Anvil Parts and Terminology

The London-Pattern Anvil, Part by Part

Most anvils sold to beginner blacksmiths in the US follow the London pattern (sometimes called the English pattern) - the classic silhouette with a single cone-shaped horn on one end, a long flat top, and a squared heel. It became the standard because the shape packs a bending surface, a forging surface, a cutting shelf, and two tool-holding holes into one tool.

Every part has a specific job, and knowing them changes how you work and what you buy. When a tutorial says "draw it out over the horn" or "set your hardy in the hole," this is the vocabulary they mean. If a term here is new, our blacksmithing glossary covers the verbs - draw out, upset, fuller, drift - that go with these parts.

Horn, Face, and Step: the three surfaces you'll use most

The horn is the round, tapering cone at the front. It is your bending and curving surface: you hammer stock over it to make rings, hooks, and scrolls, and to draw out (lengthen) bar by working it across the curve. The horn is usually left softer than the face so it can take abuse without cracking.

The face is the flat, hardened top - the main event. Nearly all your forging happens here, and a good face is heat-treated hard so it returns energy to the hammer instead of denting. Keep it clean: no grinding on it, no cutting directly on it, and knock off scale so it isn't hammered into the surface. Dents and gouges telegraph straight into your work.

Between the horn and the face sits the step (also called the cutting table). It is a shelf set slightly lower than the face and left soft on purpose. Use it to shear hot stock with a chisel or hot cut so your blade finishes against soft steel instead of nicking your hardened face. It is not a hammering surface - never forge heavy on the step.

The hardy hole and pritchel hole

Toward the heel you'll find two holes. The hardy hole is square (commonly 3/4 inch to 1 inch on a mid-size anvil) and holds bottom tools by their square shanks - hardy cutters, bending forks, fullers, swages, and bickerns. Because tool shanks are sized to it, the hardy hole size is a real buying spec; check our hardy hole sizes reference and the hardy tools explained guide before you buy tooling.

The pritchel hole is round (often about 3/8 to 1/2 inch) and sits near the hardy hole. Its main job is to give punched holes somewhere to go: you punch hot stock over it so the slug drops through cleanly, and it doubles as a light bending and holding point. The waist is the narrow, pinched section under the face, and the feet or base are what you bolt or strap down to your stand.

London pattern vs. other anvil styles

• London / English pattern: one horn, squared heel, hardy and pritchel holes. This is the all-round beginner and general-smith anvil, and the shape most tutorials assume.
• Farrier / horseshoe pattern: lighter, with clips and a turning cam for shaping shoes. Great for hoof work, less ideal as a general forging anvil.
• Double-horn (German / Austrian) pattern: a round horn on one end and a squared (pyramid) horn on the other, popular in Europe. The square horn is handy for bending inside corners; these are excellent anvils but often pricier and less common used in the US.
• ASO (anvil-shaped object): cheap cast-iron shapes sold as "anvils." They look right but are soft, dead under the hammer, and often chip or crack. A real anvil is steel - cast or forged - with a hardened face.

If your budget is tight, a small real anvil beats a big ASO. Before spending, it's worth comparing a genuine cast vs. forged anvil and even a railroad-track anvil against a real anvil.

What the parts tell you before you buy

Judge an anvil by the parts that actually do the work:

• Face condition and rebound. Drop a 1-inch ball bearing from about 10 inches onto the face; on a good hardened face it bounces back 70% or more. A dead, thuddy bounce usually means a soft or worn face - or an ASO. Look for deep gouges, big chips off the edges, and sway (a dished-out face).
• Weight. Beginners are well served by roughly 70-150 lb; heavier moves metal better but costs more and is harder to move. To match weight to your work and stand, our anvil weight calculator helps you think it through.
• Hardy hole size. Match it to tooling you'll actually buy, and confirm it's clean and square.
• Pattern. For general beginner forging, a London-pattern anvil is the safe default; pick a specialty pattern only if your work demands it.

For specific picks that check these boxes, see our best beginner anvil roundup and budget anvil guide.