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That chat with an old farrier in Boise really shook up how I think about anvils
I was at a tool swap last weekend and this guy who's been shoeing horses for 40 years told me my fancy new cast iron anvil is basically a paperweight. He said it's too brittle for heavy forge work and will crack under a good 3-pound hammer. I mean, I paid $350 for it thinking it was a steal. Has anyone else had a cast anvil fail on them like that?
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blair_allen18d ago
Hate that for you, man. That's a rough way to learn a lesson about trust versus brand new.
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the_eva18d ago
Same thing happens with tools all the time though. I see people buying cheap chisels from the hardware store and wondering why they dull after a couple of cuts, while the old Stanley stuff from 50 years ago still holds an edge. There's this false economy where we think "new" and "expensive" means quality, but really it's about how the thing was made and what it was designed to do. That farrier probably learned the hard way too, just took him 40 years to figure out the difference. A real forged anvil might cost more upfront, but it'll outlast you if you take care of it.
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