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The old anvil at my uncle's shop finally gave out
I was over at my uncle's place outside Columbus this weekend and his beat up Peter Wright anvil finally cracked right through the face. He's had that thing since the 70s, and I remember standing on a milk crate to watch him work when I was a kid. The striking surface was so smooth from years of use, you could see the hammer marks worn into it like a map. Now he's looking at a new cast steel anvil and the price tags are pretty wild, over $800 for something decent. It got me thinking about how the trade's changed too, these days everyone's got a power hammer or a press, but he still does most things by hand. I guess I just wonder if the new anvils will last like the old ones did, or if we're trading longevity for convenience. Anyone else watched an old tool finally die and feel a little weird about replacing it?
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bettyhunt28d agoMost Upvoted
Does it sound silly to say I got a lump in my throat reading this? Your uncle's anvil was basically a family member. My dad had an old drill press that finally seized up last year, and we stood there staring at it like it was a sick dog. Anvils take a beating for decades, and that smooth face you described, that's years of honest work baked right in. The new ones might be tougher or whatever, but they won't have that history, that personality. I get feeling weird about it. It's like watching a part of your childhood retire, even if it's just a chunk of iron.
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