RIDGID 69622 model 5 Forged Anvil, Peddinghaus Anvil Steel

Let me say up front that I am definitely a novice/hobby/class taker/retired/book reader/video viewer/wana be blade/black smith with limited exposure and experience. It’s also difficult to do this review since I purchased my Rigid/Peddinghaus Model 5 anvil at $651 with free shipping a month ago and today it is listed at $819 free shipping! Quite an increase putting it closer to the similar sized competition when shipping is considered. So take my amateur status and the price increase for what they may be worth to your decision making process.I have so far been very pleased and satisfied with my choice of this anvil. I looked around and there are other sources of new anvils, usually smaller manufactures with anvils at the Rigid/Peddinghaus price point by weight (if you didn’t consider the added shipping cost but the price jump now completely changed that equation).Some of the others are prettier, advertise hand dressed surfaces, and have more intriguing horn and body shaping. Many however seem designed more for the farrier or another special use than for the general black and blade smith. I also looked for but could not find in my area a vintage anvil of made of decent forged steel as opposed to cast that was in anything like good shape in this price/size range. Chipped and broken edges cut marks and sway backs at ridiculous prices were the norm which sent me looking for new.I initially thought I needed/wanted a larger anvil but let’s face it, $651 is steep for a hobby tool especially when you also are also buying a forge, hammers, tongs, etc. etc. Jumping to over $1,400 shipped to get an anvil over 100 pounds was not in my budget. As it turned out for what I am doing the model 5 has plenty of surface area, the dual horn configuration is very useful and the full 1” hardy hole is a bonus, with lots of tools available in that size. As I put together my forge it also turned out that the limited space I had to work with meant that I need to be able to move the anvil around both to get at it from all angles and to get it out of the way when not needed. The happy result is that this size anvil (about 77 lb.) coupled with a Cliff Carroll Anvil Stump have proven to be the perfect solution for me.In class I have worked on bigger anvils with bigger and better ring and rebound but for its size this anvil’s ring is very satisfying, and rebound is very good. The bottom line is that I have been well pleased with my purchase, at the $651 free shipping price I paid. However, at the $819 current price I might have gone in another direction.

This anvil likes to sing. Just running my finger along face edge has a tone coming up. Cleaning off the paint/covering it ships with takes about an hour with stiff wire cup. The sides a somewhat rough with mild pitting but all machined surfaces are smooth. Minimal dressing of the face edges (1 or 2 passes with a flap wheel I guess) but doesn't take too much work to radius things proper. The horn comes painted and being round, it's difficult to get things perfectly clean and smooth; bits of paint in the corner where horn meets anvil body. Figure that'll burn/flake off as anvil is used and gets hot.(usage notes once I have time to fire up forge and have some fun)

I wanted a forged anvil and quickly learned that the prices are sky high. So even though this cost me $632 with free shipping, other places are charging a lot more. Looking on the Rigid web site, I gather that a 12% reduction in retail price, off of the MSRP is the most Ridged will allow on internet sales. Interestingly, I didn't see the MSRP listed. So my thoughts are that if you look around the web, you can get an idea of the MSRP and an idea of what a good discount is. The anvil has both the Rigid name and the Peddinghaus name on its side along with the weight of 35 ( Kg ). It was delivered with a piece of plywood on it's face and the rest was wrapped in cardboard. Plain to see that you had an anvil delivered to your porch.I have read that a good anvil will have a high pitched ringing sound if struck lightly on the top with a hammer. A cast iron or poorly made anvil will make more of a dull or thud sound. This anvil does make a high pitched ringing sound when struck lightly. Another test is said to be dropping a ball bearing's ball on it. The ball should bounce high. Did not try that yet. Again, these are just things that I have read, but I do believe them to be good, reliable indicators.There are people who are collectors of anvils. All types of old, new and rare anvils. Some used anvils may be worth several thousand dollars. I myself can see the attraction. If you search on Amazon, you can find a book called " Anvils In America " by Richard Postman.

A very nice very expensive little anvil. It has great rebound and a nice ring to it. However while the 1" hardy hole does go all the way through the anvil it does not go all the way through as a 1" square hole, the bottom 1" or so is rounded so hardy tools that are wedged through the bottom can't be used. Disappointing on an otherwise great little anvil.

Very good anvil, but horn isn't ground as shown inproduct image

Perfect size...not too small, not too big...excellent rebound and hardness.I did remove the black paint from the horn and later the rest of the anvil...coated it with boiled linseed oil and it looks like a vintage German anvil....excellent quality...also the description says the face of this #5 anvil is 3" wide...the description is wrong, it's almost 4" wide ....if you can find a better anvil than this one...buy it ...but im sure you won't find a better NEW anvil anyway.

Anvil face was not square. Sent it back because it was advertised as free returns...it wasn’t a free return. I got a bill from UPS for almost $300 and Amazon hasn’t done anything about it yet. It’s been 4 months.