened steel face from that time period. Cast steel anvils came much later.

I am not sure what a peddington is?

peddinghaus anvils are drop forged steel.

 

[jonesg]

all the vevor stuff i've bought has been very decent.

 

[whateg01]

Vevor, broadly, is imported junk, sharing a common name.

It may suffice as an anvil shaped object, though


They sponsor the heck out of you tubers. I wouldn't believe anything about them

Broadly, yes, but I've bought several things from them that so far have been good value for the money. It's still very much a buyer beware thing though. I look at it much like I've always looked at harbor freight stuff.

 

[LopezBart]

For a beginning blacksmith son-in-law, a heavy cast steel anvil is perfect... it will work for anything he wants to try. I can recommend Weygers "The modern Blacksmith" from 1974. He was an sculptor who made all his own tools. Very readable, and he did his own beautiful illustrations.

 

[Fixr]

Old anvils from "1810" are not cast steel. They are forged and forge welded layers of wrought iron with a hardened steel face from that time period. Cast steel anvils came much later.

I am not sure what a peddington is?

peddinghaus anvils are drop forged steel.

A Peddington is a unit of brain farts. And the 1810 comment was meant more or less as a figure of speech indicating that a cast steel anvil does not require a high level of modern technology, rather than a strictly accurate historical claim.

 

[35k0]

There are a ton of positive reviews on youtube, as mentioned above.
If she orders one, she should order the cast steel version, not the cast iron.
Some of the descriptions are wrong on Vevor's site, some say cast iron, but are actually cast steel and vice-versa.
If she is looking in the 60lb range, this London pattern gets a lot of love by smiths as it has the pritchel and hardy holes in a much better location.
My experience is from researching these for myself and watching knife makers review the anvils.
the other school of thought is to buy the biggest one she can afford.

 

[LopezBart]

Note that the size of the anvil is related directly to the size of the work you anticipate doing... if you're shaping knives, a smaller anvil is fine. If your friend is helping you punch a handle hole through a 2 lb chuck of glowing high-carbon steel with a 5 lb sledge, it's a different matter.