Anvil

For the bone of the middle ear, see incus.

For other uses, see Anvil (disambiguation)}}}.

A blacksmith working iron with a hammer and anvil

An anvil is a manufacturing tool, made of a hard and massive block of stone or metal used as a support for chiseling and hammering other objects, such as in forging iron and steel items.

Contents

1 Types of anvil
2 History
3 Etymology
4 Anvils in art and entertainment

4.1 Television and film
4.2 Musical instruments
4.3 Entertainment

5 References
6 See also

Types of anvil

There are many designs for anvils, which are often tailored for a specific purpose or to meet the needs of a particular smith.

The common blacksmith's anvil is made of either forged or cast steel, tool steel, or wraught iron. (However, cast iron anvils are generally shunned, as they do not return the energy of a hammer blow as does steel) Historicly, some anvils have been made with a smooth top working face of hardened steel welded to a cast iron body, though this manufacturing method is no longer in use. It has at one end a projecting conical bick (beak, horn) for use in hammering curved pieces of metal. Occasionally the other end is also provided with a bick, which is then partly rectangular in section. Most anvils made since the late 1700's also have a hardy hole and a pritchel hole where various tools, such as the anvil-cutter or chisel, can be inserted to be held by the anvil. Some anvils have several hardy and pritchel holes, to accommodate a wider variety of hardy tools and pritchels. An anvil may also have a softer pad for chisel work.

An anvil for a power hammer is usually supported on massive anvil block, sometimes weighing over 200 tons for a 12-ton hammer, and this again rests on a strong foundation of timber and masonry or concrete.

History

Anvils have been used since early bronze age times by smiths of all kinds for metal work, although the tool was also used in much earlier epochs for stone and flint work.

There are many references to anvils in ancient Greek and Egyptian writing, including Homer's works. The anvil was perfected during the Middle Ages when iron working was commonplace.

Etymology

The word "anvil" derives from Anglo-Saxon anfilt or onfilti, either that on which something is "welded" or "folded," cf. German falzen, to fold, or connected with other Teutonic forms of the word, cf. German amboss, in which case the final syllable is from "beat," and the meaning is "that on which something is beaten".

Anvils in art and entertainment

Television and film

A typical metalworker's anvil, with horn at one end and flat face at the other, is a standard prop for animated cartoon gags, as the epitome of a heavy and clumsy object that is perfect for dropping onto the villain of the story, a convention started and most often used in Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts and later animated properties based on or influence by them. For example, in one of the Road Runner shorts, a falling Wile E. Coyote overtakes the anvil he has just dropped from a balloon, arriving at the ground first to then have the anvil arrive on top of him. The visual hyperbole of overtaking the falling anvil accentuates the speed of the coyote's descent.

In the Tiny Toon Adventures series, anvilology — the study of the improbable physics of falling anvils — was a subject taught by Yosemite Sam.

On the WB show Gilmore Girls, Lorelai launches into a lengthy discussion about the absence of anvils in modern society. She notes how they were once commonplace and asks how they all seemed to have disappeared.

It is quite possible that many people living today have only seen an anvil as a cartoon prop, and might not even be aware of an anvil's use in metalworking.

Musical instruments

Anvils have been used as percussion instruments in several famous musical compositions, including:

Verdi's Il Trovatore, featuring the famous Anvil Chorus (1853)
Wagner's Das Rheingold (1854)
The theme from the movie The Terminator

The composer of the soundtracks to the first 2 terminator films revealed that it was not a real anvil, but him just hitting a kitchen saucepan

Pieces by Lully.

There are at least two notable compositions titled Anvil Polka, one by Albert Parlow and the other by Strauss; the latter traditionally features a percussionist wearing a leather apron.

Entertainment

In the past, people in the Southern United States practiced anvil launching for entertainment as a substitution for fireworks.

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