Went to an old forge museum in upstate New York last month

I was visiting the Adirondack History Museum in Elizabethtown and they had a restored 1800s blacksmith shop set up. What caught me was the anvil placement - it was set way lower than what I use in my shop. The smith who worked there told me they did it on purpose to use their whole body weight for heavy striking. Got me thinking about how much I rely on just my arms and shoulders. Has anyone else noticed old shops having different anvil heights than what we use today?

3 comments

3 Comments

wyatt_green3115d ago

Read somewhere that old school blacksmiths used the anvil height as a way to save their backs over time too. Lower stance helps you stay balanced and not hunch as bad once you get used to it.

jadew6315d ago

Yeah I noticed the same thing a few years back at an old forge in Pennsylvania. The anvil was maybe six inches lower than what I'm used to and the smith there said the same thing about using body weight. Really made me rethink my whole setup once I tried hammering at that height.

gavina7314d ago

Dude @jadew63 you're making me want to go remeasure my anvil right now. I had the exact same head smack moment at a shop in Ohio last summer, their anvil was way lower than I thought was right and after ten minutes I could feel the difference in my lower back big time.