anvil

A blacksmith working iron with a hammer and anvil

An anvil is a manufacturing tool, made of a hard and massive block of stone or metal used as a support for chiseling and hammering other objects, such as in forging iron and steel items.

History

Anvils have been used since early Bronze Age times by smiths of all kinds for metal work, although the tool was also used in much earlier epochs for stone and flint work.

There are many references to anvils in ancient Greek and Egyptian writing, including Homer's works. The anvil was perfected during the Middle Ages when iron working was commonplace.

Structure

A single-horn anvil

The primary workspace of the anvil is known as the face. It is hardened, in order to reduce the amount of force lost in each hammer blow.

The horn of the anvil is a curved area used to form various round shapes, and is generally unhardened. ^[1]

The step or pad of the anvil is used for cutting, to prevent damaging the face by conducting such operations there.

The hardy hole is a square hole into which specialized forming and cutting tools are placed.

The pritchel hole is a small utility hole that is present on some anvils. It can be used with special punches, or as a lever with which to break partially cut stock. ^[2]

Types of anvil

Anvil of a farrier

Small anvil

There are many designs for anvils, which are often tailored for a specific purpose or to meet the needs of a particular smith.

The common blacksmith's anvil is made of either forged or cast steel, tool steel, or wrought iron (cast iron anvils are generally shunned, as they are too brittle for repeated use, and do not return the energy of a hammer blow like steel). Historically, some anvils have been made with a smooth top working face of hardened steel welded to a cast iron body, though this manufacturing method is no longer in use. It has at one end a projecting conical bick (beak, horn) used for hammering curved work pieces. Occasionally the other end is also provided with a bick, partly rectangular in section. Most anvils made since the late 1700s also have a hardy hole and a pritchel hole where various tools, such as the anvil-cutter or hot chisel, can be inserted and held by the anvil. Some anvils have several hardy and pritchel holes, to accommodate a wider variety of hardy tools and pritchels. An anvil may also have a softer pad for chisel work.

An anvil for a power hammer is usually supported on a massive anvil block, sometimes weighing over 800 tons for a 12-ton hammer, and this again rests on a strong foundation of timber and masonry or concrete.

Cheap anvils made from inferior steel which are unsuitable for serious use are derisively referred to as "ASOs", or "Anvil Shaped Objects".

Some modern anvils are made mostly from concrete. While the face is steel, the horn is not and can be easily damaged. These anvils can be hard to recognize because the gray paint used is the same shade as the steel face. They tend to weight about half as much as a comparable steel anvil. ^{[citation needed]}

Etymology

The word "anvil" derives from Anglo-Saxon anfilt or onfilti, either that on which something is "welded" or "folded," cf. German falzen, to fold, or connected with other Teutonic forms of the word, cf. German amboss, in which case the final syllable is from "beat,", and the meaning is "that on which something is beaten" and has likely influenced the English word "emboss"{fact}.

Anvils in art and entertainment

Television and film

A typical metalworker's anvil, with horn at one end and flat face at the other, is a standard prop for animated cartoon gags, as the epitome of a heavy and clumsy object that is perfect for dropping onto the villain of the story. This visual metaphor was quite common in Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts, such as those featuring Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner. It was widely used in other animated features, possibly influenced by them.

Musical instruments

Anvils have been used as percussion instruments in several famous musical compositions, including:

• Giuseppe Verdi: Il Trovatore, featuring the famous Anvil Chorus
• Richard Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen in Das Rheingold in Scene 3, using 18 anvils, and Siegfried in Act I, notably Siegfried's Forging Song (Nothung! Nothung! Neidliches Schwert!)
• Gustav Holst: Second Suite in F for Military Band, which includes a movement titled "Song of the Blacksmith"
• Aaron Copland: Symphony No. 3 (Copland)
• William Walton: Belshazzar's Feast (Walton)
• Edgard Varèse: Ionisation
• Carl Orff: Antigone
• Juan María Solare: Veinticinco de agosto, 1983 and Un ángel de hielo y fuego
• Pieces by Jean-Baptiste Lully
• Howard Shore: The Lord of the Rings
• Albert Parlow: Anvil Polka and Strauss
• Louis Andriessen: De Materie (Part I), which features an extended solo for two anvils

The Beatles song "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" makes prominent use of the anvil. Beatles road manager Mal Evans played the anvil on the track.

Heraldry

The Norwegian municipality of Hol has three anvils in its coat-of-arms.

Notes

References

• Andrews, Jack (1994). New Edge of the Anvil. ISBN 1-879535-09-2. 
• Hrisoulas, Jim (1987). The Complete Bladesmith: Forging Your Way to Perfection. Boulder, Colorado: Paladin Press. ISBN 0-87364-430-1. 

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Anvil

• smith
• forging
• iron
• steel
• blacksmith
• silversmith

Metalworking
Metalworking smiths	Smiths • Blacksmith • Coppersmith • Goldsmith • Gunsmith • Locksmith • Pewtersmith • Silversmith • Bladesmith • Tinsmith • Whitesmith
Metalworking tools	Anvil • Forge • Forging • Fuller • Hardy hole • Hardy tools • Pritchel • Slack tub • Steam hammer • Swage block • Trip hammer
Metalworking topics	Casting • CNC • Cutting tools • Drilling and threading • Fabrication • Finishing • Grinding • Jewellery • Lathe • Machining • Machine tooling • Measuring • Metalworking • Hand tools • Metallurgy • Milling • Occupations • Press tools • Smithing • Terminology • Welding

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