R.L. Posted May 14, 2020 Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 (edited) After a year of anxious wait time and $3K my Nimba Gladiator was delivered from Nimba Anvils in Washington state. Absolutely beautiful. 450 lbs of the finest 8690 heat treated steel money can buy. Work top is hardened to 58 C rockwell . It is a 1 piece monolithic cast anvil. With anvils BIGGER is always better. There is not much you can't forge on this monster. I can't wait to use it.If you look closely you'll see my Anyang 88 power hammer on the left behind the jerry can. Now the down side, I have to haul all this crap to Maine. Oh well could be worse. R.L. Edited May 14, 2020 by R.L. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattnh Posted May 14, 2020 Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 Wow, that is a beautiful beast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.L. Posted May 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 Thanks. Most people just don't real excited about a big hunk of metal. I've been a metal head most of my life. If I could have found an anvil that weighed 1000 lb's I would have bought that instead. I love big anvils. The biggest anvil I've ever seen in person was an 850 lb railroad anvil in the blacksmith shop in old downtown.Harpers Ferry WVa. Watch any of the modern heavy forging videos on youtube and you'll get hooked on forging. R.L. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattnh Posted May 14, 2020 Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 (edited) A local shop has an old 375 "monster" that I sometime use. but the face is pretty worn on it. It is soooooo sweet to work on a brand new anvil with those perfect crisp edges... If you haven't worked steel by hand, you just can't appreciate it... That anvil is awesome. Edited May 14, 2020 by mattnh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.L. Posted May 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2020 (edited) Thank you. Yes absolutely correct about using a new anvil with crisp edges. The edges on this Gladiator are even sharper than the edges on my Kohlswa anvils. Some people don't like anvils that ring, this thing rings like Big Ben. I'm about half deaf anyway so I enjoy the musical ring. Nice to keep cadence too. Jim at Nimba is a good guy, very knowledgeable and will talk hot steel with you all day. FYI, Nimba is the last US manufacturer of anvils. They are made in Port Townsend, Wa. Alec Steel of youtube fame is coming out with a new US made anvil soon. He showcased it on youtube a few weeks ago. Around 150 lbs I think. Looks nice. Stuck for now in the black face, baby killing state of Virginia R.L. Edited May 15, 2020 by R.L. typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattnh Posted November 13, 2020 Report Share Posted November 13, 2020 Got your forge up and running in ME yet? Pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Born loser...in Montana Posted November 13, 2020 Report Share Posted November 13, 2020 On 5/14/2020 at 9:46 AM, R.L. said: After a year of anxious wait time and $3K my Nimba Gladiator was delivered from Nimba Anvils in Washington state. Absolutely beautiful. 450 lbs of the finest 8690 heat treated steel money can buy. Work top is hardened to 58 C rockwell . It is a 1 piece monolithic cast anvil. With anvils BIGGER is always better. There is not much you can't forge on this monster. I can't wait to use it.If you look closely you'll see my Anyang 88 power hammer on the left behind the jerry can. Now the down side, I have to haul all this crap to Maine. Oh well could be worse. R.L. "Bigger is always better " Congratulations on your upcoming projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieG3 Posted November 13, 2020 Report Share Posted November 13, 2020 that's amazing! i guess you've already had some projects done, update if you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.L. Posted November 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2020 Actually it's sitting in my Virginia shop right now.. I used it for some small projects while still in Va., but nothing like I have planned for the new shop in Maine. I must move that 500lb Nimba anvil, 3 more Kohlswa anvils from 50-200lbs, my Anyang power hammer and an entire shop full of tools to Maine this Spring. Really looking forward to new forge projects, but NOT the shop move! Cheers, R.L. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
an1913t Posted November 18, 2020 Report Share Posted November 18, 2020 That is a really beautiful anvil! I need to dig my blacksmithing gear out from my highschool days. So much fun. I have a small (approx 130lb) Peter Wright anvil. Good, but nothing like that monster. Do you have any pictures of some of your projects? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.L. Posted November 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2020 Thanks. Peter Wright .... the holy grail of anvils. They demand big bucks if the table isn't rounded over or chipped. Looked for one for years, but they were either all wanged up or prices were sky high. The antiquey crowd has f'ed up the market for anvils, swages and hand tools over the years. People with money but no skills. The stupid f-cks can't hit a lick, but they think it's cool to own the hardware of craftsmen and day dream about having a skill. Makes it hard for contemporary smiths to outfit a shop. I ended up buying 2--Kohlswa, Swedish anvils and after 40 years, still have both. Unfortunately, Kohlswa like a lot of other good things, has gone out of business. Peddinhaus is still in business in Germany but has been bought out by a French concern. Nimba is one of the last US manufacturers of anvils. I really wanted to buy American, so I waited a year on the waiting list, paid my $3K and was very happy to own a piece of American history. It rings very nicely. I like a live anvil personally, some smiths don't. We live not far from the original Peavey forge in Eddington, Maine. Home of the original "Peavey" tool used for logging. Been in business for over 150 years, making great forged logging tools. All of my forge stuff is in Virginia. My work is most utilitarian type stuff, tools etc., not the snazzy artsy type stuff. I can make all kinds of tools, bolts fasteners etc, but I'm not artistically predisposed. My next endeavor will be custom axes and knives come Spring. Cheers, Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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