Rock Solid

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Below: A 450-pound bridge anvil used mainly in railroad shops to make large, round, metal rings for boilers. The height of the anvil enabled the smith to loop the rings through the opening.

For some collectors, a stationary engine is a portal to the past. For others, sentimental ties are maintained by preserving a tractor that's been in the family for decades. For Chip Barkman of Texarkana, Texas, an anvil used by his father and grandfather is a very solid connection to the roots of agriculture in America.

"We have an old family anvil that was my grand-dad's," Chip says. "Three generations have used it. Last year, we retired it. We regard it as a family heirloom now."

It's also the start of a collection that now numbers more than 30 anvils from the U.S. and abroad. Chip's dad began the hobby with a small collection; Chip has taken off from there. "About two years ago," he recalls, "I saw an anvil for sale, said 'What the heck' and bought it." His wife, Michelle, joined forces with her husband: She collects small anvils, the type used by jewelers. The couple is also interested in related tools: tongs, chisels and hammers.

Anvils were once common on the farm and industry. "Blacksmiths and farriers used large anvils to shoe horses," Chip says. "Anvils were used for all kinds of metal work and welding. They didn't have arc welders back then. Larger anvils were used in industrial shops - machine shops, shipyards and railroad yards."

Although a special anvil created for the Centennial Exposition of 1876 weighed in at 1,400 pounds, the biggest anvil produced by most manufacturers 100 years ago was in the 800-pound range. More typical was a piece at the other end of the scale, Chip says. "The typical Texas farm anvil weighed 100-150 pounds," he says. "Farm anvils in the north and east may have been bigger. With westward migration, people carried everything they owned with them on covered wagons, and they had to be more selective. Those big anvils were just too heavy to haul out here."

Specific anvils were used by makers of plows, coaches, saws and chains. Ultimately, as technology grew more sophisticated, the need for anvils diminished. "There was less dependence on horses," Chip says, "and at the same time, trip hammers and steam hammers replaced anvils in industrial use."

On the farm, however, for decades the anvil remained a useful tool. "My grandfather was a farmer, and he sharpened plow points on our anvil (which is dated 1917). He'd hammer edges down, sharpen things and bend out bent metal," Chip says. "And I've watched my dad work with an anvil all my life."

Chip's collection numbers about 30, with American-made pieces as well as some from England and Sweden. "I've been lucky," he says. "You can find anvils, but you really have to be looking." Chip advises looking for them at farm and estate auctions, at antique stores and in classified ads. Word of mouth is also good, he says; you might also try draft horse auctions, machine shop and ornamental iron shop auctions, flea markets, swap meets, antique farm shows and blacksmith events. "Of course there's eBay," he says, "but that's really expensive."